In aviation, pilots run through a checklist before every flight. It is not because they expect something to go wrong. It is because the checklist catches the small issues before they become large ones. I have found the same discipline applies to protecting your finances. Scammers count on you skipping the checklist, moving quickly, and trusting your first instinct. This year, we have fielded a growing number of calls from clients who received a suspicious text, email, or phone call and wanted a second opinion before responding. That instinct to pause and ask is exactly right, and it is the reason we want to walk you through what to look for.
The Warning Signs
Fraud has become more sophisticated, but the underlying tactics tend to repeat themselves.
Urgency and pressure. Scammers want you to act before you have time to think. A caller claiming to be from the IRS, Social Security Administration, or your bank who insists you must act “immediately” or face arrest, account closure, or loss of benefits is using a well-documented pressure tactic. Government agencies do not operate this way.
Requests for unusual payment methods. Gift cards, wire transfers, and cryptocurrency are difficult to trace and nearly impossible to recover. Any request to pay a bill, fee, or fine using one of these methods should be treated as a serious red flag.
Impersonation of someone you trust. The “grandparent scam” and similar schemes rely on a caller posing as a family member in distress, often citing an emergency that requires an immediate wire transfer. Text and email versions of this scam have also become more common, sometimes appearing to come from your own financial institution or even from us.
Unsolicited contact about an investment opportunity. If you receive a call, email, or social media message promoting an investment you did not ask about, treat it with skepticism. Legitimate advisors do not solicit new relationships this way, and we will never ask you to move money through an unfamiliar platform or app.
Requests to keep the matter private. Scammers frequently instruct victims not to discuss the situation with family members or their financial advisor. This is one of the clearest signs that something is wrong. We would never ask you to keep a financial matter from your loved ones.
If You Suspect Fraud Has Already Occurred
Discovering that you have been targeted, or that money has already left your account, is distressing. Taking the following steps promptly can limit the damage.
Contact your financial institution first. Call the bank or custodian directly using the number on your card or statement, not a number provided in the suspicious message. Ask them to flag the account and review recent activity.
Call us. As we discussed in our earlier look at elder fraud, we would rather field a call that turns out to be nothing than have a client hesitate on something real. We can help you review account activity and determine next steps.
Place a fraud alert or credit freeze. A credit freeze, discussed in more detail in our earlier post on protecting your personal information after a data breach, restricts new accounts from being opened in your name and is one of the strongest protective steps available.
Report it. File a report with the Federal Trade Commission at reportfraud.ftc.gov and with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov. If the scam involved impersonation of a government agency, report it to that agency directly.
Document everything. Save texts, emails, voicemails, and caller ID information. This documentation supports any investigation and may help recover funds in certain cases.
The Best Defense Is a Pause
You do not need to memorize every scam variation making the rounds this year. What matters is building the habit of pausing before you act, verifying independently, and calling someone you trust before sending money or sharing personal information. That is a habit we encourage with every client we work with, regardless of how many decades of experience you have managing your own finances.
If you have questions about a call, text, or email you received, or if you want to talk through steps to protect your accounts, please schedule a complimentary consultation with our team.
