Why You Should Always Report a Scam

Here at Lifehacker, we know scams. We know they’re elaborate and sophisticated. We know that scams cost victims their time, money, and private data, and can leave them feeling like complete and total suckers. When you hear about a scam victim, it’s easy to think, how the hell did they fall for that? But no matter how alert you think you are, there’s someone out there crafting a scheme that could prey on your own particular vulnerabilities.

For Lifehacker Deputy Editor Joel Cunningham, it cam in the form of a West Elm couch that seemed too good to be true—because it was. “We’d recently moved and needed a new couch, and found the exact scotch-guarded model of our dreams for sale on Craigslist for a steal—around $800, plus delivery,” he said. He chatted back and forth with the seller and arranged to come out and take a look at it on the weekend. To ensure it would still be there, the seller asked for a refundable deposit via Zelle. “I sent them $50,” Cunningham said. “When I didn’t hear from them when I asked for the exact address, I googled the cross streets they’d given me earlier and discovered they didn’t actually intersect. Also, the number I’d been texting was no longer in service. Whoops.”

The scam seems obvious in retrospect, he added, but he wanted it to be real so bad, he didn’t give it the scrutiny he normally would. Here’s why you too might fall for a scam more easily than you might think—and what you should do if you’re ever the victim of one of them.

Why people don’t report scams

I don’t consider myself a prime target for scammers. I’m very online, technologically literate, and not overly trusting. But no one is immune. Rich people get scammed. Smart people get scammed. Everyone is a potential victim. And when I listened to the Chameleon: Hollywood Con Queen podcast a few years back, I had to admit to myself that I would have completely fallen for the scam it uncovered. Someone tricking young creatives into thinking they’re getting their big Hollywood break? Sign me up.

The Washington Post describes how red flags of a scam or scheme always seem so obvious with hindsight: “the ridiculously inflated and ‘guaranteed’ returns, the insidious way promoters use a trusted pal or even pastor to ingratiate themselves to investors, or the lack of independent verification of claims offered by the con artists.” The thinking is that if you couldn’t spot warning signs in the moment, then you must be some kind of greedy fool. But it’s that assumption that stops scam victims from coming forward at all.

The takeaway of that Chameleon podcast, as well as the Washington Post piece, is that scams of all kinds continue in part because the victims are too ashamed to admit they fell for one of them. Sometimes the victims have a personal relationship with the scammer, leading them to deny that they are victims at all. This mixture of shame and disbelief makes them reluctant to warn others about it or, more critically, to report the scam to any authorities. That leaves the scammer free to find new victims.

Always report a scam, whether you fell for it or not

With so many kinds of scams proliferating across the internet and beyond, it can be difficult to know who to turn to when you spot one. The Scams and Frauds page on USA.gov outlines how you can report all kinds of scams to the government and other third parties.

For the most common scams (think fraudulent computer support calls, fake checks, and loan scams), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is the primary agency that collects reports. Here’s the link to report a scam to the FTC.

Government agencies use reports of scams to track patterns of criminal behavior and take legal action against companies or industries that allow them to spread. However, agencies don’t follow up after you report, and can’t recover lost money. Still, you should file a report, if only to help others. And if you’re filing an insurance claim to cover your losses, a police report may be a necessary first step.

How to avoid getting scammed in the first place

We have a complete guide to avoiding online scams, with tips like never giving out personal passwords and never clicking on links in random emails. But the single best way to avoid scams is to consider one guiding rule. Whether it be job postings, product deals, a hot Russian woman who wants to be your wife, or, yes, a ridiculously cheap West Elm couch: If it sounds too good to be true, it is.

In addition to taking a beat to judge something as too good be true, it’s important to never give in to a scammer trying to take advantage of your panic by creating a false sense of urgency. For example, just this week I got an email telling my my Amazon account was hacked. I panicked for a moment, before I remembered: I don’t have an Amazon account. But if I did, I could have kept myself safe—as we’ve previously advised, only visit a website to enter your password and account information by navigating there from your own browser. Never click on a link from an email.)

For more case-by-case advice, here are our recent recommendations for avoiding the most persistent online scams.