How to Deal With Internet Scams

It is an unfortunate fact that there are many people out there who have negative intentions, including a goal to scam you out of money or even your identity. A portion of scammers end up getting their victims straight from the Internet. The Internet offers these people an easy way to get your personal and financial information or even to trick you into sending them money. If you think you've been scammed, there are specific things that you can do to deal with it.



 

IMPORTANT

1. Stop all contact with the scammers. Some victims are in denial and continue to communicate with the scammers in an attempt to prove to themselves that it is not a scam. If you think you've been scammed, play it safe and stop contact.

2. Alert any banks or credit card companies you use about the scam. Your bank should put a halt on activities and alert you to any attempted transactions. Your credit card numbers should all be changed.

3. Don't fall into any traps associated with Internet scams. A different group of scammers pretend to investigate Internet scams for a fee, or they pretend to be the police and request more money to catch the scammers. Never give money or information to these people.

4. Let any website where the scam took place, such as an Internet auction site or host website, know about the scam. These sites need your help to prevent scammers from infiltrating the site in the future and will sometimes refund the money you lost.

5. Report the Internet scam to your county or district attorney as soon as possible.

6. Report the scam to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) of the FBI and the National White Collar Complaint Center. (See Resources)