The three parts of every scam
Strip away the costume — the “bank,” the “grandson,” the “Microsoft technician,” the “sheriff's deputy,” the “Amazon order,” the “sweetheart” — and every scam is built from the same three parts:
- An urgent story. Your account has been hacked. Your grandson is in jail. There is a warrant. The package cannot be delivered. The offer expires tonight. Your computer has a virus. Urgency is the engine; without it, you would think.
- A demand for money, codes, or access. Move your money to a “safe account.” Buy gift cards and read the numbers. Read back the code we just texted you. Let us connect to your computer. Send it in cryptocurrency, at the machine at the gas station.
- A reason you must not check with anyone. Don't tell the bank teller — she's in on it. Don't hang up. Don't tell your family; it's a secret. Stay on the line.
That is the whole test. Urgent story + money, codes or access + don't check = scam. Every time. No legitimate bank, agency, company or relative combines those three. The government does not call to threaten arrest. Banks do not ask you to move money to protect it. Nobody real is ever paid in gift cards. And nobody honest minds if you hang up and call back on a number you looked up yourself.
The shapes it takes in Indiana right now
| The costume | How it arrives | The tell |
|---|---|---|
| “Your bank's fraud department” | Call or text about a suspicious charge; they will “help” you move money to a safe account, or ask you to read a code | Banks never move your money for you or ask for codes. Hang up; call the number on your card. |
| Grandparent / family emergency | A call — sometimes in a voice that sounds like family, which can now be faked — from a grandchild in jail, in a crash, in trouble; a “lawyer” follows up | Hang up and call the family member directly. Agree on a family password in advance. |
| Tech support | A pop-up that locks the screen with a phone number, or a call from “Microsoft”/“Apple” | Real companies do not call you or put phone numbers in pop-ups. Turn the computer off; it will be fine. |
| Government impostor | “Social Security,” “IRS,” “the sheriff” — a warrant, a suspended number, missed jury duty; pay to fix it | Agencies write letters. They do not take gift cards, wire transfers or crypto, ever. |
| Package / toll / delivery text | “Your package is held / your toll is unpaid — click to pay a small fee” | The link is the point: it collects your card. Go to the carrier's real site yourself. |
| Romance and “investment” | Weeks or months of friendship online, then a crisis or a can't-miss crypto opportunity | Anyone you have never met in person who asks for money is not who they say — however long it has been. |
| Check overpayment / job / rental | A check for more than agreed; “send back the difference” — the check bounces days later | Never send money back against a deposit. Banks credit checks before they clear them. |
The rule of the house
Agree it out loud with everyone in your household — the grandparent and the teenager alike:
“We do not send money, buy gift cards, or read out codes because of a call, text, or email. If it feels urgent, that is exactly when we hang up and check with someone.”
Two additions that cost nothing: choose a family password that a caller claiming to be family must know; and agree that nobody in this house will ever be embarrassed for checking. Scams work because people are ashamed to ask. Make asking the household's habit.
Ten seconds of practice
When the phone rings or the text arrives, ask: Is there an urgent story? Are they steering me toward money, a code, or my screen? Am I being told not to check? If two of the three are there, you are done. Hang up. Delete the text. Close the browser. Then, if you are curious, look the organization up yourself and call the number you found. You will find that the real bank has no idea what you are talking about.
If it already happened: the first hour
Speed matters far more than shame. Do these in order; write down whom you spoke to and when.
- Stop the money. Call your bank or card issuer on the number printed on the card and say the words “I have been the victim of fraud.” Ask them to freeze or reverse the transfer, stop the check, or block the card. For a wire, ask for a recall; for a gift card, call the card company with the card in hand; for cryptocurrency, contact the exchange or the ATM operator immediately — recovery is hard but not zero.
- Lock the accounts. If you gave a password or a code, or let someone onto your computer: change the email password first, from a different device if you can, then the bank, then the phone carrier (add an account PIN — this prevents your number being stolen). Turn on two-factor. Our accounts guide walks through it.
- If they were on your computer, turn it off and leave it off until it can be checked; do not log in to the bank from it. Uninstall any “remote support” program they had you install.
- Freeze your credit at all three bureaus — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — if any personal information was given. It is free, takes ten minutes each, and can be lifted whenever you need.
- Report it. The Indiana Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division at 1‑800‑382‑5516 or in.gov/attorneygeneral; the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov (this is where wire and cryptocurrency recoveries are actually attempted); the Federal Trade Commission at reportfraud.ftc.gov (identitytheft.gov if identity information was taken); and your local police for a report number, which banks and insurers will ask for.
- Tell someone. A family member, a friend, or us. Scammers who succeed once come back, often pretending to be “recovery services.” No one legitimate charges a fee up front to recover your money.
You do not have to do this alone. If you or someone you love has been scammed or is being pressured right now, write to us and say what happened — it does not have to be tidy. Helping you take the right steps in the right order is free, for anyone, regardless of age or circumstance. So is the AARP Fraud Watch Network helpline at 1‑877‑908‑3360 (membership not required).
Reported figures: the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center recorded nearly $21 billion in losses to cyber-enabled crime in the United States in 2025, with reported losses among people over 60 rising more than a third in a year. Most of it was fraud of the kinds described here, and most of it went unreported. This guide describes general practice and our understanding as practitioners; it is not legal or financial advice.