Welcome to our scam identifier.
This will not only help you identify the type of scam you're dealing with,
but point you in the right direction on our forum to other stories of people
who have experienced the same type of scam. It's a simple YES/NO
quiz that will either give you a forum link or ask you another question.
Click the arrow in the bottom right hand corner to begin.
If the answer to the question is a yes, then click the down button, otherwise click the right button to proceed to the next question. To return to the question, press the up button.
Were you contacted online by someone claiming to be an official, maybe working for a government or a bank and asked to help them move a large sum of money out of the person's country to your own?
Scammers often claim to need help in moving items of value or money
out of their country. Often they talk in amounts in the millions of dollars.
They will ask you to help pay the fees to release it or to cover fines.
This is called an "advance fee fraud" or "419 scam".
CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE.
Did you receive an email claiming that your email address won an online lottery you didn't enter or don't remember entering?
Scammers will send out emails claiming to be from companies such as Yahoo
or Microsoft telling you that you have won an "online lottery based on your
email address". These lotteries do not exist, and they will tell you that you
need to pay fees to release your "winnings". .
Click here to find out more.
Were you contacted by someone claiming to be a widow, dying of cancer and wanting you to handle her fortune when she passes to use for "good causes"?
This is known as a "dying widow scam", and will involve the "widow" asking
you to contact her legal representative in order to arrange the money being
sent to you. You will then be charged processing fees.
Click here to find out more.
Were you contacted by someone claiming to be in a refugee camp after her father or entire family were killed, and asking for your help in transferring a hidden legacy left to her by her father before he died out of the country?
This is a "refugee scam". Often the scammer will claim to be in Senegal
and give you the phone number of a "reverend father" who can get her
on the phone to speak to you. Their story will usually claim that their father
was either killed by rebels during the war or by a family member.
Click here to find out more.
Were you sent a check for more than the amount of an item you were selling online, and asked to forward the difference to a third party?
This is an "overpayment scam". The scammer will send a fake check to you
and have you forward the difference to a supposed "third party", maybe a
delivery company. In reality you're sending the money to the scammer.
Click here to find out more.
Were you sent an email claiming to be from your email provider, bank or other official source asking you to click a link to enter in your account details? Usually they claim there's some form of issue with your account that needs clearing up.
This is known as "phishing" and is designed to steal your login details for
your bank account or email.
Click here to find out more.
Did you meet someone online that very quickly fell in love with you and wants to travel to meet you? Are they asking for help in paying the costs to be with you?
This is a romance scam. These scams involve someone very quickly claiming to
be in love with you, but then asking for money for various reasons.
Click here to find out more.
Did you meet someone online that very quickly fell in love with you and now need money to pay the translation company they use?
This is a form of romance scam known as a "translation agency scam". These scams involve someone very quickly claiming to
be in love with you, but then asking for money for various reasons.
Click here to find out more.
Did you meet someone online that very quickly fell in love with you and now needs help after being robbed/injured abroad, possibly at the airport?
This is a romance scam. These scams involve someone very quickly claiming to
be in love with you, but then asking for money for various reasons.
Click here to find out more.
Did you meet someone claiming to be a soldier who either needs help smuggling out valuables he found, money to pay for a special phone to be able to talk to you or financial aid as he's struggling after not being paid yet?
This is called a "soldier scam" and scammers have been known to use stolen
photographs of dead soldiers they find online as part of the scam.
Click here to find out more.
Were you offered a job where you would cash a money order, send part of the money to the "company" and keep a share as payment?
This is a fake job scam. The money orders are faked or stolen, and the only
link anyone has are your details.
Click here to find out more.
Have you received an email from a "hitman" claiming that someone has paid them to kill you?
This is a hitman scam. There is no hitman, just a scammer who will offer
you the chance to pay them in order to not kill you.
Click here to find out more.
Have you received an email claiming that the person can get back any money you sent to a scammer?
This is a recovery scam, and will be the same scammer you already sent
money to if you sent money and a scammer sending his format to everyone
if you haven't.
Click here to find out more.
Have you received an email offering to sell you an animal, often a pedigree dog or cat?
This is called a "puppy scam", and there are no animals. You could ask them
if they can sell you a fictional animal and they'll claim they can.
Click here to find out more.
Have you received an email claiming to be a grandchild/work colleague and claiming they're trapped in a foreign country with no money?
This is called a "grandparent scam". Often, if the scammer is claiming to be a
grandchild, they'll ask that you not tell their parents. This is so they can't tell
you that the person is perfectly safe and it's a scam.
Click here to find out more.