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The risk of becoming a scam victim or falling prey to fraud is more common than you may believe. The Federal Trade Commission received over 2.8 million fraud reports from consumers in 2021.
If you’ve been affected by a scam, we are here to help you through the process, from ensuring your accounts are locked down to contacting the three credit reporting agencies.
5 Steps to Take If You’re a Scam Victim
Getting scammed is lousy, but if you are, it’s important to act swiftly to limit the damage criminals can inflict. A simple scam can evolve into full-on identity theft if swift preemptive measures aren’t taken.
Here’s a step-by-step guide for what to do if you’ve been scammed.
1. Don’t Be Embarrassed
Unless you’re walking around with your credit card number and all your sensitive information taped to your forehead, you have nothing to be ashamed about if you get scammed.
With so many victims each year, the odds are high that you (and I) will be one, too. Just look at this long list of scams involving:
- Tech support
- Work from home jobs
- Mystery shopping
- Medicare
- College scholarships
- Tax data
- Seniors
- Telemarketing
- Identity theft
- Imposter theft
- Email phishing
- Credit repair
- Weddings
I mean, really. Is there anything out there that can’t be turned into a scam? I guess maybe kite flying or goldfish breeding, but who knows? Maybe that can also lead to identity theft in the end.
My point is there is no reason to be embarrassed if you get caught up in a scam. If it makes you feel any better, it even happens to journalists who cover cybersecurity for a living.
If you get scammed, take a deep breath and get to work on fixing the situation by securing your bank account and other financial accounts.
2. Lock Down Your Bank Accounts and Credit Cards
Contact all the financial institutions associated with your bank accounts and credit cards.
Call the credit card company using the number on the back of your card or a recent monthly statement. Let…
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