Is It a Scam? Six Questions.
Answer honestly about the charge, call, email, or package your parent received. Two or more “yes” answers means treat it as a scam until proven otherwise.
The Six Questions
- Did it start with contact they didn’t ask for? A call, email, pop-up, or package that arrived out of nowhere. Legitimate companies rarely initiate; scammers always do.
- Is there pressure to act right now? “Your account closes today.” “Your grandson is in jail.” Urgency is the scammer’s most important tool — it exists to stop your parent from checking with anyone.
- Are they asked to pay in an unusual way? Gift cards, wire transfers, cryptocurrency, cash by courier. No government agency or real business collects payment this way. Ever.
- Is there a recurring charge they can’t explain? Check the last three months of statements. Autoship scams live on small monthly charges from names you don’t recognize.
- Are they told to keep it secret? “Don’t tell your family.” Any request for secrecy from a stranger is a five-alarm warning — isolation is how scammers keep victims.
- Did they “win” something or get a “free trial”? Prizes that require a fee to claim and trials that require a credit card are the two oldest hooks in the book.
Two or More Yes Answers? Do This Now.
- Stop contact. Hang up, don’t reply, don’t click. Scammers escalate with engagement.
- Call the card’s fraud line — the number on the back of the card, not any number the caller gave you. Dispute the charges and ask for a new card number if a recurring biller has it.
- Change passwords on email and banking if anything was clicked or shared, and turn on two-factor authentication.
- Report it at reportfraud.ftc.gov — reports build the cases that shut these operations down.
- Then work the guides: Money Recovery & Prevention walks through disputes, credit freezes, and locking everything down.
A fuller guided version of this tool is coming. If your situation doesn’t fit these questions, describe it to me.