Money · Sources

Everyday fraud literacy

Also called scam · fraud · imposter · job scam · task scam · AI voice · family emergency scam · deepfake CEO · CEO fraud · business email compromise · BEC · romance scam · pig butchering · gift card scam · wire fraud · phishing

Named sources. May contain inaccuracies or be incomplete. Not medical, legal, financial, or other professional advice.

When someone asks for money, account access or secrecy, make one independent check before acting: leave the incoming conversation and contact the real person or organization through a route you already trust. Fraud often borrows familiar names, believable voices or a small first payment. Understanding the requested action helps you protect yourself; if money or information has already gone, contact the relevant provider promptly.

Understand what the request is trying to do

Follow the request from the story to the action

A deceptive story can persuade someone to send money, surrender account access or reveal personal information. Understanding that sequence makes the request easier to examine. Impersonation borrows the name of a trusted person or organization; phishing is a message or website designed to obtain sensitive information. The FTC describes both because stopping a suspicious payment and securing a compromised account are different jobs. Ask what the contact wants you to do next. A bank logo or familiar name does not answer whether that action is legitimate.

How To Avoid a Scam How To Recognize and Avoid Phishing Scams

Give yourself a way to check outside the conversation

The FTC describes a recurring sequence: someone claims authority, introduces a problem or reward, pressures you and directs the payment. A fake security alert can therefore turn your wish to protect savings into a transfer to a criminal. Write down the claim, leave the conversation and contact the real organization using information you already trust. This interrupts the caller's control of your attention. It is an adaptation of official guidance, not a tested STUDlearn protocol or a promise of safety.

FTC Data Show People Reported Losing $3.5 Billion to Imposter Scams in 2025 What are the signs of a scam?

Protect your good intentions while examining the demand

Frank Stajano and Paul Wilson studied documented confidence tricks and described how kindness, social compliance and distraction can be exploited. Caring about a relative or wanting to do your job can be the opening, rather than greed or ignorance. Their framework is conceptual, not a diagnosis of your personality. A useful response is to describe the action neutrally: someone wants a secret transfer to a new recipient. That gives another person something concrete to help check.

Understanding scam victims: seven principles for systems security

Check four everyday situations

Verify the employer before funding a task or deposit

A remote-job text may offer easy daily pay for rating products or completing 'optimization' tasks. The FTC describes fake platforms that show growing commissions, sometimes pay a small amount, then demand your own deposit to unlock tasks or withdraw earnings. The displayed balance is controlled by the scammer; an initial payout does not validate it. Confirm the opening through the employer's real careers site and contact details. Paying to unlock pay is the relevant warning, rather than the mere fact that a recruiter used a phone.

In an invented sequence, a supposed recruiter invites someone to rate products, sends a small payment and then says a deposit will release a larger balance. The recipient now has two different observations: a payment arrived, and a website displays further earnings. Neither establishes that the displayed balance is withdrawable or that the recruiter represents the named employer.

They check the employer's careers page independently rather than following the recruiter's link. Even if a real company with that name exists, the particular contact and demand still need verification. The request to pay in order to receive pay is the pattern to recognize; increasing the deposit to 'test' a withdrawal would put more money at risk. If money was already sent, provider contact and the recovery routes below matter promptly. The example shows why an early apparently reassuring event does not validate the later demand.

How to spot and avoid task scams That job offer text is probably a scam

Check a familiar-sounding emergency through a known number

A caller may sound like your relative and say an arrest or hospital bill requires money immediately. The FTC explains that a short audio sample can support voice cloning, and scammers can combine it with names found online or simple guesses. End the incoming contact and call the relative on a number already in your contacts. If unavailable, reach another trusted family member and verify any claimed institution independently. If someone is in immediate physical danger, use local emergency services; an unverified payment demand is not emergency verification.

Scammers Use Fake Emergencies To Steal Your Money Preventing the Harms of AI-enabled Voice Cloning

Confirm the recipient before approving a workplace payment

Business email compromise, or BEC, is a deceptive request that appears to come from a familiar business source. The FBI describes copied addresses, stolen access to real email threads and requests to redirect an invoice or property payment. Even a genuine-looking conversation can contain a substituted account number. IC3 recorded about $3.05 billion in 2025 BEC losses; that reported total shows the stakes, not your personal odds. Call the vendor or colleague using the existing directory or vendor record and confirm the amount, recipient and change. At work, follow the normal approval process rather than allowing urgency or an executive's apparent authority to replace it.

Business Email Compromise 2025 Internet Crime Report

Get support when an online attachment turns into a money demand

Romance fraud uses a manufactured relationship to obtain money, sometimes through a supposed emergency and sometimes a fake investment. The FTC's guidance concerns that exploitation, not how to date. Conversation over weeks, personal photographs and a convincing video can all serve the invented identity. Pause payments, keep relevant messages and speak with someone trustworthy. An image search can reveal copied pictures, but finding no match cannot certify the person. For a relative who is entangled, offer help checking the request rather than making their intelligence the issue.

What To Know About Romance Scams Perry Carpenter KB4-CON 2026 Q&A: Deepfakes & Deception Cassandra Cross — professional role and public contribution

Read the evidence with its limits

Take impersonation seriously without turning totals into your odds

The FTC's June 2026 release identifies imposter scams as its most reported fraud category in 2025, with approximately $3.5 billion in reported losses and nearly one in three fraud reports. That establishes a costly reported pattern, not the probability that your next caller is fraudulent. Complaint databases omit unreported events and depend on what people identify and submit. The practical meaning is to check a claimed bank or agency independently, particularly a story about moving money to protect it.

FTC Data Show People Reported Losing $3.5 Billion to Imposter Scams in 2025

Use employment-loss figures to understand the stakes

The FBI's 2025 report records 24,688 employment complaints and about $363 million in reported losses. The category covers more than one script; it does not measure how many legitimate jobs are advertised online. FTC guidance supplies the actionable distinctions: paying for a promised job, forwarding money from a supposed employer's check and reshipping goods under deceptive instructions. For federal jobs, use USAJobs.gov and the official postal-service employment route. Treat a professional-looking listing as a starting point for verification.

2025 Internet Crime Report Job Scams

Separate AI involvement from proof that AI caused every loss

The FBI's April 2026 summary reports 22,364 AI-related complaints and nearly $893 million in 2025 losses. It describes fabricated profiles, documents, voices and videos used alongside pressure. An AI descriptor is a reported feature, not a separate crime category or a detector evaluation. Its presence can overlap a romance or investment complaint, so adding descriptor totals to crime-category totals double counts. For a high-stakes request, independently authenticate the requested action rather than estimating whether the content looks synthetic.

Cryptocurrency and AI Scams Bilk Americans of Billions

Keep different agencies' romance numbers separate

IC3 lists roughly $929 million in confidence/romance losses in 2025. Separately, the FTC reports that nearly 60 percent of people reporting romance losses said the contact began on social media. Those are different databases and measures; neither describes everyone targeted or everyone who lost money. A person may feel safe because a profile has friends or a group has encouraging testimonials. The FTC explains that profiles and apparent investment communities can be manufactured. Social familiarity still leaves the recipient and payment unverified.

2025 Internet Crime Report New FTC Data Show People Have Lost Billions to Social Media Scams

Learn the kind of scam rather than assigning one victim profile

Marti DeLiema, Yiting Li and Gary Mottola analyzed a retrospective survey of people who had reported scams to the Better Business Bureau. Factors associated with answering an offer differed from those associated with losing money, and relationships varied across scam types. This was a self-selected U.S./Canadian sample with a low response rate, not a representative causal trial. Its useful lesson is specificity: a person may recognize a fake prize yet be surprised by a convincing emergency or investment story. Tailor practice to the requests they actually receive.

Correlates of responding to and becoming victimized by fraud: Examining risk factors by scam type

Practise a check that has a measurable purpose

Kumaraguru, Cranor and colleagues' 2009 School of Phish study involved 515 Carnegie Mellon faculty, staff and students. Training arrived after a simulated phishing click; knowledge was retained for at least 28 days, and reinforcement reduced information disclosure in later simulated attacks. That is useful evidence that a specific skill can improve. It does not show permanent protection, prevented financial loss or transfer to family-emergency calls. A practice callback or account check should rehearse the real action you want available under pressure.

School of Phish: A Real-World Evaluation of Anti-Phishing Training

Check identity, payment and account access

Use contact details you obtained before the request

Out-of-band verification means checking through a channel independent of the suspect message. The FBI's BEC guidance recommends finding the number yourself rather than trusting details in the payment request. For example, call the vendor number already in the accounts file, not the new 'accounts team' number attached to the invoice. A second email that simply replies inside the same compromised thread is not independent. Confirm the payment details as well as the person's name; a copied signature does not authenticate a destination.

Business Email Compromise

Keep gift-card codes for their intended use

The FTC identifies a demand for gift-card numbers and PINs to pay a fine, tax, emergency bill or prize fee as a scam pattern. The codes let someone spend the value without holding the physical card. If already shared, contact the issuer promptly and retain the card and receipt. Ordinary wires and payment apps have legitimate uses, so their names alone cannot decide a different request. With those transfers, examine who contacted you, how the recipient was verified and why speed or secrecy is being imposed.

Avoiding and Reporting Gift Card Scams What are the signs of a scam?

Open your account independently before sharing information

Phishing can be an account-takeover attempt even when no money is requested yet. A message may claim a billing or security problem and lead to a page that collects your login details. The FTC advises contacting the organization independently and using multiple layers such as updates and multi-factor authentication. Open the service through its known app or address rather than the urgent message's link. A request for a login or verification code needs its own check; convincing branding does not make disclosure safe.

How To Recognize and Avoid Phishing Scams

Keep the check usable under pressure

Agree on a family callback before an emergency story arrives

Make a simple household agreement: a request for money or account access gets a callback to the saved number, even if the voice sounds familiar. The FTC recommends a private question as a fallback if hanging up feels difficult, but a fact already posted online is weak confirmation. A family phrase can help as an agreed practice; it has not been established here as a tested security system. Preserve the independent callback and another trusted contact as the actual checking routes.

Scammers Use Fake Emergencies To Steal Your Money

Put payment confirmation into the normal work process

A standing vendor record, an independently checked account change and the required second approver spread responsibility beyond one rushed employee. The FBI explains how compromised email can give a criminal enough real billing detail to make an invented request fit the moment. Discuss a clear process with whoever owns payments, including how to pause a change and report a suspected compromise. Follow existing thresholds and responsibilities. This is practical implementation of verification guidance, not proof that two approvals defeat every attacker.

Business Email Compromise

Save the details that make a report usable

Keep the original message, profile or company name, dates, payment amount, destination and transaction reference where it is safe to do so. The FBI asks for these details because they help connect an account of events to transfers and other complaints. Keep gift cards and receipts if applicable, rather than only describing the loss from memory. Preserve material privately for the bank or official intake; publishing unredacted records can expose more personal information. Contact the provider promptly even while you assemble the record.

Cryptocurrency and AI Scams Bilk Americans of Billions What To Do if You Were Scammed

Limit the public information a caller can borrow

The FTC's social-media guidance recommends limiting visibility of posts and contacts. Public family details, workplace information and audio can help someone tailor a believable request; voice-cloning guidance specifically describes online audio samples. Restricting access reduces material available to an opportunistic impersonator, but it cannot erase copies or stop guessing. Keep the callback procedure even after changing privacy settings. Privacy controls and request verification do different jobs, so one should not replace the other.

New FTC Data Show People Have Lost Billions to Social Media Scams Preventing the Harms of AI-enabled Voice Cloning

Make reporting and support ordinary after a suspicious contact

You can report a suspected scam without proving that it succeeded. FTC reporting gathers consumer patterns; IC3 receives internet-crime complaints; IdentityTheft.gov helps plan recovery when identity information is misused. AARP's free Fraud Watch Network Helpline is 877-908-3360 and offers support rather than criminal investigation. Choosing the route that fits the harm is more useful than treating one form as a universal solution. A report or support call is not a promise of restitution, and embarrassment is not evidence that you caused the crime.

How To Avoid a Scam FBI Warns of Scammers Impersonating the IC3 What To Do if You Were Scammed About AARP Fraud Watch Network

Understand where protection is still uncertain

Compare age findings with the population actually studied

IC3's 2025 report records about $7.7 billion in losses among complainants aged 60 and older. Burnes and colleagues' older review pooled 12 population studies and estimated annual fraud/scam experience of 5.4 percent among mostly cognitively intact older adults living in the community. Dollar losses in complaints and survey prevalence answer different questions. The review's older data, heterogeneous questions and exclusions limit comparison with today's younger adults. Neither result supports treating age as a verdict on judgment or using one age-based warning for every scheme.

2025 Internet Crime Report Prevalence of Financial Fraud and Scams Among Older Adults in the United States: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Assess training by the outcome it improves

Specific phishing education has evidence of benefit; the size and duration of benefit depend on the training and the outcome tested. School of Phish measured disclosure in simulated university email attacks over weeks. It did not test romance attachment, an urgent voice call or whether a bank customer recovered money. Vendor click-rate scores likewise describe the tested setting. The open question is how much an intervention generalizes to other situations and lasting financial protection, not whether learning is pointless. Keep process controls alongside repeated, relevant practice.

School of Phish: A Real-World Evaluation of Anti-Phishing Training Perry Carpenter KB4-CON 2026 Q&A: Deepfakes & Deception

Describe who initiated the transfer when asking for help

A deceived customer pressing send and a criminal transferring money after stealing access are materially different facts. The CFPB's Regulation E interpretation includes a transfer initiated by someone who obtained an access device through fraud in its unauthorized-transfer discussion. That prevents the blanket conclusion that sharing information with a scammer always eliminates protection. It also does not promise reimbursement for every customer-initiated payment. Tell the institution exactly who did what, request an investigation and ask about the applicable dispute process; individual rights require fact-specific advice.

Comment for 1005.2 Definitions What To Do if You Were Scammed

Use verification alongside the evolving detection tools

A detector attempts to classify whether audio or video is synthetic; authentication asks whether the person and requested action are legitimate. Those are different questions. Perry Carpenter's 2026 interview argues for slowing down and checking because short convincing fakes can be sufficient and detection changes as generation improves. This is commercial expert commentary, not a head-to-head accuracy study. The FCC's ruling places AI voices within existing covered-call consent rules, with exceptions; it does not provide a home identity test. Keep an independent check regardless of a tool's verdict.

Perry Carpenter KB4-CON 2026 Q&A: Deepfakes & Deception FCC 24-17: Declaratory Ruling on AI-generated voices

Understand why convincing stories work

Separate an available check balance from a settled payment

A fake-check sender may overpay for an item or supply 'equipment money' for a new job, then ask you to pay someone else. The FTC explains that the bank can make funds available before discovering that the check is invalid. If the deposit is reversed after your outgoing transfer, you can owe the bank while the scammer keeps the money. A visible balance is therefore not verification. Describe the forwarding request to your bank before acting; no fixed waiting period in this article certifies a suspicious check.

How To Spot, Avoid, and Report Fake Check Scams

Recognize attachment without making it a reason to blame

Cassandra Cross analyzed narratives in 1,015 Australian romance-loss reports from 2018–2019. Recognition triggers included further money requests, communication details, verification, an offender's actions and information from another person. Her paper also describes Whitty's model of relationship-building before requests; stages and timeframes differ. The research helps explain why support can involve checking concrete details rather than blaming intelligence. It does not prove that one confrontation ends attachment or that its reporting sample represents everyone targeted. Pause the next payment, preserve evidence and connect with qualified help.

“I knew it was a scam”: Understanding the triggers for recognizing romance fraud What To Know About Romance Scams

Use the persuasion principles as a vocabulary for checking

Stajano and Wilson describe distraction, social compliance, herd influence, dishonesty, deception, need/greed and kindness. These names identify how a story directs attention: an apparent boss invokes authority; a fake investment group invokes everyone else's apparent success; an emergency invokes care. Naming the mechanism can make it easier to describe the request to a trusted person. The framework came from analysis of documented cons, not an experiment proving that labeling prevents losses. Use it to create space for verification, rather than to label a victim.

Understanding scam victims: seven principles for systems security

Understand why a poor pitch can still make business sense

Cormac Herley's 2012 attacker-economics analysis models the cost of following up with recipients who will never pay. An implausible advance-fee story can screen many people out immediately and leave a smaller set likely to continue, reducing wasted effort for the attacker. The model does not show where today's scammers live or that all fraud targets are gullible. Modern impersonation can be polished. Both a clumsy message and a highly professional one can be designed to induce action; writing quality is not an authentication method.

Why Do Nigerian Scammers Say They are From Nigeria?

Respond when money or information has already gone

Ask the payment provider for help immediately

Use the official app, a statement or the number on your card to contact the bank, payment app, wire service, gift-card issuer or cryptocurrency operator used. Explain the deception and ask whether the transaction can be stopped, reversed or refunded. The FTC distinguishes these routes because the provider and legal protections differ. Cryptocurrency can be particularly difficult to recover, but a difficulty is not a reason to skip contact. Keep the transaction details and report through official channels; no recovery outcome is promised here.

What To Do if You Were Scammed

Give identity misuse its own recovery plan

An identity thief may use personal information to open credit or access an existing account. IdentityTheft.gov supplies a tailored U.S. recovery plan; contact affected institutions and address exposed credentials as appropriate. A credit freeze is free at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion and restricts access used for most new-credit checks. A fraud alert instead directs lenders to verify identity. Neither recalls a wire nor secures an existing account on its own. Continue reviewing statements and addressing compromised accounts even after arranging new-credit protection.

Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts What To Do if You Were Scammed

Verify the new helper as carefully as the original request

After a loss, a stranger may know your name, amount or payment history because victim information circulates. The FTC describes promised refunds that require fees or account details; the FBI's July 2026 IC3 warning includes impersonated officials, fake complaint sites and AI-generated video. Use official reporting addresses you find independently. FBI and IC3 do not charge a recovery fee. This does not mean every independently hired legitimate lawyer or professional works for free; the issue is an unsolicited, unverified recovery promise and its new demand.

Refund and Recovery Scams FBI Warns of Scammers Impersonating the IC3

Check the claims people repeat

Check agencies independently even when impersonation is common

Claim: 'Imposter scams lead recent FTC fraud reports.' Established for the 2025 report category and period. It describes submitted reports rather than all crime or a probability for any particular message. Use the fact to take verification seriously, rather than assuming every unfamiliar agency contact is fraudulent.

FTC Data Show People Reported Losing $3.5 Billion to Imposter Scams in 2025

Recognize a gift-card-code demand for a fine or prize

Claim: 'An unexpected caller demanding gift-card codes for a fine or prize is showing a recognized scam pattern.' Established in FTC guidance. A bank wire's legitimate everyday uses do not validate a separate unverified demand. Check the purpose, recipient and independent contact route.

Avoiding and Reporting Gift Card Scams

Examine the request without judging the victim's worth

Claim: 'Only greedy or careless people get scammed.' Not supported. Documented cons exploit kindness and social obligations, and scam-type research does not identify a single universal victim profile. Your confidence, qualifications or embarrassment cannot authenticate a request.

Understanding scam victims: seven principles for systems security Correlates of responding to and becoming victimized by fraud: Examining risk factors by scam type

Check a familiar voice before relying on the emergency story

Claim: 'If it sounds like my relative, the emergency is real.' Not supported. Official FTC voice-cloning discussion explains why speech can resemble another person. A real-sounding voice is evidence of resemblance, not independent confirmation of identity or the destination for money.

Preventing the Harms of AI-enabled Voice Cloning

Treat the course as practice and the guarantee as unsupported

Claim: 'One awareness course will keep me from being scammed.' Not supported as a guarantee. A specific phishing intervention showed retained learning and improved simulated performance. How well different training generalizes remains uncertain; uncertainty about benefit does not make lifetime immunity a plausible finding.

School of Phish: A Real-World Evaluation of Anti-Phishing Training

Confirm a workplace change even when the display name matches

Claim: 'If the display name matches my boss, the wire is safe.' Popular talk, not evidence. The FBI describes both spoofing and compromise of real accounts. Confirm the payment details on an established independent channel rather than treating matching appearance as approval.

Business Email Compromise

Use the protective habit with realistic expectations

Claim: 'Following these tips means I will never be scammed.' Not supported. Official guidance provides useful protective actions, while evolving impersonation and varied payment outcomes remain. A better verification process improves the decision you can make; it cannot certify every future contact or guarantee repayment.

What are the signs of a scam?Preventing the Harms of AI-enabled Voice Cloning

010

Make one independent check

Pause and verify the next high-stakes request

For the next unexpected request for money, a code or sensitive information, write the claimed person or organization and the requested action in one sentence. Leave the incoming conversation and use an established number or official channel to confirm it. Tell a trusted person if pressure or secrecy is making the decision difficult. This practical sequence adapts FTC guidance; it is not a validated screening test. If physical danger is immediate, contact local emergency services first.

What are the signs of a scam?Scammers Use Fake Emergencies To Steal Your Money

Try the callback with a family or workplace example

Choose one past urgent message and identify a contact route you had before it arrived. Practise explaining what you would confirm: the person's identity, the actual need, the amount and the recipient. If the first contact is unreachable, identify another trusted person or official institution. A private question can be a fallback, not a substitute for the independent route. This rehearsal prepares an action; it does not prove the original message was fraudulent.

Scammers Use Fake Emergencies To Steal Your Money Business Email Compromise

Try verifying an offer before accepting its payment story

Take a job offer and search the company and recruiter alongside 'scam' or 'complaint'; then check the opening through the employer's real site. No complaint history is not proof of legitimacy. Explain any deposit, forwarding instruction or task-unlock fee to a trusted person before acting. FTC job guidance makes those payment patterns central. At work, apply the same principle to a changed invoice: a familiar voice or video still needs the ordinary payment confirmation.

Job Scams How to spot and avoid task scams Business Email Compromise

011

Use the right kind of support

Choose safety when checking could increase danger

If someone is in immediate physical danger, call local emergency services first. If a person close to you controls money, access to work or accounts, that may be financial abuse rather than a stranger scam. The National Domestic Violence Hotline advises considering monitored devices and personal safety when seeking support. Use a safer device and an advocate if checking or documenting finances could increase danger. A fraud checklist cannot decide the safest response in an abusive situation.

What is Financial Abuse?

Use this reading companion within its boundaries

This is a reading companion, not legal, financial, tax, or law-enforcement advice, and not a promise that you will never be scammed. Named sources. Honest paraphrase of the finding. Not medical, legal, or financial advice. Agency routes here are U.S.-centered; use your country's regulators and police elsewhere. Romance-scam material explains fraud and provides no dating guide. For bills and accounts after a loss, see STUDmoney. Learn Personal finance covers household credit tools; Information covers circulating claims; Career covers work.

What To Do if You Were Scammed Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts Business Email Compromise

References for this topic

Sources and context

How To Avoid a Scam ↗
id
scams--ftc-signs — How To Avoid a Scam
kind
guideline
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Four recurring signs; independent contact; trusted-person conversation; FTC reporting.
limitations
U.S. educational guidance, not a validated diagnostic test or immunity guarantee.
original id
ftc-signs
How To Recognize and Avoid Phishing Scams ↗
id
scams--ftc-phishing — How To Recognize and Avoid Phishing Scams
kind
guideline
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Credential-stealing messages; independent contact, software updates and MFA.
limitations
Layers reduce particular attack opportunities; approval of a fraudulent payment remains a separate risk.
original id
ftc-phishing
FTC Data Show People Reported Losing $3.5 Billion to Imposter Scams in 2025 ↗
id
scams--ftc-imposter — FTC Data Show People Reported Losing $3.5 Billion to Imposter Scams in 2025
kind
official
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Imposters were most reported FTC fraud category; $3.5 billion losses; fake protect-your-money alerts.
limitations
Complaint totals, not population prevalence; do not combine with IC3 totals.
original id
ftc-imposter
What are the signs of a scam? ↗
id
scams--ftc-current-signs — What are the signs of a scam?
kind
guideline
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Unexpected money/information contact, haste and specified payment; checking independently.
limitations
A combination of request features matters; legitimate transfers also use these payment systems.
original id
ftc-current-signs
Understanding scam victims: seven principles for systems security ↗
id
scams--scam-principles — Understanding scam victims: seven principles for systems security
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Stajano/Wilson seven principles, ordinary motivation and attention exploited by cons.
limitations
Qualitative conceptual security analysis from documented cons/TV reconstructions; not an intervention trial.
original id
scam-principles
How to spot and avoid task scams ↗
id
scams--ftc-task — How to spot and avoid task scams
kind
guideline
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Fake platform earnings, small initial payouts and deposits required to unlock work or withdrawals.
limitations
Illustrative scheme description, not prevalence or an assessment of an individual platform.
original id
ftc-task
That job offer text is probably a scam ↗
id
scams--ftc-job-text — That job offer text is probably a scam
kind
official
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Current generic remote-assessor texts and pay-to-get-paid pattern.
limitations
The channel is context; the deceptive offer and payment demand are the substantive concerns.
original id
ftc-job-text
Scammers Use Fake Emergencies To Steal Your Money ↗
id
scams--ftc-emergency — Scammers Use Fake Emergencies To Steal Your Money
kind
guideline
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Cloned familiar voice, urgency/secrecy, known-number callback and independent trusted contact.
limitations
Does not evaluate the reliability of a family password or establish detector performance.
original id
ftc-emergency
Preventing the Harms of AI-enabled Voice Cloning ↗
id
scams--ftc-voice — Preventing the Harms of AI-enabled Voice Cloning
kind
official
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Voice synthesis can imitate identity; protection requires technology, company responsibility and policy.
limitations
2023 policy discussion; challenge proposals are not proven deployed defenses.
original id
ftc-voice
Business Email Compromise ↗
id
scams--fbi-bec — Business Email Compromise
kind
guideline
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Spoofed and compromised email, invoice changes, directory-based verification, MFA and immediate institution contact.
limitations
Operational guidance, not a trial of every workplace policy.
original id
fbi-bec
2025 Internet Crime Report ↗
id
scams--ic3-report — 2025 Internet Crime Report
kind
official
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Employment 24,688 complaints/$362,934,762; BEC 24,768/$3,046,598,558; confidence/romance $929,287,469; age and AI tables; Appendix C caveats.
limitations
Complaint-based snapshot; optional age, possible repeated filings, analyst classifications and overlapping descriptors. Relevant tables and methodological appendix inspected, not every case narrative.
original id
ic3-report
What To Know About Romance Scams ↗
id
scams--ftc-romance — What To Know About Romance Scams
kind
guideline
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
False relationship, invented expenses/investments, trusted-person conversation, image search and reporting.
limitations
Used only for fraud literacy; copied photos are a clue and finding no copied image does not establish someone's identity.
original id
ftc-romance
Perry Carpenter KB4-CON 2026 Q&A: Deepfakes & Deception ↗
id
scams--carpenter-interview — Perry Carpenter KB4-CON 2026 Q&A: Deepfakes & Deception
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
May 2026 interview: short convincing fakes, detection limits and slowing down.
limitations
Commercial security-awareness vendor interview; no independent detector accuracy or prevention trial.
original id
carpenter-interview
Cassandra Cross — professional role and public contribution ↗
id
scams--cross-profile — Cassandra Cross — professional role and public contribution
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Professor, QUT School of Justice; Associate Dean (Learning & Teaching). Public fraud teaching, guest lectures, listed victim-support and reporting work.
limitations
The 2023 study examines Australian reports qualitatively; its proposed educational changes are not demonstrated intervention effects.
original id
cross-profile
Job Scams ↗
id
scams--ftc-jobs — Job Scams
kind
guideline
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Fake-check, placement-fee, reshipping and remote-work schemes; complaint searches; official federal hiring routes.
limitations
Consumer guidance does not prove every recruiter message fraudulent; absence of complaints is not certification.
original id
ftc-jobs
Cryptocurrency and AI Scams Bilk Americans of Billions ↗
id
scams--fbi-ai — Cryptocurrency and AI Scams Bilk Americans of Billions
kind
official
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
2025 AI descriptor 22,364 complaints/nearly $893 million; clones and fake videos; details needed in reports.
limitations
AI descriptor depends on reported information; not an estimate of every AI-assisted crime.
original id
fbi-ai
New FTC Data Show People Have Lost Billions to Social Media Scams ↗
id
scams--ftc-social — New FTC Data Show People Have Lost Billions to Social Media Scams
kind
official
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
2025 social-origin losses $2.1 billion; nearly 60% of romance-loss reporters identified social media; profile privacy.
limitations
Self-reported contact channels; not a probability sample or a causal platform ranking.
original id
ftc-social
Correlates of responding to and becoming victimized by fraud: Examining risk factors by scam type ↗
id
scams--scam-type-study — Correlates of responding to and becoming victimized by fraud: Examining risk factors by scam type
kind
study
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
DeLiema/Li/Mottola retrospective BBB-reporter survey: response and money loss have different correlates across scam categories; methods/conclusion/limitations opened.
limitations
1,407 completed surveys, low response and self-selection, U.S./Canadian reporters; cross-sectional associations cannot establish cause or population rates.
original id
scam-type-study
School of Phish: A Real-World Evaluation of Anti-Phishing Training ↗
id
scams--phish-study — School of Phish: A Real-World Evaluation of Anti-Phishing Training
kind
study
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
515 CMU faculty/staff/students; embedded simulated-email training; retention to 28 days and benefit from reinforcement.
limitations
2009 university sample and simulated phishing outcomes; not lifetime protection or evidence about romance/AI emergencies.
original id
phish-study
Avoiding and Reporting Gift Card Scams ↗
id
scams--ftc-gift — Avoiding and Reporting Gift Card Scams
kind
guideline
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Gift-card-code demands for fees/bills; contact issuer and keep receipt.
limitations
Gift-card guidance does not classify every bank wire or app transaction.
original id
ftc-gift
What To Do if You Were Scammed ↗
id
scams--ftc-paid — What To Do if You Were Scammed
kind
guideline
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Immediate contact by payment type, request reversal, preserve gift-card receipt, IdentityTheft.gov and account/device response.
limitations
Recovery is not guaranteed; U.S. legal protections differ by payment and facts.
original id
ftc-paid
FBI Warns of Scammers Impersonating the IC3 ↗
id
scams--ic3-recovery — FBI Warns of Scammers Impersonating the IC3
kind
official
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
IC3 impersonation, fake sites and AI-generated officials; FBI/IC3 do not charge recovery fees.
limitations
Specific alert; genuine reporting does not guarantee funds recovered.
original id
ic3-recovery
About AARP Fraud Watch Network ↗
id
scams--aarp-help — About AARP Fraud Watch Network
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Official indexed result verifies free helpline 877-908-3360 and public support role.
limitations
The support service is documented in indexed text from AARP's official page. It is not law enforcement and does not guarantee repayment.
original id
aarp-help
Prevalence of Financial Fraud and Scams Among Older Adults in the United States: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis ↗
id
scams--burnes-review — Prevalence of Financial Fraud and Scams Among Older Adults in the United States: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
kind
review
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
12 studies/41,711 adults; annual pooled estimate 5.4%; wording changes estimates.
limitations
The review used the manuscript text available through the search index. Participants were mostly cognitively intact older adults living in the community; the older data, varied methods and moderate-to-high risk of bias limit interpretation.
original id
burnes-review
Comment for 1005.2 Definitions ↗
id
scams--cfpb-eft — Comment for 1005.2 Definitions
kind
official
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Comment 2(m)-3 includes transfers initiated by someone obtaining an access device through fraud or robbery.
limitations
Official interpretation does not determine an individual's claim; transfer initiator, authority, payment rail and facts matter.
original id
cfpb-eft
FCC 24-17: Declaratory Ruling on AI-generated voices ↗
id
scams--fcc-ruling — FCC 24-17: Declaratory Ruling on AI-generated voices
kind
official
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Official indexed ruling text includes AI voices under TCPA artificial/prerecorded-voice restrictions, with exceptions.
limitations
The account relies on indexed text from the official introduction and ruling; the full PDF was unavailable for review. The consent classification does not authenticate identity or ban all uses of AI.
original id
fcc-ruling
How To Spot, Avoid, and Report Fake Check Scams ↗
id
scams--ftc-check — How To Spot, Avoid, and Report Fake Check Scams
kind
guideline
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Available funds precede detection of fake checks; forwarding payments exposes depositor to loss.
limitations
Cannot certify a particular deposit or supply a universally safe waiting interval.
original id
ftc-check
“I knew it was a scam”: Understanding the triggers for recognizing romance fraud ↗
id
scams--cross-recognition-study — “I knew it was a scam”: Understanding the triggers for recognizing romance fraud
kind
study
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Opened primary abstract, methods and contextual sections: qualitative narratives in 1,015 Australian Scamwatch romance-loss reports July 2018–July 2019; five recognition-trigger categories.
limitations
Selected reports from people recognizing/reporting losses, not everyone targeted; qualitative analysis and proposed messaging benefits do not prove prevention effectiveness.
original id
cross-recognition-study
Why Do Nigerian Scammers Say They are From Nigeria? ↗
id
scams--attacker-economics — Why Do Nigerian Scammers Say They are From Nigeria?
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Herley's 2012 attacker-economics model: implausible pitches can screen out unprofitable follow-up.
limitations
Model/abstract inspected; not contemporary crime geography or a general portrait of victims.
original id
attacker-economics
Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts ↗
id
scams--ftc-freeze — Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts
kind
guideline
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Free freezes at three bureaus; new-credit scope; alerts require extra identity checking.
limitations
Does not protect an existing bank account or reverse a transfer.
original id
ftc-freeze
Refund and Recovery Scams ↗
id
scams--ftc-recovery — Refund and Recovery Scams
kind
guideline
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Victim-list targeting, advance-fee refund stories and independent verification.
limitations
An unsolicited recovery scheme is different from independently hiring a legitimate professional.
original id
ftc-recovery
What is Financial Abuse? ↗
id
scams--hotline-safety — What is Financial Abuse?
kind
guideline
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Control of money/employment can be abuse; personalized advocacy and monitored-device caution.
limitations
Domestic-abuse guidance, distinct from stranger fraud; a generic scam checklist is insufficient.
original id
hotline-safety
New trends in reports of imposter scams ↗
id
scams--ftc-unit-conflict — New trends in reports of imposter scams
kind
official
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
The page displays a $1.48 million romance total, while the earlier source record gives the unit as billion.
limitations
The unit discrepancy remains unresolved, so this figure is not used to support the article's account of romance losses.
original id
ftc-unit-conflict
Meet AARP Fraud Experts Fighting to Protect You ↗
id
scams--aarp-experts — Meet AARP Fraud Experts Fighting to Protect You
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Official search-indexed full role text verifies Kathy Stokes, Amy Nofziger and Doug Shadel; public education and victim support.
limitations
The roles are documented in indexed text from AARP's official page. Professional titles are not evidence that a particular intervention works.
original id
aarp-experts
AARP fraud-expert AMA in r/Scams ↗
id
scams--community-questions — AARP fraud-expert AMA in r/Scams
kind
question_signal
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Opened questions about practical verification, AI impersonation, helping relatives and recovery; informs article emphasis.
limitations
Nonrepresentative comments; no credential or factual claim rests solely on this thread. Relative timestamps conflict with indexed date, so no event-date inference.
original id
community-questions
Kathy Stokes — professional role and public contribution ↗
id
scams--stokes-role — Kathy Stokes — professional role and public contribution
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Senior Director, Fraud Prevention Programs, AARP Fraud Watch Network; official indexed role text verified. Pause education, public testimony and community fraud questions.
limitations
Her role is documented in indexed text from AARP's official page. Education and advocacy are not evidence from a prevention trial.
original id
stokes-role
Amy Nofziger — professional role and public contribution ↗
id
scams--nofziger-role — Amy Nofziger — professional role and public contribution
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Senior Director of Victim Support, AARP Fraud Watch Network; Certified Fraud Examiner, per official indexed biography. Oversees the public free Fraud Watch Network Helpline and supplies media education.
limitations
Her role is documented in indexed text from the official biography. The helpline does not guarantee recovery.
original id
nofziger-role
Doug Shadel — professional role and public contribution ↗
id
scams--shadel-role — Doug Shadel — professional role and public contribution
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Former AARP Washington state director; 2023 FINRA Foundation Ketchum Prize recipient. FINRA recognition page links public fraud-fighting video and research recognition.
limitations
Historical investigator/research contribution; no claim of a current agency enforcement post.
original id
shadel-role
Marti DeLiema — professional role and public contribution ↗
id
scams--deliema-role — Marti DeLiema — professional role and public contribution
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota School of Social Work; PhD gerontology. Agency collaborations, public research-to-practice presentations and fraud measurement.
limitations
Retrospective/self-selected research cannot diagnose a household or prove causal protection.
original id
deliema-role
David Burnes — professional role and public contribution ↗
id
scams--burnes-role — David Burnes — professional role and public contribution
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Professor and Canada Research Chair in Older Adult Mistreatment Prevention, University of Toronto. Public-health research and advice to WHO, NIH and protective-services bodies.
limitations
Older-adult populations and definitions do not represent all ages or current AI schemes.
original id
burnes-role
Monica Whitty — professional role and public contribution ↗
id
scams--whitty-profile — Monica Whitty — professional role and public contribution
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Professor of Human Factors in Cyber Security and Head of Department, Monash University; PhD psychology. Official biography records media interviews, invited talks and fraud expert-witness work.
limitations
The 2013 original paper was unavailable for review. Its model is described through Cross's 2023 discussion and is not treated as universally applicable.
original id
whitty-profile
Mark Button — professional role and public contribution ↗
id
scams--button-role — Mark Button — professional role and public contribution
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Professor of Criminology; Director, Centre for Cybercrime and Economic Crime, University of Portsmouth. Counter-fraud research and public knowledge services; coauthored victim-centered book.
limitations
Crime measurement and practice research do not decide individual recovery rights.
original id
button-role
Lorrie Faith Cranor — professional role and public contribution ↗
id
scams--cranor-role — Lorrie Faith Cranor — professional role and public contribution
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
CyLab Director and Bosch Distinguished Professor; FORE Systems University Professor, Carnegie Mellon; former FTC Chief Technologist. Usable-security research, freely available academic teaching and policy service.
limitations
2009 training does not establish lifelong protection. Cofounded a commercial training firm later acquired by Proofpoint.
original id
cranor-role
Perry Carpenter — professional role and public contribution ↗
id
scams--carpenter-role — Perry Carpenter — professional role and public contribution
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Chief Deception Strategist, KnowBe4; official speaker biography. Books, podcasts and opened May 2026 deepfake interview.
limitations
Commercial vendor educator; commentary and simulated metrics are not independent effectiveness proof.
original id
carpenter-role
Eva Velasquez — professional role and public contribution ↗
id
scams--velasquez-role — Eva Velasquez — professional role and public contribution
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
CEO, Identity Theft Resource Center; prior 21 years at San Diego District Attorney's Office. Public identity-crime education, agency briefings and victim-support leadership.
limitations
Organization's support is not counsel, criminal adjudication or guaranteed compensation.
original id
velasquez-role
Gary R. Mottola — professional role and public contribution ↗
id
scams--mottola-role — Gary R. Mottola — professional role and public contribution
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Research Director, FINRA Investor Education Foundation; PhD social psychologist, verified in opened research biography and current FINRA notice. FINRA Unscripted research explanation and national financial-capability reporting.
limitations
Investor education research is not a financial-product recommendation or causal victim-risk score.
original id
mottola-role
Frank Stajano — professional role and public contribution ↗
id
scams--stajano-role — Frank Stajano — professional role and public contribution
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Professor of Security and Privacy, University of Cambridge; academic page and official indexed faculty role. Public lectures and openly available security papers.
limitations
Conceptual cons analysis, not a prevention trial; academic and consultancy roles are distinct.
original id
stajano-role
Cormac Herley — professional role and public contribution ↗
id
scams--herley-role — Cormac Herley — professional role and public contribution
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Named security-research author of the Microsoft Research WEIS 2012 publication. Publicly accessible attacker-economics explanation.
limitations
Historical verified contribution; current job title not inferred, and model is not crime geography.
original id
herley-role
John Breyault — professional role and public contribution ↗
id
scams--breyault-role — John Breyault — professional role and public contribution
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
National Consumers League Vice President of Public Policy, Telecommunications, and Fraud; Fraud.org director. Fraud alerts, legislative testimony and media consumer education.
limitations
Advocacy cannot determine a bank's legal duty in a specific transaction.
original id
breyault-role
Mona Terry — professional role and public contribution ↗
id
scams--terry-role — Mona Terry — professional role and public contribution
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Chief Operating & Programs Officer, Identity Theft Resource Center. Leads victim-service approaches, recovery plans and public education programs.
limitations
Service expertise is not law-enforcement power or a measured universal intervention effect.
original id
terry-role
Ponnurangam Kumaraguru — professional role and public contribution ↗
id
scams--kumaraguru-role — Ponnurangam Kumaraguru — professional role and public contribution
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Named Carnegie Mellon researcher/coauthor in the official 2009 School of Phish proceedings. Open empirical anti-phishing teaching and usable-security research.
limitations
Historical paper affiliation only; no current appointment inferred and no transfer to all fraud assumed.
original id
kumaraguru-role

Professional perspectives

Kathy Stokes
Senior Director, Fraud Prevention Programs, AARP Fraud Watch Network; official indexed role text verified.
Public usefulness
Pause education, public testimony and community fraud questions.
Contribution
Normalizes a pause, independent check and non-blaming discussion.
Scope and limits
Her role is documented in indexed text from AARP's official page. Education and advocacy are not evidence from a prevention trial.
Reviewed
2026-10-01
Amy Nofziger
Senior Director of Victim Support, AARP Fraud Watch Network; Certified Fraud Examiner, per official indexed biography.
Public usefulness
Oversees the public free Fraud Watch Network Helpline and supplies media education.
Contribution
Provides support after a loss through a service separate from criminal reporting.
Scope and limits
Her role is documented in indexed text from the official biography. The helpline does not guarantee recovery.
Reviewed
2026-10-01
Doug Shadel
Former AARP Washington state director; 2023 FINRA Foundation Ketchum Prize recipient.
Public usefulness
FINRA recognition page links public fraud-fighting video and research recognition.
Contribution
Investment-fraud research adds specificity to persuasion and victim profiles.
Scope and limits
Historical investigator/research contribution; no claim of a current agency enforcement post.
Reviewed
2026-10-01
Marti DeLiema
Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota School of Social Work; PhD gerontology.
Public usefulness
Agency collaborations, public research-to-practice presentations and fraud measurement.
Contribution
Distinguishes the factors associated with answering a scam from those associated with losing money, across different scam types.
Scope and limits
Retrospective/self-selected research cannot diagnose a household or prove causal protection.
Reviewed
2026-10-01
David Burnes
Professor and Canada Research Chair in Older Adult Mistreatment Prevention, University of Toronto.
Public usefulness
Public-health research and advice to WHO, NIH and protective-services bodies.
Contribution
Explains pooled older-adult prevalence and why measurement matters.
Scope and limits
Older-adult populations and definitions do not represent all ages or current AI schemes.
Reviewed
2026-10-01
Cassandra Cross
Professor, QUT School of Justice; Associate Dean (Learning & Teaching).
Public usefulness
Public fraud teaching, guest lectures, listed victim-support and reporting work.
Contribution
Explains why recognizing a crime may not immediately end emotional attachment, and why support should avoid blame.
Scope and limits
The 2023 study examines Australian reports qualitatively; its proposed educational changes are not demonstrated intervention effects.
Reviewed
2026-10-01
Monica Whitty
Professor of Human Factors in Cyber Security and Head of Department, Monash University; PhD psychology.
Public usefulness
Official biography records media interviews, invited talks and fraud expert-witness work.
Contribution
Explains psychological development of fraud attachment before money demands.
Scope and limits
The 2013 original paper was unavailable for review. Its model is described through Cross's 2023 discussion and is not treated as universally applicable.
Reviewed
2026-10-01
Mark Button
Professor of Criminology; Director, Centre for Cybercrime and Economic Crime, University of Portsmouth.
Public usefulness
Counter-fraud research and public knowledge services; coauthored victim-centered book.
Contribution
Frames fraud as economic crime with institutional response and support needs.
Scope and limits
Crime measurement and practice research do not decide individual recovery rights.
Reviewed
2026-10-01
Lorrie Faith Cranor
CyLab Director and Bosch Distinguished Professor; FORE Systems University Professor, Carnegie Mellon; former FTC Chief Technologist.
Public usefulness
Usable-security research, freely available academic teaching and policy service.
Contribution
Coauthored empirical phishing-training work with clear tested outcomes.
Scope and limits
2009 training does not establish lifelong protection. Cofounded a commercial training firm later acquired by Proofpoint.
Reviewed
2026-10-01
Perry Carpenter
Chief Deception Strategist, KnowBe4; official speaker biography.
Public usefulness
Books, podcasts and opened May 2026 deepfake interview.
Contribution
Explains why even a short, convincing impersonation calls for independent verification.
Scope and limits
Commercial vendor educator; commentary and simulated metrics are not independent effectiveness proof.
Reviewed
2026-10-01
Eva Velasquez
CEO, Identity Theft Resource Center; prior 21 years at San Diego District Attorney's Office.
Public usefulness
Public identity-crime education, agency briefings and victim-support leadership.
Contribution
Recovering from misuse of personal information involves different steps from requesting a payment reversal.
Scope and limits
Organization's support is not counsel, criminal adjudication or guaranteed compensation.
Reviewed
2026-10-01
Gary R. Mottola
Research Director, FINRA Investor Education Foundation; PhD social psychologist, verified in opened research biography and current FINRA notice.
Public usefulness
FINRA Unscripted research explanation and national financial-capability reporting.
Contribution
Coauthored scam-type study and explains financial-risk measurement.
Scope and limits
Investor education research is not a financial-product recommendation or causal victim-risk score.
Reviewed
2026-10-01
Frank Stajano
Professor of Security and Privacy, University of Cambridge; academic page and official indexed faculty role.
Public usefulness
Public lectures and openly available security papers.
Contribution
Seven-principle analysis of how ordinary motives can be exploited.
Scope and limits
Conceptual cons analysis, not a prevention trial; academic and consultancy roles are distinct.
Reviewed
2026-10-01
Cormac Herley
Named security-research author of the Microsoft Research WEIS 2012 publication.
Public usefulness
Publicly accessible attacker-economics explanation.
Contribution
Explains why implausible advance-fee pitches can filter follow-up targets.
Scope and limits
Historical verified contribution; current job title not inferred, and model is not crime geography.
Reviewed
2026-10-01
John Breyault
National Consumers League Vice President of Public Policy, Telecommunications, and Fraud; Fraud.org director.
Public usefulness
Fraud alerts, legislative testimony and media consumer education.
Contribution
Payment-system protection and reporting-gap advocacy.
Scope and limits
Advocacy cannot determine a bank's legal duty in a specific transaction.
Reviewed
2026-10-01
Mona Terry
Chief Operating & Programs Officer, Identity Theft Resource Center.
Public usefulness
Leads victim-service approaches, recovery plans and public education programs.
Contribution
Explains practical recovery steps and how they differ from unverified promises of reimbursement.
Scope and limits
Service expertise is not law-enforcement power or a measured universal intervention effect.
Reviewed
2026-10-01
Ponnurangam Kumaraguru
Named Carnegie Mellon researcher/coauthor in the official 2009 School of Phish proceedings.
Public usefulness
Open empirical anti-phishing teaching and usable-security research.
Contribution
Shows what embedded training, reinforcement and 28-day follow-up actually tested.
Scope and limits
Historical paper affiliation only; no current appointment inferred and no transfer to all fraud assumed.
Reviewed
2026-10-01

Keep this topic in view

Preserved original record

The earlier public profile is preserved separately from the current article. It may contain superseded wording and is not newly checked material.

Read the full original profile

slug

scams

name

Everyday fraud literacy

browse Line

Pause a money or identity request and check it on a known channel.

photo

/learn/assets/topics/scams.jpg

photo Alt

An adult at a kitchen table comparing a phone message with a paper statement

aliases

scam
fraud
imposter
job scam
task scam
AI voice
family emergency scam
deepfake CEO
CEO fraud
business email compromise
BEC
romance scam
pig butchering
gift card scam
wire fraud
phishing

family

money

heat

mid

talk

Sources

most Discussed

true

first Line

A scam uses deception to get money, account access or personal information. This topic explains common pressure tactics, independent checks and what to do after a suspected loss.

why Line

A scam uses deception to get money, account access or personal information. This topic explains common pressure tactics, independent checks and what to do after a suspected loss.

feel Words

job
hiring
remote
task
recruiter
work from home
paycheck
WhatsApp

common Picture

lead
Check a job or task offer before you pay or deposit
why
A text can name a well-known company, a remote title, and daily pay while the real request is your money or your identity. A task scam is fake work that starts with small ratings or errands and later asks you to deposit your own funds. The Federal Trade Commission’s April 2026 alert describes recruiters who ask you to reply YES, then use a fake check or a paid-task story. FBI IC3 counted 24,688 employment-scam complaints in 2025 with about $363 million in reported losses. Search the company and the recruiter with the word scam, talk with someone you trust, and do not pay to get hired or send money from a deposited check. This is a checking habit, not a claim that every listing is fake.
lead
Verify a family-emergency call on a number you already trust
why
A family-emergency scam asks you to act before checking whether the emergency is real. The FTC explains that voice-cloning tools can generate speech resembling someone you know from an audio sample, so a familiar voice does not establish identity. End the incoming contact and call the person on a number you already know, or reach another trusted relative independently. Urgency, secrecy and insistence on gift-card codes, cryptocurrency or a wire to an unfamiliar recipient are warning signs. Verify any claimed hospital, court or police request through its independently found official channel before paying.
lead
Confirm a payment request through a known work channel
why
An email, text, or video can look like a boss asking for a quiet, urgent transfer to a new account. Business email compromise, often called CEO fraud, is a payment request that borrows an executive’s name, mailbox, or now a cloned voice or deepfake video. FBI IC3 recorded about $3.05 billion in reported BEC losses in 2025 and, for the first time, counted AI-related complaints that included voice clones and believable videos. CISA’s BEC guidance is to confirm a change in payment instructions on a phone number from a known contact list, not from the message itself. Perry Carpenter’s 2026 KnowBe4 teaching is to slow down and ask a critical question rather than rely on a detector. A familiar face on a call is a reason to verify, not a reason to skip the process.
lead
Treat a money request from an online romance as fraud
why
Someone can spend weeks messaging warmth, then ask for a ticket, a medical bill, a crypto “investment,” or a gift-card PIN. A romance scam is fraud that uses a false intimate relationship to get money. The FTC’s romance-scam article treats the money request as the crime and tells people to talk with someone they trust. In 2025 people reported about $1.48 billion in romance-scam losses to the FTC, and nearly 60 percent of those who lost money said it started on social media. Cassandra Cross’s research names the request as a crime and warns against blaming the person who was targeted. Stop the payment, keep the messages, and report at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

situation Quick Answers

- label
  Check the offer
  value
  Search the company and recruiter with “scam,” and discuss it with someone you trust.
- label
  Money request
  value
  Do not pay to get hired or send money from a deposited check.
- label
  Verify independently
  value
  Hang up and call the family member on a number you already have.
- label
  Bring in support
  value
  Tell another trusted person even if the caller demanded secrecy; a familiar-sounding voice is not enough.
- label
  Before a changed payment
  value
  Confirm the instructions using a phone number from your known contact list, not the incoming message.
- label
  For email, voice, or video
  value
  Use the same independent check even when the request appears to come from a familiar boss.
- label
  When money is requested
  value
  Stop the payment, keep the messages, and talk with someone you trust.
- label
  Report
  value
  Use ReportFraud.ftc.gov. The person targeted is not to blame for the fraud.

picture Lead

Check a job or task offer before you pay or deposit

watch For

This is a reading companion, not legal, financial, tax, or law-enforcement advice, and not a promise that you will never be scammed. Named agencies and complaint routes are U.S.-centered; use the regulator and police in your country. If someone is in immediate physical danger, call local emergency services first. Money withheld or controlled by a partner can be financial abuse; use a safer device and an advocate if checking accounts could increase danger. Romance-scam copy here is fraud literacy, not a dating guide; dating remains a closed STUDlearn topic. IdentityTheft.gov is the U.S. recovery planner when personal information was misused. AARP’s Fraud Watch Network Helpline (877-908-3360) is a free support line, not a criminal investigation.

what People Say

Pause when someone pretends to be an organization you already know. Impersonation means using a real agency, bank, company, or family name to borrow trust you already have. The FTC’s four-sign guide lists pretending as the first common move, and caller ID can be faked. In 2025 people reported about $3.5 billion lost to imposter scams, the most reported fraud category, with nearly one in three fraud reports in that group. Look up the organization on a number or site you already use, not the one in the message. A real name on the screen is a reason to check, not a reason to pay.
Hang up when the story is a sudden problem or prize. The FTC’s second sign is a problem, prize, virus, family emergency, or overdue account that you did not already know about. Honest groups do not demand an immediate secret payment to “protect” money, claim a lottery win that needs a fee, or fix a computer after a cold call. FBI IC3’s 2025 report urges people to take a beat, resist pressure, and assess the situation before turning over money or personal information. Write down what was claimed and who supposedly called. Then use a contact method you already trust.
Give yourself time instead of acting under pressure. The FTC’s third sign is pressure to act immediately, stay on the line, or keep the story secret. Frank Stajano and Paul Wilson call this a distraction and social-compliance problem: attention is pulled toward urgency and apparent authority so the payment is not examined. Kathy Stokes’s AARP Pause campaign treats a short delay and a conversation with a trusted person as the protective move. Honest businesses give you time to decide. A demand that you must not hang up is itself useful information.
Check the requester and the payment demand together. The FTC flags an unexpected caller who insists that a problem can be solved only by a hard-to-reverse payment. A demand for gift-card numbers or PINs to settle a fine or release a prize is a recognized scam pattern. Bank wires and payment apps also have legitimate uses, so the payment label alone cannot authenticate a bill. Verify the organization, amount and recipient through contact details you obtained independently.
Look up a job offer instead of paying to get hired. Honest employers, including the U.S. government, do not charge you for the job, send a check to deposit and forward, or hire you by generic text to rate products. The FTC’s job-scam article and April 2026 recruiter-text alert both say never pay to get paid. Search the company and the recruiter with the words scam or complaint, and describe the offer to someone you trust. A “cleared” check can still bounce days later, and the bank can then ask you to repay the full amount. Use official listings such as USAJobs.gov for federal roles.
Use a known number to check a family-emergency story. The FTC’s fake-emergency page says not to trust the voice, even when it sounds like a relative, because a short public clip can be cloned. Hang up, call the person on a number you already have, and tell another family member or friend even if the caller demanded secrecy. AARP’s Fraud Watch Network treats talking openly as part of prevention, not as disloyalty. Gift cards and crypto kiosks are not how real bail or hospital intake works. You can care about the person and still verify the story.

disputed Notes

Match protection to the scam type, not only to age. One public story says older adults are uniquely easy targets; another says younger adults lose more to social-media and investment pitches. FBI IC3’s 2025 report found people 60 and older filed about a fifth of complaints but reported about $7.7 billion, a large share of total losses. Marti DeLiema, Yiting Li, and Gary Mottola found that correlates of responding and of losing money varied by scam type, so one age profile does not explain every contact. David Burnes’s 2017 review estimated a meaningful share of older adults experience financial fraud, with wide study-to-study ranges. Use the actual request in front of you. Age is context, not a verdict on anyone’s judgment.
Treat training as practice, not a finished shield. Workplace phishing drills can lower clicks in a simulated inbox; that is not the same as proof that a course prevents every real-world loss. Lorrie Cranor’s group, including Sheng and colleagues’ 2010 study, showed that well-designed training can improve spotting of phishing in experimental tasks, while some materials raised awareness without lasting skill. KnowBe4-class tools measure phish-prone percentages inside an organization. Independent researchers still disagree about how far those scores travel into family-emergency calls, romance fraud, or authorized bank transfers. Practice a specific check you will actually use. A completed module is not immunity.
Ask your bank what it can reverse, then report anyway. U.S. law treats unauthorized card use differently from a transfer you approved because a scammer told you to. The FTC’s recovery page says to contact the bank, card issuer, wire company, or gift-card seller immediately and ask for a reversal, and it warns that cryptocurrency often lacks the same protections. Consumer advocates such as John Breyault argue that payment systems should do more when a customer was deceived; banks often treat an authorized push payment as final. That is a live policy disagreement, not a household rule you can settle from a tip sheet. Report at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and ic3.gov either way. Reporting helps other people even when the money cannot come back.
Verify the request instead of trying to spot the deepfake. One approach hunts for glitches in a voice or video; another treats any high-stakes request as unverified until it is checked on a known channel. Perry Carpenter’s 2026 KnowBe4 interview says detection tools are in an arms race and will probably never be complete, so the useful move is to slow down and ask a critical question. The FCC’s 2024 ruling treats AI-generated voices in robocalls as artificial voices under the TCPA, which is a consent rule, not a consumer ear test. FBI IC3’s first AI section in the 2025 report counts complaints that used clones and believable videos. A convincing call is a reason to use a second channel. It is not proof of identity.

talk Notes

Judge a contact by the request, not by how smart you feel. A popular line says only greedy or careless people get scammed. AARP’s 2026 survey found that nine in ten U.S. adults agree fraud can happen to anyone, and nearly four in ten said they had already experienced it. Stajano and Wilson’s principles include kindness, need, and social compliance, not a stupidity test. Cross and Whitty’s romance-fraud work shows people can notice something is wrong and still be held by the story. Use the payment demand, secrecy, and channel as the evidence. Shame is a tool the next recovery scammer will try to reuse.
Check the channel you already use, not the display name. Matching caller ID, a boss’s photo, or two similar emails can feel like confirmation. Display names and numbers can be spoofed, and several pages can repeat one underlying message. CISA’s BEC advice is to call a number from a known contact list, not from the urgent email. Agreement among copies is a reason to investigate. It is not a completed verification.
Check a recovery promise as a new request. A person who knows about your earlier loss may still be trying to take more money. The FTC describes recovery scams that demand an advance fee or financial details for a promised refund. Verify the claimed agency through an independently found official number. Paying the new caller is not a necessary step in reporting the original scam.
Use a freeze for new credit, and still watch existing accounts. A credit freeze can restrict most new-credit checks; it does not stop someone who already has an account number, a gift-card PIN, or a wire you approved. Eva Velasquez’s Identity Theft Resource Center work and the Learn finance topic separate freezes, fraud alerts, disputes, and IdentityTheft.gov plans. Keep monitoring statements. A freeze is one tool with a specific job, not a complete fraud shield.

how People Run It

Pause, hang up, and check the story on a contact you already trust. When a message asks for money, a code, or secrecy, stop the conversation. The FTC’s four signs and fake-emergency guidance both treat a short delay as the useful first move: hang up or say you will call back, then use a phone number, email, or workplace channel you already had. Tell one trusted person what was claimed. This everyday sequence adapts official consumer guidance; it is not a tested STUDlearn protocol and it does not guarantee that every contact is harmless or that every real emergency will wait. If someone is in physical danger, call local emergency services first.
Try a known-number callback on one urgent story. Take a recent family, bank, or workplace scare and write the claim in one sentence. Call the person or institution on a number from your contacts or a statement, not from the incoming message. The FTC’s fake-emergency page and CISA’s BEC callback advice are the named sources for this check. Note what matched and what did not. If you cannot reach the real person, call someone else in the family or office before you pay.
Try searching a job offer with the word scam before you pay. Copy the company name, recruiter name, and pay claim into a search with the word scam or complaint. The FTC’s job-scam article recommends that search and a conversation with someone you trust. Do not deposit a check you are told to send onward, and do not pay for equipment, training, or a background check to start. A lack of complaints is not a proof of honesty; a pile of matching complaints is a reason to walk away.
Try a second-channel check on a payment request even if the voice or video looks right. FBI IC3’s 2025 report, for the first time, counted AI-related complaints that used voice clones and believable videos of public figures and loved ones. Perry Carpenter’s May 2026 KnowBe4 interview says not to rely on spotting glitches and to slow down and ask a critical question. End the call, look up the official number or the internal directory, and confirm the payment, vendor change, or gift-card request there. A good-enough fake can last half a minute; the process does not have to. This is 2025–2026 field guidance, not a detector you can run by ear.

how People Keep It

Keep a short family or work check-in habit. Agree in advance that money, codes, and secrecy claims will be confirmed on a known number, even when the voice sounds right. The FTC suggests a question only the real person would know as a backup if you cannot hang up immediately. AARP’s Pause campaign is a public version of the same delay. Write the rule where you will see it. A code word is expert-practice support, not a clinical trial of family communication.
Keep gift cards for gifts. The FTC’s gift-card guidance is blunt: anyone who tells you to pay a tax, fine, bail, tech bill, or prize fee with a gift card is running a scam. Keep the card and receipt if you already paid, call the issuer, and report the numbers. This is one of the few signs that does not require you to judge a stranger’s tone. It also does not solve every other fraud type.
Keep the original contact attached to the check. Save the email, text, profile name, wallet address, and the exact payment instruction beside your notes. Cross’s reporting research and the FTC recovery page both need those details. The original wording keeps the question from drifting while you talk to the bank. Missing records leave uncertainty; they do not prove you imagined the contact.
Keep reporting even when the money may be gone. AARP’s 2026 survey found that most victims contacted a financial institution while far fewer notified law enforcement or the FTC. ReportFraud.ftc.gov, ic3.gov, the state attorney general, and, for identity misuse, IdentityTheft.gov are different jobs. Your report can support a pattern even if this one transfer cannot be reversed. Reporting is not an admission that you were careless.
Keep private audio off public posts when you can. The FTC notes that a short clip from social media can be enough to clone a voice. Reducing public samples does not stop every family-emergency script, because scammers also guess and spoof. It is one practical reduction, not a complete defense. Combine it with the known-number callback.

claims Notes

Check a claimed agency or company on a channel you already use. Claim: “Imposter scams are a leading reported fraud type in recent FTC data” — established. FTC data for 2025 found imposter scams the most reported fraud category, with about $3.5 billion in reported losses and nearly one in three fraud reports in that group. Reports are unverified complaints, not a complete count. Look up the organization on a number you already have rather than paying to “protect” funds.
Keep gift cards for gifts and refuse those payment demands. Claim: “An unexpected caller demanding gift-card numbers or PINs to pay a fine or release a prize is showing a recognized scam sign” — established. FTC guidance identifies these gift-card demands as scams. For other payment methods, evaluate the whole request: unexpected contact, pressure, secrecy and an unfamiliar recipient matter. A legitimate wire-transfer method does not make an unverified request legitimate.
Judge the request, not your worth. Claim: “Only greedy or careless people get scammed” — not what the research found. AARP’s 2026 survey found that nine in ten U.S. adults agree fraud can happen to anyone, and nearly four in ten said they had already experienced it. Stajano and Wilson describe kindness, authority, and urgency as exploitable principles. Cross and Whitty show that people can notice a problem and still be held by a fraud story. Use the payment demand as the evidence.
Call back on a number you already have. Claim: “If the voice sounds like my relative, the emergency is real” — not what the research found. The FTC’s fake-emergency guidance says not to trust the voice on the line, even when it sounds familiar, because a short public clip can be cloned. FBI IC3’s 2025 report counted AI-related complaints that used voice clones and videos of loved ones. Hang up and use a known number. A convincing voice is a reason to verify, not proof of identity.
Practise a specific check, then still verify the live request. Claim: “One awareness course will keep me from being scammed” — disputed. Sheng, Cranor and colleagues found that well-designed training can improve phishing detection in experimental tasks, while some materials raised awareness without lasting skill. KnowBe4-class drills measure simulated clicks, not family-emergency or romance-fraud outcomes. Practice helps; a completed module is not a guarantee.
Confirm a payment change on a known work channel. Claim: “If the display name matches my boss, the wire is safe” — popular talk. Display names, domains, voices, and video can be copied. CISA’s BEC guidance is to confirm payment-instruction changes on a number from a known contact list. FBI IC3 still recorded about $3.05 billion in reported BEC losses in 2025. Matching appearance is a reason to use the process, not to skip it.
Use a pause and a known channel, without a guarantee. Claim: “If I follow these tips I will never be scammed” — not what the research found. Official guidance reduces some common losses; it does not create immunity. FTC and FBI figures are incomplete complaint totals, attackers change scripts, and authorized transfers can be hard to reverse. The honest claim is a better check, not a promise that you will never be scammed.

deep Dive

Distinguish available money from a genuine check. In a fake-check scam, a supposed employer or buyer sends too much money and asks you to forward part of it. The FTC explains that a bank may make deposited funds available before discovering that a check is counterfeit or otherwise invalid. The visible balance therefore does not prove the payment is sound. If you send money on, the bank can later reverse the deposit while your outgoing payment is already gone. Ask the bank about a suspicious deposit before moving any money, and describe the request to forward funds. Payment-app impersonation is a separate pattern and should not be explained as check clearance.
Read a romance-scam money request as fraud, not as dating. Whitty’s stage model describes a built-up attachment, then a crisis that can only be solved with a transfer. Cross, Dragiewicz and Richards use domestic-violence research to explain isolation, secrecy, and the difficulty of leaving after that attachment exists. The FTC’s bottom line is about money and gifts, not about how to date.
Separate identity theft recovery from a stranger’s payment demand. Eva Velasquez’s ITRC work centers a stepwise recovery plan when an account, Social Security number, or credit file was misused. That is a different job from a cold call that wants a gift-card PIN today. Use IdentityTheft.gov for a tailored U.S. plan, freeze new credit at each nationwide bureau when that fits, and still watch existing accounts. The Learn finance topic covers reports, scores, freezes, and disputes in more household detail. A freeze does not recall a wire you already approved.
Use out-of-band verification at work. Out-of-band means confirming the request on a channel you already had, such as a directory number or a standing vendor file, not the phone number or video link inside the urgent message. CISA’s BEC alert lists verbal confirmation from a known contact list, dual approval above a threshold, and delaying a transfer when the bank calls to check. FBI IC3’s 2025 BEC losses show the same request still succeeding at scale, now sometimes with AI-written mail or a cloned executive voice. Write the rule into the payment process so one frightened employee is not the whole control. A process is not a guarantee against a patient attacker.
Understand why an outlandish story can still be profitable. Cormac Herley’s 2012 Microsoft Research paper asked why so many advance-fee emails still mention Nigeria, a detail that most readers treat as a joke. His model is about false positives: following up with people who will never pay is expensive, so an obviously implausible tale can filter for those most likely to continue. That is attacker economics, not a census of current West African crime and not a claim that only “gullible” people are targeted. Modern job, romance, and family-emergency scripts often look more ordinary. The useful residue is that a story can be designed to waste your skepticism, not to survive it.
Name the principle the contact is using. Stajano and Wilson distilled seven principles from documented cons, including distraction, social compliance, herd, dishonesty, deception, need and greed, and kindness. A family-emergency call uses kindness and urgency; a CEO wire uses social compliance; a fake investment club uses the herd. Naming the principle does not diagnose you. It gives you a sentence to say to the trusted person you call next: “This is an authority-and-secrecy request for a gift card.” That translation is the teaching use of the paper, not a complete psychology of every 2026 script.
Verify recovery help independently after a loss. After a scam, another caller may already know details of the first loss and claim to be an investigator or recovery service. The FTC warns that this information can come from victim lists and does not prove the new contact is legitimate. Treat an unsolicited promise to recover funds after an advance payment or account disclosure as a recovery-scam pattern. Contact the original payment provider promptly using its real contact details and report through official channels. This warning concerns the deceptive approach and promise; it is not a claim that every independently retained professional must work without fees.
Keep reported losses in view as complaints, not a census. FTC Sentinel and FBI IC3 numbers are unverified reports, and both agencies say most scams are never filed. AARP’s 2026 survey estimated a much wider experience of fraud than complaint databases show. DeLiema’s measurement work exists because survey wording and time windows change prevalence estimates. Use the official totals to see which contact methods and payment types are currently costly. Do not treat a missing report as proof that a tactic is rare, and do not treat a headline billion as a personal risk score.
Treat an AI voice as a reason to verify, not as proof of identity. The FTC’s 2023 emergency page already named cloning from a short online clip. FBI IC3’s 2025 report added an AI descriptor covering about 22,000 complaints and nearly $893 million in reported losses, using pressure plus fake profiles, clones, documents, and videos. Carpenter’s 2026 public teaching is that a good-enough fake can be sustained briefly, then moved to chat. FCC rules on AI robocalls govern consent for artificial voices; they do not give you a home test for a family call. The protective action remains the known-number check. Literacy here is a pause, not a claim that you will never be fooled.

related

finance
information
career

watch For Long

Good to know. This is a reading companion, not legal, financial, tax, or law-enforcement advice, and not a promise that you will never be scammed. Named agencies and complaint routes are U.S.-centered; use the regulator and police in your country. If someone is in immediate physical danger, call local emergency services first. Money withheld or controlled by a partner can be financial abuse; use a safer device and an advocate if checking accounts could increase danger. Romance-scam copy here is fraud literacy, not a dating guide; dating remains a closed STUDlearn topic. IdentityTheft.gov is the U.S. recovery planner when personal information was misused. AARP’s Fraud Watch Network Helpline (877-908-3360) is a free support line, not a criminal investigation.
Not advice. Named sources. Honest paraphrase of the finding. Not medical, legal, or financial advice.

sources

Kathy Stokes. AARP Fraud Watch Network senior director of fraud prevention programs. Her public Pause campaign and congressional testimony translate current tactics into a delay-and-talk habit. AARP education is not a personal risk score or a criminal investigation.
Amy Nofziger. AARP senior director of fraud victim support and Certified Fraud Examiner. She oversees the free Fraud Watch Network Helpline. Helpline guidance is support, not legal advice or a promise of recovery.
Doug Shadel. Former AARP Washington state director, fraud investigator, and FINRA Foundation Ketchum Prize recipient. His research with DeLiema profiles investment-fraud targeting. Investigator experience does not make every later tactic identical.
Marti DeLiema. University of Minnesota assistant professor of social work and gerontologist. Her studies separate scam types and test education against structural protections. Findings about groups are not a diagnosis of one household.
David Burnes. University of Toronto professor and Canada Research Chair in older-adult mistreatment prevention. His 2017 review estimated financial-fraud prevalence among older adults with wide study ranges. Elder-mistreatment research is not a claim that only older adults are targeted.
Cassandra Cross. Queensland University of Technology professor of justice and associate dean. Her romance-fraud and BEC work names the crime, the reporting barrier, and the harm of blame. Australian and U.K. cases do not automatically map onto every U.S. payment rail.
Monica Whitty. Monash professor of human factors in cyber security. Her stage model explains how a false relationship is built before the money request. It is fraud psychology, not dating advice.
Mark Button. University of Portsmouth professor of criminology and director of the Centre for Cybercrime and Economic Crime. His work with Cross treats scams as organized economic crime with victims who need support. Measurement studies are not an individual recovery plan.
Lorrie Cranor. Carnegie Mellon CyLab director and FORE Systems University Professor; former FTC chief technologist. Her phishing-training experiments show that people can learn to inspect messages in tested tasks. Lab improvement is not lifetime immunity.
Perry Carpenter. KnowBe4 chief deception strategist, MSIA, and public educator on deepfakes. His 2026 teaching is to slow down and ask a critical question rather than trust a detector. KnowBe4 is a commercial awareness vendor; its metrics are not independent prevalence data.
Eva Velasquez. Identity Theft Resource Center CEO and former economic-crimes investigator. She supplies stepwise identity-recovery routes after information is misused. Identity-theft recovery is not the same job as stopping an urgent gift-card demand.
Gary Mottola. FINRA Investor Education Foundation research director and social psychologist. His work with DeLiema compares who is contacted and who loses money across scam types. Investor-education research is not a recommendation of a particular product.
Frank Stajano. University of Cambridge professor of security and privacy. With Paul Wilson he extracted seven principles that hustlers exploit, shifting blame off “gullible users.” Principles from documented cons are not a complete map of every 2026 AI script.
Cormac Herley. Microsoft Research scientist whose 2012 paper models why an implausible advance-fee story can still be profitable. It is attacker-economics analysis, not a current census of any country’s crime.
John Breyault. National Consumers League vice president for public policy, telecommunications, and fraud, and Fraud.org director. He translates payment-method tells and reporting gaps for public audiences. Advocacy is not a finding about one bank’s duty in a specific transfer.

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label
DOI
href
https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2017.303821

SHENG-2010

name

Sheng S, Holbrook M, Kumaraguru P, Cranor LF, Downs J. Who falls for phish? A demographic analysis of phishing susceptibility and effectiveness of interventions. Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. 2010:373–382.

kind

evidence

links

label
DOI
href
https://doi.org/10.1145/1753326.1753383

STOKES-SCAMS-2026

name

Kathy Stokes

kind

professional

links

label
AARP experts page, updated January 26, 2026
href
https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/aarp-fraud-experts/

NOFZIGER-SCAMS-2026

name

Amy Nofziger

kind

professional

links

label
Same AARP experts page
href
https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/aarp-fraud-experts/

SHADEL-SCAMS-2026

name

Doug Shadel

kind

professional

links

label
AARP experts
href
https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/aarp-fraud-experts/
label
FINRA Foundation Ketchum Prize
href
https://www.finrafoundation.org/recognizing-leaders

DELIEMA-SCAMS-2026

name

Marti DeLiema

kind

professional

links

label
UMN profile
href
https://ssw.umn.edu/marti-deliema

BURNES-SCAMS-2026

name

David Burnes

kind

professional

links

label
Faculty research-team bio
href
https://socialwork.utoronto.ca/research-team/
label
CRC profile
href
https://www.chairs-chaires.gc.ca/chairholders-titulaires/profile-eng.aspx?profileId=5219

CROSS-SCAMS-2026

name

Cassandra Cross

kind

professional

links

label
QUT ADM+S profile
href
https://research.qut.edu.au/adms/people/cassandra-cross/
label
The Conversation profile
href
https://theconversation.com/profiles/cassandra-cross-122865

WHITTY-SCAMS-2026

name

Monica Whitty

kind

professional

links

label
Monash profile
href
https://research.monash.edu/en/persons/monica-whitty/

BUTTON-SCAMS-2026

name

Mark Button

kind

professional

links

label
Portsmouth staff profile
href
https://www.port.ac.uk/about-us/structure-and-governance/our-people/our-staff/mark-button

CRANOR-SCAMS-2026

name

Lorrie Cranor

kind

professional

links

label
CMU Engineering bio
href
https://engineering.cmu.edu/directory/bios/cranor-lorrie.html

CARPENTER-SCAMS-2026

name

Perry Carpenter

kind

professional

links

label
KnowBe4 speaker page
href
https://www.knowbe4.com/speakers/perry-carpenter
label
2026 interview
href
https://blog.knowbe4.com/kb4-con-2026-perry-carpenter-deepfakes-interview

VELASQUEZ-SCAMS-2026

name

Eva Velasquez

kind

professional

links

label
ITRC leadership
href
https://www.idtheftcenter.org/key-staff-and-board-of-directors/

MOTTOLA-SCAMS-2026

name

Gary Mottola

kind

professional

links

label
Champlain Center for Financial Literacy bio
href
https://financialliteracy.champlain.edu/people/mottola-gary-410/

STAJANO-SCAMS-2026

name

Frank Stajano

kind

professional

links

label
Cambridge CST people
href
https://www.cst.cam.ac.uk/people/fms27
label
personal academic page
href
https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~fms27

HERLEY-SCAMS-2026

name

Cormac Herley

kind

professional

links

label
MSR publication
href
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/publication/why-do-nigerian-scammers-say-they-are-from-nigeria-2/

BREYAULT-SCAMS-2026

name

John Breyault

kind

professional

links

label
Fraud.org experts
href
https://fraud.org/contact-our-experts/
label
NCL leadership
href
https://nclnet.org/about-ncl/leadership/

FTC-SIGNS-WAVE

name

FTC: What are the signs of a scam?. Source

kind

evidence

links

label
Source
href
https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2025/03/what-are-signs-scam

FTC-VOICE-WAVE

name

FTC: Preventing the Harms of AI-enabled Voice Cloning. Source

kind

evidence

links

label
Source
href
https://www.ftc.gov/policy/advocacy-research/tech-at-ftc/2023/11/preventing-harms-ai-enabled-voice-cloning

FTC-EMERGENCY-WAVE

name

FTC: Scammers use AI to enhance their family emergency schemes. Source

kind

evidence

links

label
Source
href
https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2023/03/scammers-use-ai-enhance-their-family-emergency-schemes

FTC-CHECK-WAVE

name

FTC: How To Spot, Avoid, and Report Fake Check Scams. Source

kind

evidence

links

label
Source
href
https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-spot-avoid-and-report-fake-check-scams

FTC-RECOVERY-WAVE

name

FTC: Refund and Recovery Scams. Source

kind

evidence

links

label
Source
href
https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/refund-and-recovery-scams

FTC-PAID-WAVE

name

FTC: What To Do if You Were Scammed. Source

kind

evidence

links

label
Source
href
https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-do-if-you-were-scammed

source Claims

watch For

FTC-RECOVERY-2026
FTC-AVOID-2023
AARP-SURVEY-2026
NOFZIGER-SCAMS-2026

situations.job

FTC-JOB-2023
FTC-JOBTEXT-2026
FTC-TASK-2025
FBI-EMPLOY-2026

situations.family

FTC-EMERGENCY-2023
FCC-AIVOICE-2024
FTC-VOICE-WAVE
FTC-EMERGENCY-WAVE
FTC-SIGNS-WAVE

situations.wire

FBI-IC3-2025
CISA-BEC-2015
KNOWBE4-DEEPFAKE-2026
CARPENTER-SCAMS-2026
BUTTON-SCAMS-2026

situations.romance

FTC-ROMANCE-2022
FTC-SOCIAL-2026
AARP-ROMANCE-2026
CROSS-2018
CROSS-2022-AI
WHITTY-2013
CROSS-SCAMS-2026

split.established.0

FTC-AVOID-2023
FTC-IMPOSTER-2026

split.established.1

FTC-AVOID-2023
FBI-IC3-2025

split.established.2

FTC-AVOID-2023
STAJANO-2011
STOKES-SCAMS-2026

split.established.3

FTC-AVOID-2023
FTC-GIFT-2023
BREYAULT-SCAMS-2026
FTC-SIGNS-WAVE

split.established.4

FTC-JOB-2023
FTC-JOBTEXT-2026

split.established.5

FTC-EMERGENCY-2023
STOKES-SCAMS-2026

split.disputed.0

FBI-IC3-2025
DELIEMA-2023-IJCS
DELIEMA-2020-JCR
BURNES-2017
DELIEMA-SCAMS-2026
MOTTOLA-SCAMS-2026
SHADEL-SCAMS-2026
BURNES-SCAMS-2026

split.disputed.1

SHENG-2010
CRANOR-SCAMS-2026
KNOWBE4-DEEPFAKE-2026

split.disputed.2

FTC-RECOVERY-2026
BREYAULT-SCAMS-2026

split.disputed.3

KNOWBE4-DEEPFAKE-2026
FCC-AIVOICE-2024
FBI-IC3-2025
CARPENTER-SCAMS-2026

split.talk.0

AARP-SURVEY-2026
STAJANO-2011
CROSS-2018

split.talk.1

CISA-BEC-2015
FTC-AVOID-2023

split.talk.2

FBI-RECOVERY-2026
FTC-RECOVERY-2026
FTC-RECOVERY-WAVE

split.talk.3

FTC-RECOVERY-2026
VELASQUEZ-SCAMS-2026

move

FTC-AVOID-2023
FTC-EMERGENCY-2023

try.0

FTC-EMERGENCY-2023
CISA-BEC-2015

try.1

FTC-JOB-2023
FTC-JOBTEXT-2026

try.2

FBI-IC3-2025
KNOWBE4-DEEPFAKE-2026
CARPENTER-SCAMS-2026

keep.0

FTC-EMERGENCY-2023
STOKES-SCAMS-2026

keep.1

FTC-GIFT-2023

keep.2

FTC-RECOVERY-2026
CROSS-2023

keep.3

AARP-SURVEY-2026
FTC-RECOVERY-2026
FBI-IC3-2025

keep.4

FTC-EMERGENCY-2023

deep.0

FTC-JOB-2023
FTC-CHECK-WAVE

deep.1

WHITTY-2013
CROSS-2018
CROSS-2022-AI
FTC-ROMANCE-2022
AARP-ROMANCE-2026
WHITTY-SCAMS-2026
NOFZIGER-SCAMS-2026

deep.2

VELASQUEZ-SCAMS-2026
FTC-RECOVERY-2026

deep.3

CISA-BEC-2015
FBI-IC3-2025

deep.4

HERLEY-2012
HERLEY-SCAMS-2026

deep.5

STAJANO-2011
STAJANO-SCAMS-2026

deep.6

FBI-RECOVERY-2026
FTC-RECOVERY-2026
FTC-RECOVERY-WAVE
FTC-PAID-WAVE

deep.7

FTC-IMPOSTER-2026
FBI-IC3-2025
AARP-SURVEY-2026
DELIEMA-SCAMS-2026

deep.8

FTC-EMERGENCY-2023
FBI-IC3-2025
KNOWBE4-DEEPFAKE-2026
FCC-AIVOICE-2024

claims.0

FTC-IMPOSTER-2026
FTC-AVOID-2023

claims.1

FTC-AVOID-2023
FTC-GIFT-2023
FTC-SIGNS-WAVE

claims.2

AARP-SURVEY-2026
STAJANO-2011

claims.3

FTC-EMERGENCY-2023
FBI-IC3-2025

claims.4

SHENG-2010
CRANOR-SCAMS-2026

claims.5

CISA-BEC-2015
FBI-IC3-2025

claims.6

FTC-AVOID-2023
FBI-IC3-2025

source Situation Keys

situations.job
situations.family
situations.wire
situations.romance

professional Source Ids

STOKES-SCAMS-2026
NOFZIGER-SCAMS-2026
SHADEL-SCAMS-2026
DELIEMA-SCAMS-2026
BURNES-SCAMS-2026
CROSS-SCAMS-2026
WHITTY-SCAMS-2026
BUTTON-SCAMS-2026
CRANOR-SCAMS-2026
CARPENTER-SCAMS-2026
VELASQUEZ-SCAMS-2026
MOTTOLA-SCAMS-2026
STAJANO-SCAMS-2026
HERLEY-SCAMS-2026
BREYAULT-SCAMS-2026

house Pointers

href
/money/
label
STUDmoney. Help understanding bills and accounts after a money loss. In STUDlearn, Making sense of online information covers checking claims, and Personal finance covers household money.

positive Guidance

status: DONE
reviewed At: 2026-09-12
professional Count: 15
scope: content-and-positive-titles-only

learn Article

article

format version

presentation

complete-card

overview

sections

id
understanding-fraud
role
explanation
title
Understand what the request is trying to do
items
- label
  Follow the request from the story to the action
  text
  A deceptive story can persuade someone to send money, surrender account access or reveal personal information. Understanding that sequence makes the request easier to examine. Impersonation borrows the name of a trusted person or organization; phishing is a message or website designed to obtain sensitive information. The FTC describes both because stopping a suspicious payment and securing a compromised account are different jobs. Ask what the contact wants you to do next. A bank logo or familiar name does not answer whether that action is legitimate.
  source ids
  ftc-signs
  ftc-phishing
- label
  Give yourself a way to check outside the conversation
  text
  The FTC describes a recurring sequence: someone claims authority, introduces a problem or reward, pressures you and directs the payment. A fake security alert can therefore turn your wish to protect savings into a transfer to a criminal. Write down the claim, leave the conversation and contact the real organization using information you already trust. This interrupts the caller's control of your attention. It is an adaptation of official guidance, not a tested STUDlearn protocol or a promise of safety.
  source ids
  ftc-imposter
  ftc-current-signs
- label
  Protect your good intentions while examining the demand
  text
  Frank Stajano and Paul Wilson studied documented confidence tricks and described how kindness, social compliance and distraction can be exploited. Caring about a relative or wanting to do your job can be the opening, rather than greed or ignorance. Their framework is conceptual, not a diagnosis of your personality. A useful response is to describe the action neutrally: someone wants a secret transfer to a new recipient. That gives another person something concrete to help check.
  source ids
  scam-principles
id
four-common-requests
role
application
title
Check four everyday situations
items
- label
  Verify the employer before funding a task or deposit
  text
  A remote-job text may offer easy daily pay for rating products or completing 'optimization' tasks. The FTC describes fake platforms that show growing commissions, sometimes pay a small amount, then demand your own deposit to unlock tasks or withdraw earnings. The displayed balance is controlled by the scammer; an initial payout does not validate it. Confirm the opening through the employer's real careers site and contact details. Paying to unlock pay is the relevant warning, rather than the mere fact that a recruiter used a phone. In an invented sequence, a supposed recruiter invites someone to rate products, sends a small payment and then says a deposit will release a larger balance. The recipient now has two different observations: a payment arrived, and a website displays further earnings. Neither establishes that the displayed balance is withdrawable or that the recruiter represents the named employer. They check the employer's careers page independently rather than following the recruiter's link. Even if a real company with that name exists, the particular contact and demand still need verification. The request to pay in order to receive pay is the pattern to recognize; increasing the deposit to 'test' a withdrawal would put more money at risk. If money was already sent, provider contact and the recovery routes below matter promptly. The example shows why an early apparently reassuring event does not validate the later demand.
  source ids
  ftc-task
  ftc-job-text
- label
  Check a familiar-sounding emergency through a known number
  text
  A caller may sound like your relative and say an arrest or hospital bill requires money immediately. The FTC explains that a short audio sample can support voice cloning, and scammers can combine it with names found online or simple guesses. End the incoming contact and call the relative on a number already in your contacts. If unavailable, reach another trusted family member and verify any claimed institution independently. If someone is in immediate physical danger, use local emergency services; an unverified payment demand is not emergency verification.
  source ids
  ftc-emergency
  ftc-voice
- label
  Confirm the recipient before approving a workplace payment
  text
  Business email compromise, or BEC, is a deceptive request that appears to come from a familiar business source. The FBI describes copied addresses, stolen access to real email threads and requests to redirect an invoice or property payment. Even a genuine-looking conversation can contain a substituted account number. IC3 recorded about $3.05 billion in 2025 BEC losses; that reported total shows the stakes, not your personal odds. Call the vendor or colleague using the existing directory or vendor record and confirm the amount, recipient and change. At work, follow the normal approval process rather than allowing urgency or an executive's apparent authority to replace it.
  source ids
  fbi-bec
  ic3-report
- label
  Get support when an online attachment turns into a money demand
  text
  Romance fraud uses a manufactured relationship to obtain money, sometimes through a supposed emergency and sometimes a fake investment. The FTC's guidance concerns that exploitation, not how to date. Conversation over weeks, personal photographs and a convincing video can all serve the invented identity. Pause payments, keep relevant messages and speak with someone trustworthy. An image search can reveal copied pictures, but finding no match cannot certify the person. For a relative who is entangled, offer help checking the request rather than making their intelligence the issue.
  source ids
  ftc-romance
  carpenter-interview
  cross-profile
id
what-evidence-shows
role
findings
title
Read the evidence with its limits
items
- label
  Take impersonation seriously without turning totals into your odds
  text
  The FTC's June 2026 release identifies imposter scams as its most reported fraud category in 2025, with approximately $3.5 billion in reported losses and nearly one in three fraud reports. That establishes a costly reported pattern, not the probability that your next caller is fraudulent. Complaint databases omit unreported events and depend on what people identify and submit. The practical meaning is to check a claimed bank or agency independently, particularly a story about moving money to protect it.
  source ids
  ftc-imposter
- label
  Use employment-loss figures to understand the stakes
  text
  The FBI's 2025 report records 24,688 employment complaints and about $363 million in reported losses. The category covers more than one script; it does not measure how many legitimate jobs are advertised online. FTC guidance supplies the actionable distinctions: paying for a promised job, forwarding money from a supposed employer's check and reshipping goods under deceptive instructions. For federal jobs, use USAJobs.gov and the official postal-service employment route. Treat a professional-looking listing as a starting point for verification.
  source ids
  ic3-report
  ftc-jobs
- label
  Separate AI involvement from proof that AI caused every loss
  text
  The FBI's April 2026 summary reports 22,364 AI-related complaints and nearly $893 million in 2025 losses. It describes fabricated profiles, documents, voices and videos used alongside pressure. An AI descriptor is a reported feature, not a separate crime category or a detector evaluation. Its presence can overlap a romance or investment complaint, so adding descriptor totals to crime-category totals double counts. For a high-stakes request, independently authenticate the requested action rather than estimating whether the content looks synthetic.
  source ids
  fbi-ai
- label
  Keep different agencies' romance numbers separate
  text
  IC3 lists roughly $929 million in confidence/romance losses in 2025. Separately, the FTC reports that nearly 60 percent of people reporting romance losses said the contact began on social media. Those are different databases and measures; neither describes everyone targeted or everyone who lost money. A person may feel safe because a profile has friends or a group has encouraging testimonials. The FTC explains that profiles and apparent investment communities can be manufactured. Social familiarity still leaves the recipient and payment unverified.
  source ids
  ic3-report
  ftc-social
- label
  Learn the kind of scam rather than assigning one victim profile
  text
  Marti DeLiema, Yiting Li and Gary Mottola analyzed a retrospective survey of people who had reported scams to the Better Business Bureau. Factors associated with answering an offer differed from those associated with losing money, and relationships varied across scam types. This was a self-selected U.S./Canadian sample with a low response rate, not a representative causal trial. Its useful lesson is specificity: a person may recognize a fake prize yet be surprised by a convincing emergency or investment story. Tailor practice to the requests they actually receive.
  source ids
  scam-type-study
- label
  Practise a check that has a measurable purpose
  text
  Kumaraguru, Cranor and colleagues' 2009 School of Phish study involved 515 Carnegie Mellon faculty, staff and students. Training arrived after a simulated phishing click; knowledge was retained for at least 28 days, and reinforcement reduced information disclosure in later simulated attacks. That is useful evidence that a specific skill can improve. It does not show permanent protection, prevented financial loss or transfer to family-emergency calls. A practice callback or account check should rehearse the real action you want available under pressure.
  source ids
  phish-study
id
checking-a-live-request
role
application
title
Check identity, payment and account access
items
- label
  Use contact details you obtained before the request
  text
  Out-of-band verification means checking through a channel independent of the suspect message. The FBI's BEC guidance recommends finding the number yourself rather than trusting details in the payment request. For example, call the vendor number already in the accounts file, not the new 'accounts team' number attached to the invoice. A second email that simply replies inside the same compromised thread is not independent. Confirm the payment details as well as the person's name; a copied signature does not authenticate a destination.
  source ids
  fbi-bec
- label
  Keep gift-card codes for their intended use
  text
  The FTC identifies a demand for gift-card numbers and PINs to pay a fine, tax, emergency bill or prize fee as a scam pattern. The codes let someone spend the value without holding the physical card. If already shared, contact the issuer promptly and retain the card and receipt. Ordinary wires and payment apps have legitimate uses, so their names alone cannot decide a different request. With those transfers, examine who contacted you, how the recipient was verified and why speed or secrecy is being imposed.
  source ids
  ftc-gift
  ftc-current-signs
- label
  Open your account independently before sharing information
  text
  Phishing can be an account-takeover attempt even when no money is requested yet. A message may claim a billing or security problem and lead to a page that collects your login details. The FTC advises contacting the organization independently and using multiple layers such as updates and multi-factor authentication. Open the service through its known app or address rather than the urgent message's link. A request for a login or verification code needs its own check; convincing branding does not make disclosure safe.
  source ids
  ftc-phishing
id
keeping-protection-routine
role
application
title
Keep the check usable under pressure
items
- label
  Agree on a family callback before an emergency story arrives
  text
  Make a simple household agreement: a request for money or account access gets a callback to the saved number, even if the voice sounds familiar. The FTC recommends a private question as a fallback if hanging up feels difficult, but a fact already posted online is weak confirmation. A family phrase can help as an agreed practice; it has not been established here as a tested security system. Preserve the independent callback and another trusted contact as the actual checking routes.
  source ids
  ftc-emergency
- label
  Put payment confirmation into the normal work process
  text
  A standing vendor record, an independently checked account change and the required second approver spread responsibility beyond one rushed employee. The FBI explains how compromised email can give a criminal enough real billing detail to make an invented request fit the moment. Discuss a clear process with whoever owns payments, including how to pause a change and report a suspected compromise. Follow existing thresholds and responsibilities. This is practical implementation of verification guidance, not proof that two approvals defeat every attacker.
  source ids
  fbi-bec
- label
  Save the details that make a report usable
  text
  Keep the original message, profile or company name, dates, payment amount, destination and transaction reference where it is safe to do so. The FBI asks for these details because they help connect an account of events to transfers and other complaints. Keep gift cards and receipts if applicable, rather than only describing the loss from memory. Preserve material privately for the bank or official intake; publishing unredacted records can expose more personal information. Contact the provider promptly even while you assemble the record.
  source ids
  fbi-ai
  ftc-paid
- label
  Limit the public information a caller can borrow
  text
  The FTC's social-media guidance recommends limiting visibility of posts and contacts. Public family details, workplace information and audio can help someone tailor a believable request; voice-cloning guidance specifically describes online audio samples. Restricting access reduces material available to an opportunistic impersonator, but it cannot erase copies or stop guessing. Keep the callback procedure even after changing privacy settings. Privacy controls and request verification do different jobs, so one should not replace the other.
  source ids
  ftc-social
  ftc-voice
- label
  Make reporting and support ordinary after a suspicious contact
  text
  You can report a suspected scam without proving that it succeeded. FTC reporting gathers consumer patterns; IC3 receives internet-crime complaints; IdentityTheft.gov helps plan recovery when identity information is misused. AARP's free Fraud Watch Network Helpline is 877-908-3360 and offers support rather than criminal investigation. Choosing the route that fits the harm is more useful than treating one form as a universal solution. A report or support call is not a promise of restitution, and embarrassment is not evidence that you caused the crime.
  source ids
  ftc-signs
  ic3-recovery
  ftc-paid
  aarp-help
id
where-protection-varies
role
perspectives
title
Understand where protection is still uncertain
items
- label
  Compare age findings with the population actually studied
  text
  IC3's 2025 report records about $7.7 billion in losses among complainants aged 60 and older. Burnes and colleagues' older review pooled 12 population studies and estimated annual fraud/scam experience of 5.4 percent among mostly cognitively intact older adults living in the community. Dollar losses in complaints and survey prevalence answer different questions. The review's older data, heterogeneous questions and exclusions limit comparison with today's younger adults. Neither result supports treating age as a verdict on judgment or using one age-based warning for every scheme.
  source ids
  ic3-report
  burnes-review
- label
  Assess training by the outcome it improves
  text
  Specific phishing education has evidence of benefit; the size and duration of benefit depend on the training and the outcome tested. School of Phish measured disclosure in simulated university email attacks over weeks. It did not test romance attachment, an urgent voice call or whether a bank customer recovered money. Vendor click-rate scores likewise describe the tested setting. The open question is how much an intervention generalizes to other situations and lasting financial protection, not whether learning is pointless. Keep process controls alongside repeated, relevant practice.
  source ids
  phish-study
  carpenter-interview
- label
  Describe who initiated the transfer when asking for help
  text
  A deceived customer pressing send and a criminal transferring money after stealing access are materially different facts. The CFPB's Regulation E interpretation includes a transfer initiated by someone who obtained an access device through fraud in its unauthorized-transfer discussion. That prevents the blanket conclusion that sharing information with a scammer always eliminates protection. It also does not promise reimbursement for every customer-initiated payment. Tell the institution exactly who did what, request an investigation and ask about the applicable dispute process; individual rights require fact-specific advice.
  source ids
  cfpb-eft
  ftc-paid
- label
  Use verification alongside the evolving detection tools
  text
  A detector attempts to classify whether audio or video is synthetic; authentication asks whether the person and requested action are legitimate. Those are different questions. Perry Carpenter's 2026 interview argues for slowing down and checking because short convincing fakes can be sufficient and detection changes as generation improves. This is commercial expert commentary, not a head-to-head accuracy study. The FCC's ruling places AI voices within existing covered-call consent rules, with exceptions; it does not provide a home identity test. Keep an independent check regardless of a tool's verdict.
  source ids
  carpenter-interview
  fcc-ruling
id
deeper-understanding
role
explanation
title
Understand why convincing stories work
items
- label
  Separate an available check balance from a settled payment
  text
  A fake-check sender may overpay for an item or supply 'equipment money' for a new job, then ask you to pay someone else. The FTC explains that the bank can make funds available before discovering that the check is invalid. If the deposit is reversed after your outgoing transfer, you can owe the bank while the scammer keeps the money. A visible balance is therefore not verification. Describe the forwarding request to your bank before acting; no fixed waiting period in this article certifies a suspicious check.
  source ids
  ftc-check
- label
  Recognize attachment without making it a reason to blame
  text
  Cassandra Cross analyzed narratives in 1,015 Australian romance-loss reports from 2018–2019. Recognition triggers included further money requests, communication details, verification, an offender's actions and information from another person. Her paper also describes Whitty's model of relationship-building before requests; stages and timeframes differ. The research helps explain why support can involve checking concrete details rather than blaming intelligence. It does not prove that one confrontation ends attachment or that its reporting sample represents everyone targeted. Pause the next payment, preserve evidence and connect with qualified help.
  source ids
  cross-recognition-study
  ftc-romance
- label
  Use the persuasion principles as a vocabulary for checking
  text
  Stajano and Wilson describe distraction, social compliance, herd influence, dishonesty, deception, need/greed and kindness. These names identify how a story directs attention: an apparent boss invokes authority; a fake investment group invokes everyone else's apparent success; an emergency invokes care. Naming the mechanism can make it easier to describe the request to a trusted person. The framework came from analysis of documented cons, not an experiment proving that labeling prevents losses. Use it to create space for verification, rather than to label a victim.
  source ids
  scam-principles
- label
  Understand why a poor pitch can still make business sense
  text
  Cormac Herley's 2012 attacker-economics analysis models the cost of following up with recipients who will never pay. An implausible advance-fee story can screen many people out immediately and leave a smaller set likely to continue, reducing wasted effort for the attacker. The model does not show where today's scammers live or that all fraud targets are gullible. Modern impersonation can be polished. Both a clumsy message and a highly professional one can be designed to induce action; writing quality is not an authentication method.
  source ids
  attacker-economics
id
after-a-loss
role
cautions
title
Respond when money or information has already gone
items
- label
  Ask the payment provider for help immediately
  text
  Use the official app, a statement or the number on your card to contact the bank, payment app, wire service, gift-card issuer or cryptocurrency operator used. Explain the deception and ask whether the transaction can be stopped, reversed or refunded. The FTC distinguishes these routes because the provider and legal protections differ. Cryptocurrency can be particularly difficult to recover, but a difficulty is not a reason to skip contact. Keep the transaction details and report through official channels; no recovery outcome is promised here.
  source ids
  ftc-paid
- label
  Give identity misuse its own recovery plan
  text
  An identity thief may use personal information to open credit or access an existing account. IdentityTheft.gov supplies a tailored U.S. recovery plan; contact affected institutions and address exposed credentials as appropriate. A credit freeze is free at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion and restricts access used for most new-credit checks. A fraud alert instead directs lenders to verify identity. Neither recalls a wire nor secures an existing account on its own. Continue reviewing statements and addressing compromised accounts even after arranging new-credit protection.
  source ids
  ftc-freeze
  ftc-paid
- label
  Verify the new helper as carefully as the original request
  text
  After a loss, a stranger may know your name, amount or payment history because victim information circulates. The FTC describes promised refunds that require fees or account details; the FBI's July 2026 IC3 warning includes impersonated officials, fake complaint sites and AI-generated video. Use official reporting addresses you find independently. FBI and IC3 do not charge a recovery fee. This does not mean every independently hired legitimate lawyer or professional works for free; the issue is an unsolicited, unverified recovery promise and its new demand.
  source ids
  ftc-recovery
  ic3-recovery
id
checking-common-claims
role
findings
title
Check the claims people repeat
items
- label
  Check agencies independently even when impersonation is common
  text
  Claim: 'Imposter scams lead recent FTC fraud reports.' Established for the 2025 report category and period. It describes submitted reports rather than all crime or a probability for any particular message. Use the fact to take verification seriously, rather than assuming every unfamiliar agency contact is fraudulent.
  source ids
  ftc-imposter
- label
  Recognize a gift-card-code demand for a fine or prize
  text
  Claim: 'An unexpected caller demanding gift-card codes for a fine or prize is showing a recognized scam pattern.' Established in FTC guidance. A bank wire's legitimate everyday uses do not validate a separate unverified demand. Check the purpose, recipient and independent contact route.
  source ids
  ftc-gift
- label
  Examine the request without judging the victim's worth
  text
  Claim: 'Only greedy or careless people get scammed.' Not supported. Documented cons exploit kindness and social obligations, and scam-type research does not identify a single universal victim profile. Your confidence, qualifications or embarrassment cannot authenticate a request.
  source ids
  scam-principles
  scam-type-study
- label
  Check a familiar voice before relying on the emergency story
  text
  Claim: 'If it sounds like my relative, the emergency is real.' Not supported. Official FTC voice-cloning discussion explains why speech can resemble another person. A real-sounding voice is evidence of resemblance, not independent confirmation of identity or the destination for money.
  source ids
  ftc-voice
- label
  Treat the course as practice and the guarantee as unsupported
  text
  Claim: 'One awareness course will keep me from being scammed.' Not supported as a guarantee. A specific phishing intervention showed retained learning and improved simulated performance. How well different training generalizes remains uncertain; uncertainty about benefit does not make lifetime immunity a plausible finding.
  source ids
  phish-study
- label
  Confirm a workplace change even when the display name matches
  text
  Claim: 'If the display name matches my boss, the wire is safe.' Popular talk, not evidence. The FBI describes both spoofing and compromise of real accounts. Confirm the payment details on an established independent channel rather than treating matching appearance as approval.
  source ids
  fbi-bec
- label
  Use the protective habit with realistic expectations
  text
  Claim: 'Following these tips means I will never be scammed.' Not supported. Official guidance provides useful protective actions, while evolving impersonation and varied payment outcomes remain. A better verification process improves the decision you can make; it cannot certify every future contact or guarantee repayment.
  source ids
  ftc-current-signs
  ftc-voice
id
your-next-check
role
next_steps
title
Make one independent check
items
- label
  Pause and verify the next high-stakes request
  text
  For the next unexpected request for money, a code or sensitive information, write the claimed person or organization and the requested action in one sentence. Leave the incoming conversation and use an established number or official channel to confirm it. Tell a trusted person if pressure or secrecy is making the decision difficult. This practical sequence adapts FTC guidance; it is not a validated screening test. If physical danger is immediate, contact local emergency services first.
  source ids
  ftc-current-signs
  ftc-emergency
- label
  Try the callback with a family or workplace example
  text
  Choose one past urgent message and identify a contact route you had before it arrived. Practise explaining what you would confirm: the person's identity, the actual need, the amount and the recipient. If the first contact is unreachable, identify another trusted person or official institution. A private question can be a fallback, not a substitute for the independent route. This rehearsal prepares an action; it does not prove the original message was fraudulent.
  source ids
  ftc-emergency
  fbi-bec
- label
  Try verifying an offer before accepting its payment story
  text
  Take a job offer and search the company and recruiter alongside 'scam' or 'complaint'; then check the opening through the employer's real site. No complaint history is not proof of legitimacy. Explain any deposit, forwarding instruction or task-unlock fee to a trusted person before acting. FTC job guidance makes those payment patterns central. At work, apply the same principle to a changed invoice: a familiar voice or video still needs the ordinary payment confirmation.
  source ids
  ftc-jobs
  ftc-task
  fbi-bec
id
scope-and-support
role
cautions
title
Use the right kind of support
items
- label
  Choose safety when checking could increase danger
  text
  If someone is in immediate physical danger, call local emergency services first. If a person close to you controls money, access to work or accounts, that may be financial abuse rather than a stranger scam. The National Domestic Violence Hotline advises considering monitored devices and personal safety when seeking support. Use a safer device and an advocate if checking or documenting finances could increase danger. A fraud checklist cannot decide the safest response in an abusive situation.
  source ids
  hotline-safety
- label
  Use this reading companion within its boundaries
  text
  This is a reading companion, not legal, financial, tax, or law-enforcement advice, and not a promise that you will never be scammed. Named sources. Honest paraphrase of the finding. Not medical, legal, or financial advice. Agency routes here are U.S.-centered; use your country's regulators and police elsewhere. Romance-scam material explains fraud and provides no dating guide. For bills and accounts after a loss, see STUDmoney. Learn Personal finance covers household credit tools; Information covers circulating claims; Career covers work.
  source ids
  ftc-paid
  ftc-freeze
  fbi-bec

related

finance
information
career

sources

id
ftc-signs
title
How To Avoid a Scam
url
https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-avoid-scam
kind
guideline
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Four recurring signs; independent contact; trusted-person conversation; FTC reporting.
limitations
U.S. educational guidance, not a validated diagnostic test or immunity guarantee.
id
ftc-current-signs
title
What are the signs of a scam?
url
https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2025/03/what-are-signs-scam
kind
guideline
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Unexpected money/information contact, haste and specified payment; checking independently.
limitations
A combination of request features matters; legitimate transfers also use these payment systems.
id
ftc-jobs
title
Job Scams
url
https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/job-scams
kind
guideline
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Fake-check, placement-fee, reshipping and remote-work schemes; complaint searches; official federal hiring routes.
limitations
Consumer guidance does not prove every recruiter message fraudulent; absence of complaints is not certification.
id
ftc-task
title
How to spot and avoid task scams
url
https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2025/08/how-spot-avoid-task-scams
kind
guideline
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Fake platform earnings, small initial payouts and deposits required to unlock work or withdrawals.
limitations
Illustrative scheme description, not prevalence or an assessment of an individual platform.
id
ftc-job-text
title
That job offer text is probably a scam
url
https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2026/04/job-offer-text-probably-scam
kind
official
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Current generic remote-assessor texts and pay-to-get-paid pattern.
limitations
The channel is context; the deceptive offer and payment demand are the substantive concerns.
id
ftc-emergency
title
Scammers Use Fake Emergencies To Steal Your Money
url
https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/scammers-use-fake-emergencies-steal-your-money
kind
guideline
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Cloned familiar voice, urgency/secrecy, known-number callback and independent trusted contact.
limitations
Does not evaluate the reliability of a family password or establish detector performance.
id
ftc-voice
title
Preventing the Harms of AI-enabled Voice Cloning
url
https://www.ftc.gov/policy/advocacy-research/tech-at-ftc/2023/11/preventing-harms-ai-enabled-voice-cloning
kind
official
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Voice synthesis can imitate identity; protection requires technology, company responsibility and policy.
limitations
2023 policy discussion; challenge proposals are not proven deployed defenses.
id
ftc-check
title
How To Spot, Avoid, and Report Fake Check Scams
url
https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-spot-avoid-and-report-fake-check-scams
kind
guideline
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Available funds precede detection of fake checks; forwarding payments exposes depositor to loss.
limitations
Cannot certify a particular deposit or supply a universally safe waiting interval.
id
ftc-romance
title
What To Know About Romance Scams
url
https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-know-about-romance-scams
kind
guideline
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
False relationship, invented expenses/investments, trusted-person conversation, image search and reporting.
limitations
Used only for fraud literacy; copied photos are a clue and finding no copied image does not establish someone's identity.
id
ftc-social
title
New FTC Data Show People Have Lost Billions to Social Media Scams
url
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/04/new-ftc-data-show-people-have-lost-billions-social-media-scams
kind
official
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
2025 social-origin losses $2.1 billion; nearly 60% of romance-loss reporters identified social media; profile privacy.
limitations
Self-reported contact channels; not a probability sample or a causal platform ranking.
id
ftc-imposter
title
FTC Data Show People Reported Losing $3.5 Billion to Imposter Scams in 2025
url
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/06/ftc-data-show-people-reported-losing-3-point-5-billion-imposter-scams-2025
kind
official
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Imposters were most reported FTC fraud category; $3.5 billion losses; fake protect-your-money alerts.
limitations
Complaint totals, not population prevalence; do not combine with IC3 totals.
id
ftc-unit-conflict
title
New trends in reports of imposter scams
url
https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2026/05/new-trends-reports-imposter-scams
kind
official
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
The page displays a $1.48 million romance total, while the earlier source record gives the unit as billion.
limitations
The unit discrepancy remains unresolved, so this figure is not used to support the article's account of romance losses.
id
ic3-report
title
2025 Internet Crime Report
url
https://www.ic3.gov/AnnualReport/Reports/2025_IC3Report.pdf
kind
official
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Employment 24,688 complaints/$362,934,762; BEC 24,768/$3,046,598,558; confidence/romance $929,287,469; age and AI tables; Appendix C caveats.
limitations
Complaint-based snapshot; optional age, possible repeated filings, analyst classifications and overlapping descriptors. Relevant tables and methodological appendix inspected, not every case narrative.
id
fbi-ai
title
Cryptocurrency and AI Scams Bilk Americans of Billions
url
https://www.fbi.gov/news/press-releases/cryptocurrency-and-ai-scams-bilk-americans-of-billions
kind
official
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
2025 AI descriptor 22,364 complaints/nearly $893 million; clones and fake videos; details needed in reports.
limitations
AI descriptor depends on reported information; not an estimate of every AI-assisted crime.
id
fbi-bec
title
Business Email Compromise
url
https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/common-frauds-and-scams/business-email-compromise
kind
guideline
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Spoofed and compromised email, invoice changes, directory-based verification, MFA and immediate institution contact.
limitations
Operational guidance, not a trial of every workplace policy.
id
ftc-paid
title
What To Do if You Were Scammed
url
https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-do-if-you-were-scammed
kind
guideline
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Immediate contact by payment type, request reversal, preserve gift-card receipt, IdentityTheft.gov and account/device response.
limitations
Recovery is not guaranteed; U.S. legal protections differ by payment and facts.
id
ftc-recovery
title
Refund and Recovery Scams
url
https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/refund-and-recovery-scams
kind
guideline
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Victim-list targeting, advance-fee refund stories and independent verification.
limitations
An unsolicited recovery scheme is different from independently hiring a legitimate professional.
id
ic3-recovery
title
FBI Warns of Scammers Impersonating the IC3
url
https://www.ic3.gov/PSA/2026/PSA260720
kind
official
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
IC3 impersonation, fake sites and AI-generated officials; FBI/IC3 do not charge recovery fees.
limitations
Specific alert; genuine reporting does not guarantee funds recovered.
id
ftc-gift
title
Avoiding and Reporting Gift Card Scams
url
https://consumer.ftc.gov/avoiding-reporting-gift-card-scams
kind
guideline
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Gift-card-code demands for fees/bills; contact issuer and keep receipt.
limitations
Gift-card guidance does not classify every bank wire or app transaction.
id
ftc-freeze
title
Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts
url
https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/credit-freezes-and-fraud-alerts
kind
guideline
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Free freezes at three bureaus; new-credit scope; alerts require extra identity checking.
limitations
Does not protect an existing bank account or reverse a transfer.
id
ftc-phishing
title
How To Recognize and Avoid Phishing Scams
url
https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-avoid-phishing-scams
kind
guideline
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Credential-stealing messages; independent contact, software updates and MFA.
limitations
Layers reduce particular attack opportunities; approval of a fraudulent payment remains a separate risk.
id
cfpb-eft
title
Comment for 1005.2 Definitions
url
https://www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/regulations/1005/interp-2/
kind
official
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Comment 2(m)-3 includes transfers initiated by someone obtaining an access device through fraud or robbery.
limitations
Official interpretation does not determine an individual's claim; transfer initiator, authority, payment rail and facts matter.
id
phish-study
title
School of Phish: A Real-World Evaluation of Anti-Phishing Training
url
https://cups.cs.cmu.edu/soups/2009/proceedings/a3-kumaraguru.pdf
kind
study
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
515 CMU faculty/staff/students; embedded simulated-email training; retention to 28 days and benefit from reinforcement.
limitations
2009 university sample and simulated phishing outcomes; not lifetime protection or evidence about romance/AI emergencies.
id
scam-principles
title
Understanding scam victims: seven principles for systems security
url
https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~fms27/papers/2011-StajanoWil-scam.pdf
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Stajano/Wilson seven principles, ordinary motivation and attention exploited by cons.
limitations
Qualitative conceptual security analysis from documented cons/TV reconstructions; not an intervention trial.
id
attacker-economics
title
Why Do Nigerian Scammers Say They are From Nigeria?
url
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/publication/why-do-nigerian-scammers-say-they-are-from-nigeria-2/
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Herley's 2012 attacker-economics model: implausible pitches can screen out unprofitable follow-up.
limitations
Model/abstract inspected; not contemporary crime geography or a general portrait of victims.
id
scam-type-study
title
Correlates of responding to and becoming victimized by fraud: Examining risk factors by scam type
url
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ijcs.12886
kind
study
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
DeLiema/Li/Mottola retrospective BBB-reporter survey: response and money loss have different correlates across scam categories; methods/conclusion/limitations opened.
limitations
1,407 completed surveys, low response and self-selection, U.S./Canadian reporters; cross-sectional associations cannot establish cause or population rates.
id
burnes-review
title
Prevalence of Financial Fraud and Scams Among Older Adults in the United States: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
url
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5508139/
kind
review
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
12 studies/41,711 adults; annual pooled estimate 5.4%; wording changes estimates.
limitations
The review used the manuscript text available through the search index. Participants were mostly cognitively intact older adults living in the community; the older data, varied methods and moderate-to-high risk of bias limit interpretation.
id
hotline-safety
title
What is Financial Abuse?
url
https://www.thehotline.org/resources/financialabuse/
kind
guideline
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Control of money/employment can be abuse; personalized advocacy and monitored-device caution.
limitations
Domestic-abuse guidance, distinct from stranger fraud; a generic scam checklist is insufficient.
id
carpenter-interview
title
Perry Carpenter KB4-CON 2026 Q&A: Deepfakes & Deception
url
https://blog.knowbe4.com/kb4-con-2026-perry-carpenter-deepfakes-interview
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
May 2026 interview: short convincing fakes, detection limits and slowing down.
limitations
Commercial security-awareness vendor interview; no independent detector accuracy or prevention trial.
id
fcc-ruling
title
FCC 24-17: Declaratory Ruling on AI-generated voices
url
https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-24-17A1_Rcd.pdf
kind
official
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Official indexed ruling text includes AI voices under TCPA artificial/prerecorded-voice restrictions, with exceptions.
limitations
The account relies on indexed text from the official introduction and ruling; the full PDF was unavailable for review. The consent classification does not authenticate identity or ban all uses of AI.
id
aarp-experts
title
Meet AARP Fraud Experts Fighting to Protect You
url
https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/aarp-fraud-experts/
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Official search-indexed full role text verifies Kathy Stokes, Amy Nofziger and Doug Shadel; public education and victim support.
limitations
The roles are documented in indexed text from AARP's official page. Professional titles are not evidence that a particular intervention works.
id
aarp-help
title
About AARP Fraud Watch Network
url
https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/about-fraud-watch-network/
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Official indexed result verifies free helpline 877-908-3360 and public support role.
limitations
The support service is documented in indexed text from AARP's official page. It is not law enforcement and does not guarantee repayment.
id
community-questions
title
AARP fraud-expert AMA in r/Scams
url
https://www.reddit.com/r/Scams/comments/1w6c3td/hi_reddit_im_kathy_stokes_fraud_expert_at_aarp/
kind
question_signal
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Opened questions about practical verification, AI impersonation, helping relatives and recovery; informs article emphasis.
limitations
Nonrepresentative comments; no credential or factual claim rests solely on this thread. Relative timestamps conflict with indexed date, so no event-date inference.
id
stokes-role
title
Kathy Stokes — professional role and public contribution
url
https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/aarp-fraud-experts/
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Senior Director, Fraud Prevention Programs, AARP Fraud Watch Network; official indexed role text verified. Pause education, public testimony and community fraud questions.
limitations
Her role is documented in indexed text from AARP's official page. Education and advocacy are not evidence from a prevention trial.
id
nofziger-role
title
Amy Nofziger — professional role and public contribution
url
https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/aarp-fraud-experts/
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Senior Director of Victim Support, AARP Fraud Watch Network; Certified Fraud Examiner, per official indexed biography. Oversees the public free Fraud Watch Network Helpline and supplies media education.
limitations
Her role is documented in indexed text from the official biography. The helpline does not guarantee recovery.
id
shadel-role
title
Doug Shadel — professional role and public contribution
url
https://www.finrafoundation.org/recognizing-leaders
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Former AARP Washington state director; 2023 FINRA Foundation Ketchum Prize recipient. FINRA recognition page links public fraud-fighting video and research recognition.
limitations
Historical investigator/research contribution; no claim of a current agency enforcement post.
id
deliema-role
title
Marti DeLiema — professional role and public contribution
url
https://ssw.umn.edu/marti-deliema
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota School of Social Work; PhD gerontology. Agency collaborations, public research-to-practice presentations and fraud measurement.
limitations
Retrospective/self-selected research cannot diagnose a household or prove causal protection.
id
burnes-role
title
David Burnes — professional role and public contribution
url
https://socialwork.utoronto.ca/research-team/
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Professor and Canada Research Chair in Older Adult Mistreatment Prevention, University of Toronto. Public-health research and advice to WHO, NIH and protective-services bodies.
limitations
Older-adult populations and definitions do not represent all ages or current AI schemes.
id
cross-profile
title
Cassandra Cross — professional role and public contribution
url
https://www.qut.edu.au/about/our-people/academic-profiles/ca.cross
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Professor, QUT School of Justice; Associate Dean (Learning & Teaching). Public fraud teaching, guest lectures, listed victim-support and reporting work.
limitations
The 2023 study examines Australian reports qualitatively; its proposed educational changes are not demonstrated intervention effects.
id
whitty-profile
title
Monica Whitty — professional role and public contribution
url
https://research.monash.edu/en/persons/monica-whitty/
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Professor of Human Factors in Cyber Security and Head of Department, Monash University; PhD psychology. Official biography records media interviews, invited talks and fraud expert-witness work.
limitations
The 2013 original paper was unavailable for review. Its model is described through Cross's 2023 discussion and is not treated as universally applicable.
id
button-role
title
Mark Button — professional role and public contribution
url
https://www.port.ac.uk/about-us/structure-and-governance/our-people/our-staff/mark-button
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Professor of Criminology; Director, Centre for Cybercrime and Economic Crime, University of Portsmouth. Counter-fraud research and public knowledge services; coauthored victim-centered book.
limitations
Crime measurement and practice research do not decide individual recovery rights.
id
cranor-role
title
Lorrie Faith Cranor — professional role and public contribution
url
https://engineering.cmu.edu/directory/bios/cranor-lorrie.html
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
CyLab Director and Bosch Distinguished Professor; FORE Systems University Professor, Carnegie Mellon; former FTC Chief Technologist. Usable-security research, freely available academic teaching and policy service.
limitations
2009 training does not establish lifelong protection. Cofounded a commercial training firm later acquired by Proofpoint.
id
carpenter-role
title
Perry Carpenter — professional role and public contribution
url
https://www.knowbe4.com/speakers/perry-carpenter
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Chief Deception Strategist, KnowBe4; official speaker biography. Books, podcasts and opened May 2026 deepfake interview.
limitations
Commercial vendor educator; commentary and simulated metrics are not independent effectiveness proof.
id
velasquez-role
title
Eva Velasquez — professional role and public contribution
url
https://www.idtheftcenter.org/key-staff-and-board-of-directors/
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
CEO, Identity Theft Resource Center; prior 21 years at San Diego District Attorney's Office. Public identity-crime education, agency briefings and victim-support leadership.
limitations
Organization's support is not counsel, criminal adjudication or guaranteed compensation.
id
mottola-role
title
Gary R. Mottola — professional role and public contribution
url
https://www.finra.org/compliance-tools/weekly-archive/01072026
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Research Director, FINRA Investor Education Foundation; PhD social psychologist, verified in opened research biography and current FINRA notice. FINRA Unscripted research explanation and national financial-capability reporting.
limitations
Investor education research is not a financial-product recommendation or causal victim-risk score.
id
stajano-role
title
Frank Stajano — professional role and public contribution
url
https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~fms27/
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Professor of Security and Privacy, University of Cambridge; academic page and official indexed faculty role. Public lectures and openly available security papers.
limitations
Conceptual cons analysis, not a prevention trial; academic and consultancy roles are distinct.
id
herley-role
title
Cormac Herley — professional role and public contribution
url
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/publication/why-do-nigerian-scammers-say-they-are-from-nigeria-2/
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Named security-research author of the Microsoft Research WEIS 2012 publication. Publicly accessible attacker-economics explanation.
limitations
Historical verified contribution; current job title not inferred, and model is not crime geography.
id
breyault-role
title
John Breyault — professional role and public contribution
url
https://fraud.org/contact-our-experts/
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
National Consumers League Vice President of Public Policy, Telecommunications, and Fraud; Fraud.org director. Fraud alerts, legislative testimony and media consumer education.
limitations
Advocacy cannot determine a bank's legal duty in a specific transaction.
id
terry-role
title
Mona Terry — professional role and public contribution
url
https://www.idtheftcenter.org/key-staff-and-board-of-directors/
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Chief Operating & Programs Officer, Identity Theft Resource Center. Leads victim-service approaches, recovery plans and public education programs.
limitations
Service expertise is not law-enforcement power or a measured universal intervention effect.
id
kumaraguru-role
title
Ponnurangam Kumaraguru — professional role and public contribution
url
https://cups.cs.cmu.edu/soups/2009/proceedings/a3-kumaraguru.pdf
kind
professional
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Named Carnegie Mellon researcher/coauthor in the official 2009 School of Phish proceedings. Open empirical anti-phishing teaching and usable-security research.
limitations
Historical paper affiliation only; no current appointment inferred and no transfer to all fraud assumed.
id
cross-recognition-study
title
“I knew it was a scam”: Understanding the triggers for recognizing romance fraud
url
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1745-9133.12645
kind
study
accessed at
2026-10-01
supports
Opened primary abstract, methods and contextual sections: qualitative narratives in 1,015 Australian Scamwatch romance-loss reports July 2018–July 2019; five recognition-trigger categories.
limitations
Selected reports from people recognizing/reporting losses, not everyone targeted; qualitative analysis and proposed messaging benefits do not prove prevention effectiveness.

professional panel

name
Kathy Stokes
credential
Senior Director, Fraud Prevention Programs, AARP Fraud Watch Network; official indexed role text verified.
official url
https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/aarp-fraud-experts/
public usefulness
Pause education, public testimony and community fraud questions.
contribution
Normalizes a pause, independent check and non-blaming discussion.
boundary
Her role is documented in indexed text from AARP's official page. Education and advocacy are not evidence from a prevention trial.
reviewed at
2026-10-01
name
Amy Nofziger
credential
Senior Director of Victim Support, AARP Fraud Watch Network; Certified Fraud Examiner, per official indexed biography.
official url
https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/aarp-fraud-experts/
public usefulness
Oversees the public free Fraud Watch Network Helpline and supplies media education.
contribution
Provides support after a loss through a service separate from criminal reporting.
boundary
Her role is documented in indexed text from the official biography. The helpline does not guarantee recovery.
reviewed at
2026-10-01
name
Doug Shadel
credential
Former AARP Washington state director; 2023 FINRA Foundation Ketchum Prize recipient.
official url
https://www.finrafoundation.org/recognizing-leaders
public usefulness
FINRA recognition page links public fraud-fighting video and research recognition.
contribution
Investment-fraud research adds specificity to persuasion and victim profiles.
boundary
Historical investigator/research contribution; no claim of a current agency enforcement post.
reviewed at
2026-10-01
name
Marti DeLiema
credential
Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota School of Social Work; PhD gerontology.
official url
https://ssw.umn.edu/marti-deliema
public usefulness
Agency collaborations, public research-to-practice presentations and fraud measurement.
contribution
Distinguishes the factors associated with answering a scam from those associated with losing money, across different scam types.
boundary
Retrospective/self-selected research cannot diagnose a household or prove causal protection.
reviewed at
2026-10-01
name
David Burnes
credential
Professor and Canada Research Chair in Older Adult Mistreatment Prevention, University of Toronto.
official url
https://socialwork.utoronto.ca/research-team/
public usefulness
Public-health research and advice to WHO, NIH and protective-services bodies.
contribution
Explains pooled older-adult prevalence and why measurement matters.
boundary
Older-adult populations and definitions do not represent all ages or current AI schemes.
reviewed at
2026-10-01
name
Cassandra Cross
credential
Professor, QUT School of Justice; Associate Dean (Learning & Teaching).
official url
https://www.qut.edu.au/about/our-people/academic-profiles/ca.cross
public usefulness
Public fraud teaching, guest lectures, listed victim-support and reporting work.
contribution
Explains why recognizing a crime may not immediately end emotional attachment, and why support should avoid blame.
boundary
The 2023 study examines Australian reports qualitatively; its proposed educational changes are not demonstrated intervention effects.
reviewed at
2026-10-01
name
Monica Whitty
credential
Professor of Human Factors in Cyber Security and Head of Department, Monash University; PhD psychology.
official url
https://research.monash.edu/en/persons/monica-whitty/
public usefulness
Official biography records media interviews, invited talks and fraud expert-witness work.
contribution
Explains psychological development of fraud attachment before money demands.
boundary
The 2013 original paper was unavailable for review. Its model is described through Cross's 2023 discussion and is not treated as universally applicable.
reviewed at
2026-10-01
name
Mark Button
credential
Professor of Criminology; Director, Centre for Cybercrime and Economic Crime, University of Portsmouth.
official url
https://www.port.ac.uk/about-us/structure-and-governance/our-people/our-staff/mark-button
public usefulness
Counter-fraud research and public knowledge services; coauthored victim-centered book.
contribution
Frames fraud as economic crime with institutional response and support needs.
boundary
Crime measurement and practice research do not decide individual recovery rights.
reviewed at
2026-10-01
name
Lorrie Faith Cranor
credential
CyLab Director and Bosch Distinguished Professor; FORE Systems University Professor, Carnegie Mellon; former FTC Chief Technologist.
official url
https://engineering.cmu.edu/directory/bios/cranor-lorrie.html
public usefulness
Usable-security research, freely available academic teaching and policy service.
contribution
Coauthored empirical phishing-training work with clear tested outcomes.
boundary
2009 training does not establish lifelong protection. Cofounded a commercial training firm later acquired by Proofpoint.
reviewed at
2026-10-01
name
Perry Carpenter
credential
Chief Deception Strategist, KnowBe4; official speaker biography.
official url
https://www.knowbe4.com/speakers/perry-carpenter
public usefulness
Books, podcasts and opened May 2026 deepfake interview.
contribution
Explains why even a short, convincing impersonation calls for independent verification.
boundary
Commercial vendor educator; commentary and simulated metrics are not independent effectiveness proof.
reviewed at
2026-10-01
name
Eva Velasquez
credential
CEO, Identity Theft Resource Center; prior 21 years at San Diego District Attorney's Office.
official url
https://www.idtheftcenter.org/key-staff-and-board-of-directors/
public usefulness
Public identity-crime education, agency briefings and victim-support leadership.
contribution
Recovering from misuse of personal information involves different steps from requesting a payment reversal.
boundary
Organization's support is not counsel, criminal adjudication or guaranteed compensation.
reviewed at
2026-10-01
name
Gary R. Mottola
credential
Research Director, FINRA Investor Education Foundation; PhD social psychologist, verified in opened research biography and current FINRA notice.
official url
https://www.finra.org/compliance-tools/weekly-archive/01072026
public usefulness
FINRA Unscripted research explanation and national financial-capability reporting.
contribution
Coauthored scam-type study and explains financial-risk measurement.
boundary
Investor education research is not a financial-product recommendation or causal victim-risk score.
reviewed at
2026-10-01
name
Frank Stajano
credential
Professor of Security and Privacy, University of Cambridge; academic page and official indexed faculty role.
official url
https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~fms27/
public usefulness
Public lectures and openly available security papers.
contribution
Seven-principle analysis of how ordinary motives can be exploited.
boundary
Conceptual cons analysis, not a prevention trial; academic and consultancy roles are distinct.
reviewed at
2026-10-01
name
Cormac Herley
credential
Named security-research author of the Microsoft Research WEIS 2012 publication.
official url
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/publication/why-do-nigerian-scammers-say-they-are-from-nigeria-2/
public usefulness
Publicly accessible attacker-economics explanation.
contribution
Explains why implausible advance-fee pitches can filter follow-up targets.
boundary
Historical verified contribution; current job title not inferred, and model is not crime geography.
reviewed at
2026-10-01
name
John Breyault
credential
National Consumers League Vice President of Public Policy, Telecommunications, and Fraud; Fraud.org director.
official url
https://fraud.org/contact-our-experts/
public usefulness
Fraud alerts, legislative testimony and media consumer education.
contribution
Payment-system protection and reporting-gap advocacy.
boundary
Advocacy cannot determine a bank's legal duty in a specific transaction.
reviewed at
2026-10-01
name
Mona Terry
credential
Chief Operating & Programs Officer, Identity Theft Resource Center.
official url
https://www.idtheftcenter.org/key-staff-and-board-of-directors/
public usefulness
Leads victim-service approaches, recovery plans and public education programs.
contribution
Explains practical recovery steps and how they differ from unverified promises of reimbursement.
boundary
Service expertise is not law-enforcement power or a measured universal intervention effect.
reviewed at
2026-10-01
name
Ponnurangam Kumaraguru
credential
Named Carnegie Mellon researcher/coauthor in the official 2009 School of Phish proceedings.
official url
https://cups.cs.cmu.edu/soups/2009/proceedings/a3-kumaraguru.pdf
public usefulness
Open empirical anti-phishing teaching and usable-security research.
contribution
Shows what embedded training, reinforcement and 28-day follow-up actually tested.
boundary
Historical paper affiliation only; no current appointment inferred and no transfer to all fraud assumed.
reviewed at
2026-10-01

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