Spot a scam in 60 seconds: the universal red flags

Scams change costumes every week — today it’s a toll notice, tomorrow a crypto opportunity, next week a “family member” in trouble. But underneath, almost every scam runs the same five plays. Learn the plays and you don’t need to memorise every costume.

Red flag 1: Urgency and pressure

“Act now or your account closes.” “This price is only for the next hour.” “Don’t hang up.” Real organisations give you time. Criminals can’t afford to — pressure stops you thinking. Any message that rushes you earns an automatic pause.

Red flag 2: Secrecy

“Don’t tell your bank.” “Keep this between us.” “Your family won’t understand this investment.” Legitimate businesses never ask you to hide a transaction from your bank or your family. Secrecy exists to isolate you from people who’d spot the scam.

Red flag 3: Unusual payment methods

Gift cards, cryptocurrency, wire transfers, gold, cash couriered in an envelope — no genuine Australian business, bank or government agency asks for payment this way. Gift cards are for gifts, not for paying the ATO. This is the single most reliable tell.

Red flag 4: Too good (or too bad) to be true

Guaranteed 15% monthly returns. A $900 iPhone. A gorgeous stranger who fell for you in a week. Or the flip side: an arrest warrant, a “compromised account”, a missed delivery for a parcel you never ordered. Scams work by spiking your emotions — greed or fear — so your brain stops checking.

Red flag 5: Contact you didn’t start

You didn’t call the bank — the bank “called you”. You didn’t visit the website — a text sent you the link. Unsolicited contact with a link, an attachment or a request is guilty until proven innocent. Verify through a channel you find yourself: the official app, the number on the back of your card, the website you type in.

What about AI? Aren’t scams getting harder to spot?

Yes and no. AI has killed the old advice about “bad grammar gives it away” — modern scam messages are polished, and voice cloning can imitate a family member. But AI can’t change the five red flags: urgency, secrecy, weird payment, emotional spikes, unsolicited contact. The wrapper got better. The playbook didn’t.