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  • If it sounds too good to be true - it is!
  • Never give your credit card number, any part of your social security number, or bank account number to ANYONE over the phone. It's illegal for telemarketers to ask for these numbers to verify a prize or gift.
  • Don't let anyone rush you into signing anything - an insurance policy, a sales agreement, a contract. Read it carefully and have someone you trust check it over.
  • Beware of individuals claiming to represent companies, consumer organizations, or government agencies that offer to recover lost money from fraudulent telemarketers for a fee. Law enforcement officers will do this for free!
  • Check out anything suspicious with the Better Business Bureau or your local consumer protection office.
For Home Improvement and Repair Fraud
  • Always get several estimates for a repair or remodeling job. Compare prices AND terms. Check to see if there is a charge for estimates.
  • Ask friends and family for recommendations. Ask for firm references and check them.
  • Be suspicious of high-pressure sales tactics.
  • Pay by check - NEVER with cash, so you can stop payment if dissatisfied. Try to make payments in installments - 1/3 at the beginning of a job, 1/3 when work is almost completed, and the remainder when the job is done.
  • Get a guarantee on any work done.

Telephone Scams

Signs that you may be on a criminal's "hit" list:

  • You get unsolicited phone calls from people who seem to know a lot about you and are interested in helping you win the big prize or get rich from a no-risk investment.
  • Someone requires you to courier money or give a credit card number to claim your prize, or requires you to pay a fee immediately.
  • Someone requires you to confirm your social security number over the phone then they give the wrong number. Don't correct them! Just say no and ask for their name and organization information. Report them to the police.

Common Phone Scams

  • Phony prizes, illegal sweepstakes or foreign lottery
    • They say "you have won a fantastic prize (or the lottery in a foreign country)! All you have to do is buy vitamins (or confirm your social security number or bank account number for them to deposit the winnings)." A prize is a prize and free is free. Foreign lotteries are illegal.

  • Fake Charities
    • They ask you to "donate to charity and win a spectacular vacation…" These increase after disasters and around the holidays. These "charities" only benefit the con artist.
    • You can make sure any money you give gets into the right hands. When someone solicits for a donation:
      • Ask for identification on both the charity and the solicitor. Find out the charity's purposes, how funds are used and if contributions are tax deductible. If you're not satisfied with the answer and feel something is not quite right, don't give.
      • Give to charities you know.

  • Sham Investments
    • You are invited to "invest in a no-risk investment opportunity of a lifetime…but you need to do it today. I'll send a courier to pick up your money or you can wire it to me…" There is no such thing as "get rich quick".

  • Recovery Room Operation
    • You are assured they will "help you get back all the money you've been scammed out of…for a small fee." No law enforcement will ever charge you a fee to investigate your case or recover your money.
Real Estate Fraud
  • Never buy any property unseen!
  • Read contracts carefully for details of what is included with properties i.e. hookups for utilities.
Investment Fraud
This includes the recently popular pyramid schemes. Be suspicious of…
  • High pressure sales tactics.
  • Get rich quick schemes.
  • An emphasis on setting up dealerships rather than selling a product.
  • Potential investors are not encouraged or even allowed to contact other investors.
The Obituary Column Scheme

Sometimes scam artists read the obituaries and then send a surviving spouse or family member phony bills supposedly owed by the deceased. Or they deliver an item - like a Bible - that they say the deceased ordered. Tell them no thank you and you will talk it over with the police!

The Bank Examiner

The con artist, posing as a police officer or bank investigator, draws the victim into a plan to catch a "dishonest teller" by having the victim withdraw cash and turn it over to the "official" so s/he can check the serial numbers. Banks don't do this. Don't be fooled!