Staying safe · Module 1 of 4
Before you hand anything over
How to spot a scam, phishing messages, fake friends and “pay to get paid” offers, and what to do right after you’ve paid.
Key terms in Before you hand anything over
- Phishing
Phishing is a type of fraud in which a scammer sends a message that looks like it comes from a trusted company or person in order to steal personal or financial information. The message usually arrives by email or text and points the recipient toward a fake website or a request for passwords, account numbers, or one-time codes. The name is a play on fishing for victims with bait.
Source: Federal Trade Commission, How To Recognize and Avoid Phishing Scams
- Romance scam
A romance scam is a fraud in which someone builds a false relationship with a victim, usually through a fake online dating profile, and then asks for money. The scammer often spends weeks or months earning trust before inventing an emergency or a reason to need funds. Payment is typically requested through methods that are hard to trace or reverse, such as wire transfers or gift cards.
Source: Federal Trade Commission, What To Know About Romance Scams
- Fake check scam
A fake check scam is a fraud in which a stranger sends a counterfeit or stolen check and asks the recipient to deposit it and send part of the money elsewhere. The bank may make the funds available before it discovers the check is bad. When the check is rejected, the depositor is responsible for the amount, while the scammer keeps whatever was sent back.
Source: Federal Trade Commission, How To Spot, Avoid, and Report Fake Check Scams
- Impersonation scam
An impersonation scam is a fraud in which a caller or sender pretends to be a trusted organization, often a government agency, to pressure a person into paying or sharing private details. Scammers may claim to represent the Social Security Administration, the IRS, or a similar body. They commonly use threats or promised benefits, and ask for payment by routes that are difficult to trace.
Source: Federal Trade Commission, How To Avoid a Government Impersonation Scam
Every term on Lever is in the money glossary.
About this module
Before you hand anything over is part of Staying safe, one of 15 subjects in Lever. It’s a short run of 7 lessons, about 18 minutes in all, so you can finish it in one sitting.
Every lesson takes one idea at a time. You read it with the math worked out step by step, answer a question that puts it to use, then see why the right answer is right and why the others aren’t.
It’s for anyone who was never taught this, and you don’t need to know anything first. Every lesson is free. Lever works out what you already know, so you can start here or let your path bring you to it.
More in Staying safe
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2
When something smells wrong
Ponzi and pyramid schemes, misleading numbers, fake investing apps, and services built to be hard to cancel.
6 lessons -
3
When the deal is the trap
Legal deals designed to work against you, like rent-to-own and loans that hide their real cost.
5 lessons -
4
Locking it down
Two-step sign-in, safer payments, protecting your identity, and what you share online.
6 lessons
Try this module
It’s part of Staying safe. Lever will bring it to you when you’re ready, or you can go straight there.