Scams run on scripts. Learn the script and the pitch falls apart

A scam rarely looks like a scam from the inside. It looks like a bank calling about fraud, a court calling about a warrant, a delivery that needs a small fee, or a job that pays well for easy work.

Nearly all of them share the same moves: they rush you, they ask you to keep quiet, and they want payment in a form that's hard to reverse, like gift cards, wire transfers, crypto or a payment app. This section breaks down the scripts that are active now, drawing on alerts from the Federal Trade Commission and state consumer agencies.

We also cover the part most scam articles skip: what to do in the first hour after you've already paid, who to report to, and how to spot the recovery scammers who show up next. We don't name individuals or businesses as scammers without an official finding or clear evidence.