133: Don't Panic, Pause: Simple Steps to Avoid Being Scammed

"Scammers rely on emotion. If they can catch you in that half second of panic, then they might be able to get you to do something." 41% of American adults have lost money to scams. And that's only those who reported it. Our hosts, Stephanie McCullough and Kevin Gaines, are back to talk all about money scams because the problem keeps growing, and because the scammers, as Kevin puts it, keep learning. The core mechanism hasn't changed either. Scams are all about manufactured panic. Whether it's a Social Security alert, a fake IRS demand, or a "computer security team" that called out of nowhere to say you've been hacked, the goal is to knock your skepticism offline before it fires. According to behavioral science, acute panic literally impairs the higher-order reasoning you'd need to catch the trick. The antidote is AARP's three-step model: pause, reflect, protect. The research behind it illustrates that awareness of a specific scam makes you 80% less likely to fall for it. Their free Fraud Watch Network sends alerts several times a month, and Stephanie suggests that even skimming the subject lines is protective. As Kevin likes to say, "Always independently verify." If someone sends you a phone number to call, that number is already suspect. The best long-term defense isn't paranoia but connection. That means staying in regular contact with people who aren't in panic mode when you are.   Key Topics: AARP Fraud Watch Network and the 80% Awareness Effect (04:29) Why Smart People Still Get Caught (06:08) The IT Support Scam (13:05) IRS Impersonation and the Tax Season Warning (19:00) "Pause, Reflect, Protect" i