My phone warned me about a message. Can I trust the warning?
Your phone flags texts. Your email adds banners. Your bank sends alerts. Most of these warnings are real, and they help. But scammers know that careful people trust warnings, so now they open with a fake one. The FTC calls this the false alarm scam, and it is stealing life savings. One question sorts the real warnings from the fake ones, and it is not how official they look.
“SECURITY ALERT: Unusual activity found on your accounts. Your savings may be at risk. Call our Fraud Protection Line now at 1-888-555-0163. Do not log in or use your cards until you call.”
A fake alert built to start a phone call. The FTC reports that scams opening with a false alarm have exploded. Reports from older adults who lost $10,000 or more grew more than fourfold from 2020 to 2024.
How to tell
Look at where the warning lives. A real one sits in the frame of the app, added by your phone, your mail, or your bank. A fake one arrives as the message itself, or as a pop-up.
Look at what it asks. A real warning asks for nothing. It just marks the message so you look twice.
A fake warning always wants something: call this number, tap this link, move your money somewhere "safe."
No real bank, agency, or company asks you to move money to protect it. The FTC's rule is simple: never move money for anyone who contacted you first.
What to do
1If a warning asks you to call, click, or pay, treat the warning itself as the scam.
2Check the scary claim through a door you already trust: the number on your bank card, or the app you already use.
3Still unsure? Paste the message, or describe the pop-up in your own words, into CheckTwice.
If you already clicked or paid
First: don’t blame yourself, and don’t hide it. Acting quickly matters more than anything else.
If you called and they asked you to move money or buy gift cards, hang up now. Real fraud teams never do that.
If money moved, call your real bank right away using the number on your card. Say the word "fraud" and note the time.
If you let someone onto your computer, turn it off. Have someone you trust check it before you use it again.
These scams work by hijacking carefulness. Falling for a fake warning means you were paying attention. That is nothing to be ashamed of.
Worth remembering: A real warning marks danger and asks for nothing. A fake warning always asks for something: a call, a click, or your money. What a warning asks you to do tells you what it is.