Just imagine: it’s April, 2021, and you feel safe and free to spend time with friends and family, go to the movies, and eat at your favorite restaurant, all while enjoying the Midwestern shift to springtime. We have so much to look forward to! But until then, scammers know that people are struggling and all too eager to believe things that, in a regular situation, they’d recognize as “too good to be true.” Follow and share these recommendations from the Iowa Bankers Association to help reduce your risk from scams and feel secure in your finances.

2. Proofread your e-mails. Scammers know how to make an e-mail look like it’s sent from a legitimate business or someone familiar to you. If you receive an unexpected e-mail, check for misspellings or grammatical errors. If the e-mail is supposedly from someone you know, ask yourself: does it read like something they’d write? (For instance, would your Anglophile nephew really not know the difference between “there” and “their”?)

3. If you weren’t expecting an e-mail, don’t click links or download attachments. Even if the source is familiar, we recommend you visit their website directly when making a purchase or providing personal information. Avoid clicking links entirely. Scammers often use fake links and attachments to install malicious software on your computer in this process called “phishing.” Now, scammers “phish” by sending Coronavirus-related e-mails to trigger an emotional response and pressure you to click on links you’d usually ignore.

4. Verify information and identities. Some examples:

 Your grandson calls you from an unknown number, claiming he needs money for a hospital bill or a loan until he receives his stimulus check. Call back on a number you know to belong to him (or someone close to him) to verify his identity.

 A business e-mails or calls you, saying they can help you track your stimulus check. Don’t call the number in the e-mail or the number on your caller ID, as scammers can easily alter these. Instead, Google the business and seek out a legitimate source to verify their contact information, read user reviews from the Better Business Bureau, or better yet, contact the IRS with any stimulus check concerns.

A charity sends you a letter, pleading for your help to support unemployed single parents in your community. Again, Google it. Do your research before committing to any charity, especially during this pandemic, to make sure your funds go where you think they’re going. (And that your payment information is secure.)

5. Never give out your personal information online or over the phone, especially if someone is contacting you for this information, rather than you reaching out to them. For instance, if you call your bank to get information on your account, it would be normal for them to ask questions to verify your identify. If you call your favorite pizza place for a delivery, they’ll need your payment information and address. However, if a business calls you and starts asking to verify information (Social Security Number, birthday, address, payment info, etc.), you need to hang up. Or even better, start ignoring any unknown numbers that call you and avoid this situation entirely.

Remember: You don’t have to answer the phone. And you can always hang up. Sometimes potential scam victims get emotional or feel stuck because of a particularly aggressive scammer on the other side of the phone. They want you to stay on the line, they might even make threats to keep you on the line, but despite what the scammer wants you to believe, you are in control of the situation. If someone is threatening or frightening you, hang up and call the police.