What comes to mind when you think of someone getting scammed? A grandma on the phone with some jerk? If so, this will probably surprise you.

The total money lost by teens in online scams grew by nearly 2,500% between 2017 and 2022. Victims under the age of 20 lost a staggering $210 million in 2022 alone.

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Buzz, buzz! Nope, it’s not a message from a friend. It’s another scammer pretending to be anything from your bank to an old high school friend, usually with an obvious trap included. In 2022, Americans lost almost $330 million through text message scams alone.

There is a way to handle text spam, but many people make things worse instead of better. Here are the answers everyone with a phone (including kiddos) needs to know.

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Booking a rental property for your next vacation? There’s a scam for that!

Seriously, vacation rental scams are everywhere. Last year alone, Airbnb banned 59,000 fake listings — and stopped 157,000 listings from making it to the site in the first place.

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Picture this: Your phone rings and it’s a familiar number. You answer and an unsettling voice tells you they have your kid. The only way to get your son or daughter back alive is to send money.

It gets worse. Your child gets on the phone and directly pleads with you for help. You see a picture of them in chains. You watch a video of them crying. Now you’re panicking. 

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Scammers draw from a bottomless bag of tricks to get you to hand over your money. They dramatically ramp up their actions when there’s a global event or an upcoming holiday. Not even Veterans Day is safe. Tap or click here for a story that proves criminals have no shame.

The holiday season is another hot ticket. With people buying so much during these months, money and retail scams are ramping up.

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‘Tis the season for eggnog, twinkly lights and a whole lot of scams. Cybercriminals make a killing over the holiday season — just think about how often we pull out our credit cards.

The best way to stay safe is to know their tricks. I’ve got the inside scoop on phone scams tricking people out of money and info right now.

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This number blew me away: Nearly 90% of American adults are confident they can detect and prevent a scam. And yet, 27% say they’ve been a victim at some point. The numbers don’t add up.

That’s why I’m here for you. Let’s dive into some of the most common things that trip up even the tech-savviest among us and kick scammers to the curb.

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Heads up, folks! YouMail just issued an important warning about a new wave of robocalls pretending to be from big names like Amazon, Apple, Visa and Chase Bank. They’re trying to freak you out about bogus purchases and get you to spill your personal info.

Here’s how it works

You get a call that sounds like it’s from Amazon. A robotic voice says, “Hello, this is an automated message from Amazon. Your card has been charged $2,253 for the purchase of an Apple MacBook Pro with Order ID312106. If you did not place this order and would like to speak to one of our representatives, please press 1 or please call back.” 

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When it comes to telemarketing and scam calls, the best thing to do is not pick up the phone. But it’s not always easy to tell whether an incoming call is legitimate — especially if your phone doesn’t show that scam or spam warning.

You want to stop these calls before they happen. I’ll show you how to use the settings built-in to your phone for this, but first, let’s talk about the best way to prevent spam in the first place.

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I know, big statement, right? But stay with me.

I’ve been talking about people search sites for years. Heck, I did a whole series of articles on how to remove yourself from them.

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Pine needles, broken Christmas lights, expensive shipping and the crowds at Costco all rank high on my Holiday No Thank You list. Now add scams to that.

Knowledge is power, and I don’t want you to fall for this junk. That starts with knowing what’s happening most right now in the world of cybercrime.

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There’s one holiday tradition nobody likes: Fruitcake. Even worse, somehow, are all the scam and fraud attempts. Like clockwork, they pop up yearly as we shop for gifts.

The most ambitious scammers have started creating massive shopping websites where everything is fake. The site looks real, professional and filled with products at low prices. Get to the checkout, your online cart vanishes and now hackers have access to your bank account or card.

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OK, I need to talk to my Gen Z son, Ian, about this. And you should speak to anyone in your circle born between 1996 and 2010. 

The fine folks at the FBI’s crime division say teens have lost 2,500% more money to scams in the past five years. Compare that to an 805% increase for seniors. Still not great, but at least it’s not 2,500%.

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It’s my job to help people with their digital problems, and it’s sad how often that means assisting folks to sort out a scam. Or even being the one to break the news to them.

Sorry, that new girlfriend isn’t into you. She just wants your money. It happens more often than you’d think — to men and women alike.

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Scams never end. I found a few new ones that are spreading like wildfire across the U.S. When these hit my timeline, I make sure to pass them on to you. I want you to be prepared and not a victim. 

1. Your day in court

Police in several cities, including Amarillo, Texas, are warning about this. You get a phone call that looks like it’s coming from law enforcement. The voice on the other end lays it on thick, claiming you’ve failed to appear for a court date, and oh boy, they’ve got a warrant out for you. Just pay up over the phone and this mess will disappear (not!).

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One of the most important parts of my job is making sure you know what criminals and cybercreeps are up to. Enough people fall for this junk — I don’t want you to be a victim, too.

The FBI is warning about tech support scams that robbed folks of a whopping $542 million in just the first half of 2023. It all starts with a notification that looks like it’s from your bank or even the government warning of a computer hack. You guessed it. They’re fake.

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I’ve been waving the red flag about voice scams for what feels like eons now. But thanks to the explosion of affordable AI tools, voice cloning isn’t just for James Bond villains anymore. It’s gone mainstream and bad guys are cashing in. 

The CEO calls

A U.K.-based energy firm’s CEO thought he was on the phone with his boss, the chief executive of the German parent company. The “boss” instructed him to send €220,000 (nearly 233,000 U.S. dollars) to a Hungarian supplier. 

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While warranties can last a few years, recalls can occur anytime. Some defects are harmless and only affect functionality, but others can be dangerous. Tap or click here for three recalled products putting your safety at risk.

When you buy a TV, blender or smartphone on Amazon, you’ll see a message asking you to purchase an extended warranty. Sure, you can, but should you?

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I remember the first time I fired up TikTok to see what it was all about. In about 10 minutes, the darn app’s algorithms kicked into gear. On my feed, aside from people dancing all over the globe, were vids about vegetarian dishes, travel tips and golden retrievers. And you know what … it was pretty hard to put down, a total time suck. After three days, I removed it from my phone. 

About 150 million Americans hang out on TikTok for, on average, an hour and a half each day. It’s a big platform with significant money being made and spent. And you know what that means, scammers and lots of them.

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Imagine if either of these online games were your business. In a single day, you had all these customers showing up at your site or store. 

• Roblox has 66,100,000 daily active users.
• Fortnite has 237,000,000 daily active users.

That’s a ton of people sitting in front of screens, right? Cue the hackers and scammers. They noticed it, too.

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