5 Things Scammers Say To Create Urgency

Scammers aren't random. They're methodical. They're calculated. One of their most reliable tools to get you to fork over your life savings is urgency. The feeling that you have to act now, "before your Medicare benefits are paused" or "before the IRS comes after you", whatever the case may be. They do this in hopes that you will send them the money or information that they are asking for, before your brain realizes what's happening. The good news is that urgency leaves fingerprints. Once you know what it sounds like, you will recognize it every time. Here are the five phrases that scammers use to create that urgency feeling; And what to do immediately after you hear them. 1. "If you don't act today, it'll be too late" This is the most common one. The deadline is always today. Always this afternoon. This phone call is always the final attempt to reach you. The reason behind this is simple. Tomorrow gives you time. Time to verify they are who they say they are. Time to ask a trusted friend or family member. Time to think.

Real companies or government bodies don't operate this way. Companies generally send a paper trail of warnings before your "Final Notice". They have to be able to protect themselves because they always want to say they gave you ample time to fix an issue. What to do if you encounter this: Tell them you need 24 hours and hang up. Do your research, look up the company thats contacting you, talk to a trusted friend or family member. If it's real, they likely won't need 24 hours. If they refuse to give you time, thats your answer right there. 2. "Keep this private. Don't tell anyone" This one is the clearest red flag of them all. Every company operates on trust. They want people to be talking about them. They want people to be mentioning their names. Companies will never ask you to hide something from the people that love you. Your bank wants you to tell your family if something is wrong. The Social Security Administration wants you well informed. Nobody with honest intentions wants your silence. These scammers want privacy for two reasons: They don't want anyone talking you out of their scam, and they don't want to be caught. Scammers try and cut off your support system before you can use it. What you should do if someone tells you not to tell anyone: Tell someone. 3. "You owe back taxes and a warrant has been issued for your arrest" Fear is urgency's best friend. The threat of legal action or criminal charges is made to shock you into compliance before rational thinking can kick in. When you read or hear those words and your heart starts to race, that is when the internal clock starts ticking. There is no clock. There is no back taxes. There is no warrant.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Law Enforcement will never call to give you a heads up about a warrant or an upcoming arrest. If there was real back taxes, you would have been receiving letters in the mail long before any phone call. What to do: Hang up and dial the IRS directly at 1-800-829-1040 or go to irs.gov. If someone is impersonating law enforcement, report it to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at reportfraud.ftc.gov 4. "Your account has been comprimised and we need to move your money to a safe account" This one can be a bit more effective because it sounds helpful. It makes it sound like your bank is looking out for you. Trying to keep your money safe. Unfortunatley, the "safe account" belongs to the scammers. No bank will ever call you and ask you to transfer your money in order to protect it. If your account was indeed compromised, the banks fraud department would freeze the suspicious activity on their end, most of the time without even asking you. If someone actually got ahold of your banking information and the bank noticed suspicious activity, your bank may call you and go through your most recent purchases and ask if you were the one who made them. If there was unauthorized activity on your account, they may replace your debit card for you and change your information (free of charge) What to do: Hang up and call your bank directly using the number on the back of your debit or credit card or find an institution branch. Never use a number provided by the caller. 5. "This is your last chance" This "last chance" could mean anything. "Last chance" to claim a prize you never entered, avoid a lawsuit that was never filed, stop a suspension that was never happening. This magical "last chance" is designed to trigger loss aversion, the psychological tendency to fear losing something more than we value gaining something. Scammers want to manufacture something for you to "lose" so you act quickly to save it. You may be asked to give out personal information or a "processing fee" to proceed with any next steps. What to do: Ignore it. Send the email to spam, hang up the call, there is no double checking this. The Pattern Behind All Five Every single one of these phrases shares the same goal: to get you to act before you think. The solution is always the same. Pause, tell someone, and verify using contact information you find yourself. Nothing that someone you don't know gives you. The moment you are feeling rushed is the exact moment you need to slow down. That feeling is not a coincidince. It's a weapon. If you think you have been targeted by a scam, report it to the FBI at ic3.gov and to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. Your report helps protect the next person Enterprise Innovations delivers live scam prevention presentations to senior communities, assisted living facilities, and community organizations across Southern California. To book a presentation, visit eisafety.org.