How do you know if this scammer or someone else is pretending to be someone close to you?

If they ask for a super specific amount, or use terms of endearment that they don't usually use. Hope this helps!

How do you know if this scammer or someone else is pretending to be someone close to you?

notice their behavior. say that your friend bob has started sending you sketchy emails with interesting commentary persuading you to click on the links contained therein. he's using emojis, but you know that bob never uses emojis. you also know that bob doesn't use emails that often. when you see bob in-person and ask him about the emails, he's confused, which means that a scammer probably hacked into bob's email account and tried scamming you through it.

0:26 I think email sites shouldn't be able to filter mail, they could block mail they don't want you seeing. like a email about X shady thing the provider of the service did or blocking certain information from coming through or heavily censoring it.

You're entitled to your opinion, of course, but if the service is decent, filtering scams and spam is a service, not a setback. We'd all be drowning in junk, some of it dangerous, otherwise.

Do online scammers ever get caught by the law and sent to jail?

Yes, the FTC does investigations into scammers and can bring them to justice, if you EVER encounter or get affected by a scammer please call the FTC and notify them. *Happy Learning*!

Main content

Course: Internet safety > Unit 1

Lesson 8: Ask Google: How can I recognize online scams?

What are common scams I should be aware of?

Name: What are common scams I should be aware of?
Uploaded: 2022-10-10T23:39:15.856033786Z
Description: Learn how to recognize and avoid some common types of scams. To learn more about how you can keep yourself safe while on the Internet, visit: internet-safety.khanacademy.org

Google Classroom

Learn how to recognize and avoid some common types of scams. To learn more about how you can keep yourself safe while on the Internet, visit: internet-safety.khanacademy.org. Created by Sal Khan.

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Ari King
Posted a year ago. Direct link to Ari King's post “How do you know if this s...”
How do you know if this scammer or someone else is pretending to be someone close to you?
Comment on Ari King's post “How do you know if this s...”
(12 votes)
- Tyler
  Posted a year ago. Direct link to Tyler's post “If they ask for a super s...”
  If they ask for a super specific amount, or use terms of endearment that they don't usually use.
  Hope this helps!
  (21 votes)
IsaccG
Posted a month ago. Direct link to IsaccG's post “How do you know if this s...”
How do you know if this scammer or someone else is pretending to be someone close to you?
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(2 votes)
Answer
- saturn
  Posted a month ago. Direct link to saturn's post “notice their behavior. sa...”
  notice their behavior. say that your friend bob has started sending you sketchy emails with interesting commentary persuading you to click on the links contained therein. he's using emojis, but you know that bob never uses emojis. you also know that bob doesn't use emails that often. when you see bob in-person and ask him about the emails, he's confused, which means that a scammer probably hacked into bob's email account and tried scamming you through it.
  Comment on saturn's post “notice their behavior. sa...”
  (6 votes)
0517935
Posted 5 months ago. Direct link to 0517935's post “can you get scammed”
can you get scammed
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(2 votes)
Answer
- Anderson M.
  Posted 2 months ago. Direct link to Anderson M.'s post “it's possible.”
  it's possible.
  Button navigates to signup page
  (2 votes)
64
Posted 4 months ago. Direct link to 64's post “0:26 I think email sites ...”
0:26
I think email sites shouldn't be able to filter mail, they could block mail they don't want you seeing. like a email about X shady thing the provider of the service did or blocking certain information from coming through or heavily censoring it.
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(0 votes)
Answer
- Dvortygirl
  Posted 16 days ago. Direct link to Dvortygirl's post “You're entitled to your o...”
  You're entitled to your opinion, of course, but if the service is decent, filtering scams and spam is a service, not a setback. We'd all be drowning in junk, some of it dangerous, otherwise.
  Button navigates to signup page
  (2 votes)
Kalfus
Posted 6 months ago. Direct link to Kalfus's post “Do online scammers ever g...”
Do online scammers ever get caught by the law and sent to jail?
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(0 votes)
Answer
- Micah G. Treggi
  Posted 6 months ago. Direct link to Micah G. Treggi's post “Yes, the FTC does investi...”
  Yes, the FTC does investigations into scammers and can bring them to justice, if you EVER encounter or get affected by a scammer please call the FTC and notify them.
  
  Happy Learning!
  Button navigates to signup page
  (2 votes)
nathan.araujodasilvabr
Posted 5 months ago. Direct link to nathan.araujodasilvabr's post “what if the scammer delet...”
what if the scammer deletes the account/email etc. and u try to contact the FTC but then the account doesnt exist so how would it work?
Button navigates to signup pageComment on nathan.araujodasilvabr's post “what if the scammer delet...”
(0 votes)
Answer
- David Alexander
  Posted 5 months ago. Direct link to David Alexander's post “The internet has somethin...”
  The internet has something known as the "Wayback Machine". A deleted account or email never goes away. Relax.
  Button navigates to signup page
  (1 vote)
nathan.araujodasilvabr
Posted 5 months ago. Direct link to nathan.araujodasilvabr's post “Also another question, if...”
Also another question, if the FTC doesn't find the scammer and thinks you are lying and thinks you are the scammer would you still go to jail even though you aren't the scammer
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(0 votes)
Answer
- David Alexander
  Posted 5 months ago. Direct link to David Alexander's post “The FTC does not send any...”
  The FTC does not send anyone to jail. Only the courts can do that, and only after a person has been convicted. In order to send anyone to jail, the relevant prosecutiorial authority has to prove beyone a doubt in a court of law that you are guilty of being a scammer. Relax.
  Button navigates to signup page
  (1 vote)
muruwah259
Posted 7 months ago. Direct link to muruwah259's post “I got a sicaraty massage ...”
I got a sicaraty massage because I sighned in on a computer somewhere else
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(0 votes)
Answer

Video transcript

- So Grace, you know, and I'm asking both to protect all of us but also I have a strange fascination of, of exotic scams. What, what are the types of scams that you've seen? How, how elaborate have, have these things become? - Yeah, so unfortunately the attackers are getting more creative. Now, the good news is that most major, you know, email platforms for example are automatically blocking all kinds of spam that, or scams and spam that you never see on a regular basis. For example, during the Covid Pandemic, Google blocked 18 million Covid impersonation emails per day. And that is something that never made it to people's inboxes. - What is a Covid impersonation email? - So unfortunately, one thing to look out for with these scams is folks impersonating what you might think of as a trusted source. So maybe a hospital or health organization reaching out with Covid information, kind of trying to beat people in with something timely. So we do really recommend that folks go directly to the trusted website of that organization as opposed to clicking into a link that may look a little bit suspicious or may not be something they were expected to hear. Another flag is if a email or a call or a text is really trying to rush you into providing personal information, such as your bank account information, your password, or otherwise. So we, we were seeing trends of attempts to kind of reach out and say, help now or please send money here. We, we are also seeing impersonation attempts around special offers. So, you know, if it looks too good to be true it probably is, if you're being offered free items that are high monetary value, but you're being asked to immediately, you know, put your credit card information down and that's definitely another red flag to look out for. - Wow. It, it is a dangerous world but I'm glad there are folks like you who are, are helping keep dragging. It feels like it's a never ending arms race so we have to stay vigilant. - Definitely. I think that's our biggest tip is to be proactive and definitely take a bit before clicking on something suspicious and, and, and verify, you know if there's a, you receive something you think it looks like it's from someone you know or something you're familiar with, go ahead and find another way to confirm that that's actually the case. - And always check the link you're about to click on and before you type in a password, think three times are my takeaways. And two step verification. - Absolutely. - Thanks so much, Grace, that was really useful. - Thank you Sal.