How to spot a scam before you tap

Almost every scam shows the same four signs, and learning them once is what protects you. According to the Federal Trade Commission, a scammer pretends to be an organization you know, invents a problem or a prize, pressures you to act right now, and tells you to pay or confirm details in a specific way. A real message almost never does all four. Here is how the common ones work.

• Fake delivery or account texts. An unexpected text that pushes you to a link to pay a fee is the phishing pattern. A company you actually use does not text a pay-a-fee link.
• The verification code trap. A real bank does not call or text asking you to confirm or read back a one-time code. That code is what keeps your account yours.
• Guaranteed-return pitches. Only a scammer guarantees big returns, and these offers often start on social media. Nobody legitimate asks you to hand over money so they can trade it for you.
• Gift card and wire demands. Anyone who tells you to pay a tax, fee, or fine in gift cards is a scammer. No government agency collects money that way.
• Fake checks. If someone sends a check and tells you to deposit it and send part back, the check bounces later and you owe the bank. The deposit-and-send-back step is the con.
• Tech support pop-ups. A real security warning never tells you to call a phone number, and real tech companies do not reach you through a scare pop-up.
• Government grant fees. Offers of free money from a government grant are scams. A real grant never charges a fee to receive it.

Every red flag in this game is anchored to a named Federal Trade Commission consumer-advice page: How To Recognize and Avoid Phishing Scams, How To Avoid a Scam, What To Know About Cryptocurrency and Scams, Avoiding and Reporting Gift Card Scams, How To Spot, Avoid, and Report Fake Check Scams, How To Spot, Avoid, and Report Tech Support Scams, and Government Grant Scams. The reveal in the game names the page behind each tell. These are illustrative messages, not real senders, and this is education, not advice.