Don’t fall for these financial scams

The best way to protect yourself? Get familiar with the tricks thieves use. Fraudsters keep recycling well-known scenarios, but change small details.

Beware of the stranger on the phone — it could be a scammer.

Fraudsters are increasingly picking up the phone and using old-school tricks to steal your money by pretending to be a government worker or a family member in trouble. Impostor scams overtook identity theft last year for the first time, becoming the second-most reported fraud behind debtcollection scams, in which fake debt collectors say a loan payment is due, according to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

Overall, there were nearly 1.3 million fraud-related complaints reported last year, up about 2 percent from 2015. Most people said they were scammed after a phone call.

That’s because fraudsters need to build some kind of relationship with the victim in order to convince them to hand over money, said Katherine Hutt, a spokeswoman at the Better Business Bureau. Victims paid out a total of $744 million to fraudsters last year, with the average one losing more than $1,100, according to the FTC.

The best way to protect yourself? Get familiar with the tricks thieves use. Fraudsters keep recycling well-known scenarios, but change small details.

“There’s always going to be a new twist to an old scam,” said Hutt. “As long as you recognize that tactic, you are less likely to get caught up in the scam.”

Here are a few common ones to look out for:

HOW IT WORKS: Scammers call saying they are from tech support and that your computer is broken or has a virus. They may pretend to be from a big company such as Microsoft, and may ask you to open files on your computer, help them take control of your computer or ask for your credit card information to charge you for phony services or software. Besides a phone call, the FTC said some fraudsters will use a popup message on your computer that says a virus has been detected with a phone number to call.

PROTECT YOURSELF: Ignore any calls or pop-ups saying you have a virus. Big companies have no way of knowing there is a problem with your computer and will not contact you. If you do fall for the scam, the FTC says you should scan your computer with security software and change all your passwords.