PUSHED and VERIFY: the habit behind every page here

PUSHED is how a scam feels. VERIFY is what to do about it. Some scams don’t feel rushed at all, so anything that asks for money, a code, or access gets checked either way.

If it’s happening now

You’re on a call. Hang up. You don’t owe them a reason. If you want to check, call a number you already have, not one they gave you.

It’s a text, email, or chat. Don’t tap the link, reply, or call the number in it. Open the app or the site yourself.

They’re on your computer. Hold the power button until it shuts off. Then use another device. Full steps: Someone is on the line or on my screen right now.

A courier is on the way for your cash, gold, or card. Don’t hand anything over. Call 911. No real bank, agency, or company sends a courier.

Money already went. Call your bank or the payment company first, on the number on your card or statement, or inside the app. Sent a wire or crypto? Also file at ic3.gov now. Then: I paid or sent money.

You gave out a code, password, or card number. Steps: I gave out a code, password, or card number.

What to say

• I don't handle this on a call I didn't make. I'm going to hang up and call the number I have for you.

• I'm not doing anything until I've looked at it in the app myself.

• I don't send money without talking to my family first. If it's real, it can wait an hour.

• I got new wiring instructions by email. Before I send anything, can you read me the account name and number you have for my closing?

PUSHED: how a scam feels

Six ways scams push you.

• P: Pressure. An official voice giving orders, or someone so apologetic that saying no feels rude. “Handle this yourself. Don’t involve anyone else.”
• U: Urgency. A clock. “Your account will be locked in 30 minutes.”
• S: Surprise. A charge you didn’t make, a package you didn’t order, an agency you’ve never dealt with.
• H: High stakes. Arrest, a frozen account, your savings, your photos. “There’s a warrant in your name.”
• E: Excitement. A prize, a job that pays too well, an investment that can’t lose.
• D: Desperation. Someone you love is in trouble and only you can help. “Please don’t tell Mom.”

One is enough to stop. Feeling pushed doesn’t prove a scam: banks do text about fraud, and you may really owe the electric company. It does mean you check before you act.

VERIFY: what to do about it

• V: View who it’s from and how it reached you. The name on the screen, the caller ID, and the email address can all be faked or borrowed. Note how it reached you: call, text, email, ad, pop-up. That’s the one way you won’t use to check.
• E: Evaluate the context. Did you start this? Were you expecting it? Does it match something you just did? A fraud text about the purchase you made a minute ago fits. One about a purchase you never made doesn’t: check in the bank’s app, or call the number on your card.
• R: Request. Name what they want: pay, move money, read a code, sign in, install an app, keep it quiet. That’s the moment to check. Some asks settle it on their own. The FTC says only scammers tell you to move your money to protect it, buy gold, hand cash to a courier, use a Bitcoin ATM, or buy gift cards. A code texted to you is for you to type in. Don’t read it or forward it to anyone who contacted you.
• I: Interrogate the rush. Ask yourself what really happens if you take ten minutes. Honest businesses give you time to decide, the FTC says. No real fraud department tells you to keep the call a secret, or to stay on the line while you go to the bank or the store. If they push back when you slow down, hang up or stop replying. If they’re patient, you still check.
• F: Freeze, then check it your way. Don’t do the thing yet. Hang up or close the message. Then open the app or site yourself, or call a number you already have: the back of your card, your bill or statement, a saved contact. If it’s real, it’ll still be there.
• Y: Your instincts. A bad feeling is reason enough to stop. You don’t need proof first. A good feeling isn’t proof of anything.

The Spot the Scam course covers both, with examples and a quiz for each: PUSHED and VERIFY.

When you won’t feel pushed

Some of the costliest scams don’t feel rushed. The FBI’s 2025 report ranks investment fraud first in reported losses and business email compromise second: fake or hijacked work email used to redirect a payment. The check is the same: look at the request, and confirm it in a way you chose.

Slow ones. Romance and investment scams open with friendly messages, sometimes several a day, before money comes up. The FTC says if someone you met on a dating site or app wants to show you how to invest in crypto, that’s a scam. More: Someone I met online is asking for money, An investment that can’t lose.

Ones you started. You searched for a company’s number or tapped an ad. Nothing pushed you, because you went looking. Scammers often pay for search ads so their fake numbers show up first, the FTC says. Get numbers from your card, bill, or statement, or from inside the company’s app, and type web addresses yourself. More: Fake websites and lookalike addresses.

Real senders. Scammers send through real companies’ systems, so a Docusign email can come from Docusign’s real address with a scammer’s phone number inside. They also break into real people’s email and write from inside it. A real address shows where a message came from, not who wrote it. More: Emails that want you to sign in, pay, or open something.

What it looks like

5:40 p.m. You can't remember whether you paid last month's electric bill.

Kestrel Valley Electric

Incoming call · 5:40 PM

1. Caller Hi, this is Marcus with Kestrel Valley Electric, disconnection department. Am I speaking with the account holder at 418 Birch Lane?
2. You Yes.
3. Caller Your account shows a past-due balance of $386.14, and a crew is scheduled to disconnect your service at 6:30 tonight.
4. Caller I can stop the order, but the payment has to post before the crew gets there. Our payment office is closed, so I'm texting you a payment barcode. You can pay it in cash at the register at any Walgreens, CVS, or Walmart.
5. Caller Call me back at this number with the receipt number and I'll cancel the disconnection.
6. A text arrives with a barcode and "KVE PAYMENT REF 77120 AMT $386.14".

You might really be behind on the bill. What do you do?

• Pay it at Walgreens. Paying a bill at a store counter is normal
• Hang up, then call the number on your bill or check your balance in the utility's app
• Ask him to read you your account number before you pay

Show the answers

• Wrong move Pay it at Walgreens. Paying a bill at a store counter is normal The FTC describes this exact call. Your utility won't send you a barcode and insist you take it to a store, and it won't demand payment to stop a same-day shutoff. The cash goes to whoever made the barcode.
• Best move Hang up, then call the number on your bill or check your balance in the utility's app If you're behind, the real company will tell you and take payment the usual way. The FTC says that even when you owe money, real utilities work out a payment plan instead of scaring you into paying now. If you're not behind, you've lost two minutes.
• Wrong move Ask him to read you your account number before you pay Scammers buy or steal account details, the FTC says. A right answer proves nothing, and you're still on a call you didn't start.

You might really owe the money. That doesn't make the caller your utility. Check the balance through your bill or the app, then pay the way you always do.

You close on a condo Friday and have emailed with Dana at the title company all week. Her office number is in the closing packet she gave you.

RE: 2217 Alder Ct #4 - closing Friday

D

Dana Ruiz <[email protected]>

To: me

Tue, Sep 29, 10:12 AM

Hi Pat,

Quick update before Friday. Our escrow account moved to a new bank this week as part of our annual audit, so please use the attached wiring instructions instead of the ones in your closing packet. The old account can no longer receive incoming wires.

Funds need to arrive by noon Thursday so we can fund on time. Reply here once it's sent and I'll confirm receipt.

Thanks,
Dana

Dana Ruiz | Escrow Officer
Harborline Title & Escrow
(503) 555-0182

Wire_Instructions_UPDATED.pdf

Same person, same thread, and you were expecting an email about the wire. What do you do?

• Wire it with the new instructions. Everything about the email checks out
• Call the number in Dana's signature to confirm
• Call the title company at the number in your closing packet and have them read you the account details

Show the answers

• Wrong move Wire it with the new instructions. Everything about the email checks out The CFPB says scammers break into real estate professionals' email to watch for upcoming closings, then send buyers false wiring instructions while posing as the agent. A real thread from a real address is exactly what that looks like.
• Wrong move Call the number in Dana's signature to confirm Whoever wrote this email wrote the signature too. The CFPB warns that scammers copy an agent's email address, phone number, and format, and says not to use phone numbers or links in an email.
• Best move Call the title company at the number in your closing packet and have them read you the account details That number reached you before any of this started. The CFPB's advice is to never follow wiring instructions in an email and to confirm the account name and number in person or at the phone number you agreed on earlier.

Friday was already your deadline, so the noon cutoff reads as routine, not pressure. New bank details for money you're about to send get checked on a number you already had.

You bought five raffle tickets Saturday at the Friends of the Linden Park Library book sale.

(217) 555-0164

Incoming call · 10:05 AM

1. Caller Hi, is this Pat Morrow? This is Joan Kessler with the Friends of the Linden Park Library.
2. You Yes, that's me.
3. Caller Your ticket was drawn for second prize in Saturday's raffle. It's a $200 gift card to Corner Books.
4. Caller It's at the library's front desk with your name on it. Just bring your ticket stub any time this week. Congratulations.

A surprise call saying you won. What do you do?

• Hang up and ignore it. Calls saying you won something are scams
• Pick it up at the library with your ticket stub
• Call back the number that called you to make sure it's really the library

Show the answers

• Okay Hang up and ignore it. Calls saying you won something are scams Safe, and you'd be leaving $200 at the front desk. Nothing in this call needed checking: no fee, no card number, no code, no rush.
• Best move Pick it up at the library with your ticket stub You entered this raffle, and all they want is your ticket stub at a desk you can walk up to. The FTC says real prizes are free. A fee, or a bank or card number, to claim it is what would make it a scam.
• Wrong move Call back the number that called you to make sure it's really the library Calling back reaches whoever just called, so it confirms nothing. To check, look up the library's number yourself, or just go to the desk.

Surprise and excitement are a reason to look at what they want. Here it's a ticket stub at a desk you already know. A prize that needs a payment or your account number first isn't one.

What not to waste time on

Trying to spot the fake. Typos are a weak sign: the FBI says scammers use AI tools to clean up their spelling and grammar. A voice you know, a face on a video call, caller ID, a polished email, or someone who knows your details proves nothing either. The FBI warns about cloned voices of relatives asking for money, and live video calls with fake executives and police.

If it’s real, the company will have the same record when you reach it on a number you already have.