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How to Spot Scams

BADGER: It had been a long night of working the case with only the sound of the driving rain against my window keeping me company. I was about to call it a night when the dame walked in.

JEN: It's sunny and 11:30 in the morning. 

BADGER: She was sharp, and her hair was strangely orange, like a pumpkin with a five dollar spray tan. 

JEN: Hey! Can you help me or not?

BADGER: I could tell by the look in her eye—and by the way she had blatantly just asked me—that this dame needed my help. And by me, I mean… Inspector Badger, Scam Detective.

JEN: Have you seen…

BADGER: Oh I've seen it all. Every scam and fraud imaginable. Unexpected Money & Winnings, Buyer-Seller Fraud, Fake Charities, Dating Schemes, Get-Rich-Quick Operations, Threats & Extortion and Identity Theft.

JEN: That looks very elaborate. 

BADGER: There's a whole world of scam artists out there, pumpkin-hair.

JEN: It's Jen.

BADGER: And I've devoted my life to sniffing out every last one of the scambags behind these schemes. It's a tough case for anyone. And by anyone, I mean me, Inspector Badger, Scam Detective. 

JEN: Can you walk me through some of these? 

BADGER: Unexpected Money & Winnings are the classics. The scammer reaches out to you, posing as a lawyer or a contest organizer or sometimes as a deposed Prince of Nigeria. Then he gives you the good news: you've won a prize or you've got an inheritance coming your way.

JEN: Oh?

BADGER: But there's a complication.

JEN: Oh no!

BADGER: You need to pay a fee or a lottery tax or provide some personal banking information in order to claim the money. So you pay up and then guess what?

JEN: No prize?

BADGER: Heh. You're lucky if the scammer just takes the payment and runs. I've seen 'em empty out entire bank accounts before.

JEN: No prize.

BADGER: If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. When it comes to buying and selling, the Internet is a minefield of fake seller profiles.

JEN: Fake selling histories, fake reviews, fake products. 

BADGER: There are impostors all the way down the chain. Speaking of impostors, some of these scoundrels will go as low as impersonating or inventing charities, especially in the wake of a major disaster. 

JEN: That's gross.

BADGER: Speaking of gross, in Dating Schemes, the scammer will pose as a love interest and build an emotional bond with his or her target. Then suddenly, the new sweetheart asks for gifts, travel fare or financial help with an emergency. The money gets transferred, the profile gets deleted and the sweetheart disappears without a trace, leaving the target broke and broken-hearted. And once you're broke, you start getting desperate, which makes you an easy mark for job placement scams, pyramid schemes and other get-rich-quick operations.

JEN: That's so scary.

BADGER: You want scary? Threats & Extortion are all about fear! The scammer will often pose as an authority figure and threaten arrest or harm unless the target coughs up the cash. Ransomware falls under extortion, too. A hacker will hold computer files hostage and insist you pay up. Last, but not least, we have Identity Theft. Whether it's through a data breach or impersonating others, scammers will try to extract your personal information. That info can then be sold to other scammers or used to access bank accounts, to claim government services or to build convincing profiles in order to enact other nefarious schemes. 

JEN: How is it even possible to protect yourself from all of this?

BADGER: Scams are always evolving and becoming more sophisticated, but there are some common elements. Scammers want you to act before you have time to think. They use intimidation, timing and scarcity to pressure you into responding a certain way. If something doesn't seem right, don't move forward, don't provide any information, don't click that link. Instead, pause. Investigate. Give your brain a chance to catch up. So, what do we got? My gut says a textbook Unexpected Winnings scam.

JEN: Huh? Oh. I was actually just looking for the optometrist. I guess I had the wrong floor. 

BADGER: Oh. The encounter had been the result of a fateful mix-up. But that did not deter me. And by me, I mean Inspector Badger… Oh, she's gone. 

BADGER: Inspector Badger. I won? Well, I don't remember entering a contest. No, no—you're probably right. Ready for my credit card number?