Protect your finances! Learn essential tips to avoid common money scams targeting people through phone calls, text messages, social media and online.
Article: 6 minutes
Updated: October 20, 2026 Published: November 15, 2022
By: USAA Reviewed by: Editorial Contributors
To outsmart a money scammer, be vigilant against various deceptive tactics, such as phishing, impersonation and fraudulent online listings, and avoid sharing sensitive information or sending money to unverified individuals or through unsecure channels.
People often associate phishing scams with emails that seem legitimate at first, but are a little unusual upon closer examination. Maybe the tone feels unnecessarily urgent or the email contains a link to a fake website. The sender is usually impersonating a business or person and is trying to trick you into revealing personal information.
While these traditional phishing scams are still common, they've gotten much easier to avoid with spam filters. For that reason, many scammers have moved on to different types of money scams that involve calling and texting, sometimes from spoofed phone numbers that seem familiar.
Read on to learn more about some of the most common types of bank scams, how to recognize the warning signs and how you can avoid becoming a victim.
In addition to emails, phishing scams present themselves in the form of smishing, or SMS phishing, and vishing, or voice phishing.
If you feel like you've gotten more spam calls over the past few years, you're not alone. U.S. Consumers received 52.5 billion Robocalls in 2025, with over 4.1 billion in December according to YouMail Robocall index.
These scams often target seniors, immigrants, people with disabilities and student loan borrowers.
When it comes to avoiding phishing scams, the key is learning how to recognize them in the first place. Here's what to watch for and what you can do to stay safe.
Learn more about how to recognize and avoid these types of scams from the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) consumer advice on phone scams. Or read their guidance on how to recognize and report spam text messages. You can also review the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) advice on how to stop these unwanted calls and texts.
If you've ever known anyone who was the victim of a Publisher's Clearing House scam, you're familiar with this grift. Someone makes an unsolicited offer to send quick cash or a prize if you pay a processing fee up front.
Scams like these have become more popular as an increasing number of people use payment apps like Venmo, Zelle® and Cash App. As a result, the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, offers guidance on payment apps and what to do if you send money to a scammer.
Impostor scams can be similar to phishing scams. But instead of seeking your personal information, scammers ask you to send them money directly.
In many cases, scammers impersonate family members, friends, financial institutions, legitimate companies or government agencies like the IRS or Social Security Administration. They may guilt you into sending money or intimidate you with the threat of fines or jail time. Check out this article on how to avoid tax scams.
If you get unusual messages claiming to be from people you know, don’t reply. Instead, contact them by phone or some other means to verify they sent you the messages. This is especially important if they ask for money or personal information.
And avoid sending money to people you don't know personally or whose identity you can't verify in person.
There can be tricky scenarios if you've bought or sold items through online sites like Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace. If a seller promises to ship something or travel to meet you in person if you send money in advance, they could remove the listing and disappear with your money.
On the selling end, you might connect with a prospective buyer who convinces you to ship an item so they can try it out. Then they disappear when it's time to pay you.
Some scammers take photos and information from legitimate rental property listings and fraudulently repost them on other sites like Craigslist. They then gather personal information and sometimes collect deposits from would-be renters before taking the listing down.
Military members are a special target for scammers. Military members need to be extra vigilant, which is why we created this article that focuses on 10 common scams on service members.
Occasionally, scammers list rental properties on sites like Airbnb and Vrbo®. When prospective renters reach out to reserve the property, the scammers ask for a security deposit or advance payment through a different channel that's not approved by the company. It's uncommon that these types of scammers slip through the companies' vetting processes, but it does happen.
After these fraudsters have accepted your deposit, you're left with little recourse because you willingly sent the money without knowing the platform wasn't allowed under the organization's policy.
Both Vrbo® and Airbnb offer advice on how to tell if a property owner is legitimate. Before using these services, familiarize yourself with their policies and recommendations. Learn more on the following websites.
Adhering to a few best practices will help keep you financially secure whether you're looking for a rental property or shopping online:
In cases where someone fraudulently accesses your account and transfers money or makes purchases without your consent, you can report it to your bank immediately for potential reimbursement. Monitor your statements or log into your banking app regularly to stay aware of suspicious activity.
If someone scams you into sending them money, it may be more difficult to get your money back since you authorized the transaction. You should report it with both your bank and with the mobile payment service you used right away, but you may not be able to recover the money.
You can take these steps to help us protect your bank account from fraud:
Anytime one of your accounts is compromised, or you realize you've sent money to a scammer, report it to the FTC.
Better protect your money with account monitoring, scam prevention tips, and fraud support.