Phishing is a message built to make you hand over a password, a code or money. It arrives as an email, a text, a call or a social-media message, and it often pretends to be your bank, a delivery company, a government agency or your boss.
Red flags
Urgency
Act now, your account will be closed, a parcel will be returned.
Fear or a prize
A problem you must fix, or a reward you must claim.
Odd payment
Gift cards, wire transfers or crypto. These are hard to take back.
Strange links
A web address that is close to, but not exactly, the real one.
Secrecy
Do not tell anyone, do not hang up, do not talk to your bank.
Pause, verify, report
Pause
Do not click, call back the number in the message or reply. Take a minute away from the screen.
Verify through a trusted route
Open the company's app or type its web address yourself. Call the number on your card or on its official website.
Report it
Forward phishing emails to the organization it pretends to be, and report the scam to the consumer-protection agency in your country.
Likely genuine
- Asks you to open the app yourself
- Never needs a one-time code from you
- Gives you time to check
Likely a scam
- Pressures you to act within minutes
- Wants gift cards, transfers or codes
- Comes from an address or number that is slightly off
If you have already paid or shared a code
First 15 minutes
Call your bank
Ask to block the card or reverse the payment, and say it is a scam.
First hour
Secure your accounts
Change passwords, sign out everywhere and turn on two-factor sign-in.
First day
Report it
File a report with the consumer-protection agency and the platform where it started.
Next weeks
Watch your accounts
Check statements, and consider a credit freeze. See credit freezes and fraud alerts.
Common mistakes
Clicking to "check" a message. Open the official app instead.
Believing caller ID. Numbers can be faked, so a familiar number proves nothing.
Staying on the line. Hang up and call back through an official number.
Paying to recover lost money. "Recovery" offers after a scam are often a second scam.
Scammers rely on speed and embarrassment. Remember that anyone can be fooled, that reporting quickly limits the damage, and that telling a friend or your bank costs nothing. The sooner an attempt is reported, the sooner it can be blocked for others too. Share this checklist with relatives who are less used to online banking, because they are often the first to be targeted.
Questions people ask
Can a legitimate company ask me to pay with gift cards?
No. Gift cards, wire transfers, cryptocurrency and cash sent by courier are favourite payment methods for scammers because they are hard to reverse. A genuine business or agency will not demand them.
Is a message safe if it uses my name?
Not necessarily. Personal details leak from data breaches and social media, so a message that knows your name or a past order can still be a scam.
Sources
Written from these pages and checked against them on October 5, 2026. Programs and rules change, so check the provider’s current terms before you decide.
General information, not financial, legal or travel advice. Your own card terms and the provider’s current rules always come first.