A one-page sheet for the fridge

How to print it

Press the Print button above, or your browser's own Print command. Only the sheet prints: no menus, no ads. It's designed for a standard letter-size page in black and white. If it spills onto a second page, choose "Fit to page" in the print window.

Where each line comes from

Caller ID. The FTC explains that scammers change the number that appears on your caller ID.

Gift cards. "No real business or government agency will ever tell you to buy a gift card to pay them." (FTC)

Crypto, wires and payment apps. Paying in one particular way is one of the FTC's four signs of a scam, and the FTC says only scammers demand payment in cryptocurrency.

Moving money, cash and gold. The FTC: "no one from the government will ever tell you to buy and deliver gold bars, move your money, or give cash to anyone." And from its 2024 alert on "protecting" your money: "Moving it means you’ll lose it, not protect it."

Codes. From the FTC's March 2024 alert on moving money to "protect it": "No caller — especially someone from your bank’s fraud department — will ever ask for the verification code."

Computers and pop-ups. The FTC: "Real security pop-up warnings and messages will never ask you to call a phone number." The FBI: "Do not allow an unknown individual who contacted you to have control of your computer."

Links. In an email, the words of a link can be different from where it really goes, which is why the sheet says to look at the real address first; our link checker page explains how. A browser reads the website name up to the first /, ? or # after the https://, and treats a backslash like a slash. The last two parts of that name, either side of the last dot (three for endings like .co.uk), are the registered domain: usually its owner runs the site. On some big companies' sites anyone can publish a page, such as a Cash App payment page or a PayPal payment link, so even a familiar name doesn't tell you who made it. An @ or a backslash before that point can hide the real name, so check those in our link checker, which also explains how to read a link.

Secrets. The FTC advises calling another relative or friend even if the caller said to keep it a secret.

Family code word. The FBI suggests agreeing on a code word only you and your loved ones know. Writing it on the fridge would defeat the point, which is why the sheet only reminds you to have one.

If you already paid. The FTC's "What To Do if You Were Scammed" says to report it immediately to whoever you paid through (the card issuer, your bank, the payment app, the wire transfer company or the gift card issuer) and ask them to reverse the payment or refund your money, and to report the scam. Its guide to refund and recovery scams adds: "Never pay upfront for a refund or help with a refund." The rest of the steps are on our page for exactly that.

Finding a number. The FTC warns that "the first search results you see might be paid ads", and says that if you're paying a bill, you should type in the address or call the number from your bill directly.