How today’s scams work, and where their stories crack

Every scam is a claim. Your package is held. Your account is locked. You’ve won. You owe. The claim comes with a deadline, because time to think is the one thing a scam can’t survive.

This desk takes scams apart the same way we take apart any other claim. Who’s actually sending it? What does the real organization say it does and doesn’t do? Where does the link go, and what does it ask for first? We show the specific detail that gives each one away, since general advice like be careful online doesn’t help anyone at the moment the text arrives.

We don’t publish anyone’s personal information, and we don’t accuse a named business of fraud without documents that show it. If you’ve received something you can’t place, our contact page is open, and the check may become the next piece here.