FTC Scam Warning: What to Do When a Text, Call, or Social-Media Message Wants Your Money

The FTC’s May 21, 2026 consumer alert says unexpected texts, calls, and social-media messages are common ways scammers try to steal money or personal information.
Fake package notices, job offers, investment pitches, romance approaches, and requests to “protect” your money are among the warning signs to watch for.
If you receive one, stop responding, verify the claim independently, report it, and contact your bank, card issuer, or payment service immediately if money was sent.

The FTC’s warning: scams are reaching people through every major messaging channel

The Federal Trade Commission warned on May 21, 2026, that scams commonly begin with an unexpected text, phone call, advertisement, or direct message on social media. The goal may be to take your money, collect personal information, or gain access to an account.

The safest response is simple: stop communicating, don’t click links or call numbers supplied in the message, verify the story through an official channel you find yourself, and report the contact. If you already paid, contact the company or financial institution that handled the payment as soon as possible.

The warning applies to consumers in the United States. Canadians should follow the same immediate safety steps, then report suspected fraud to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and their local police service when appropriate.

What types of scams are showing up?

Scammers often borrow the name and appearance of a business, government agency, employer, bank, or person you recognize. The contact may look polished and may include personal details, but familiarity doesn’t prove that the message is legitimate.

Fake delivery or package notices: A message claims there is a problem with a delivery and asks you to click a link, pay a small fee, or confirm personal information.
Impersonation calls: Someone claims to be from a bank, government agency, police department, or technology company and says you must move money or share account details immediately.
Job offers: A social-media contact promises easy work, unusually high pay, or quick income, then asks for money, banking information, or payment for equipment or training.
Investment pitches: A stranger or online connection promises guaranteed returns, exclusive opportunities, or access to cryptocurrency investments.
Romance and relationship scams: A fake profile builds trust before asking for money, gift cards, cryptocurrency, or help with an urgent problem.
Recovery scams: After someone loses money, another person claims they can recover it for an upfront fee. The FTC says legitimate agencies and organizations don’t require payment or financial information to help obtain a refund.

How to respond to a suspicious text, call, or social-media message

1. Stop and don’t follow the instructions

Don’t reply, click a link, download an attachment, call the number in the message, or send money while you’re still trying to decide whether the contact is real. Urgency is one of the scammer’s main tools.

If the message appears to come from your bank, delivery company, employer, or a government agency, open the official app or type the organization’s known website into your browser. Use the phone number shown on your bank card, account statement, or official website—not the number in the message or the number displayed by caller ID.

2. Verify the claim independently

Look for the issue through an account you already know is genuine. For example, check a delivery directly in the carrier’s app, contact your bank through online banking, or confirm a job through the employer’s official careers page.

Be especially cautious when the person tells you to keep the conversation secret, move to another messaging app, pay with gift cards or cryptocurrency, use a wire transfer, or transfer money to “protect” it. Those demands are strong scam indicators.

3. Save evidence before deleting or blocking

Take screenshots of messages, profiles, phone numbers, email addresses, payment instructions, receipts, and website addresses. Keep the date and time of the contact. This information can help your bank, platform, police service, or fraud-reporting agency understand what happened.

4. Report the contact

In the United States, report unwanted texts through your phone’s junk-reporting option or forward them to 7726, which spells SPAM. If you want to report an unwanted call without a financial loss, use the National Do Not Call Registry complaint process. Report fraud, attempted fraud, or information about a scammer to the FTC’s fraud-reporting service.

In Canada, report scams and suspected fraud to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, even if you didn’t lose money. Suspicious text messages can also be forwarded to 7726. If you gave away personal or financial information, contact your financial institution and consider contacting your local police service.

What to do if you sent money or shared personal information

Act quickly, but don’t assume that the money is automatically gone. Recovery isn’t guaranteed, yet the payment provider may be able to stop, reverse, or flag a transaction if you contact it promptly.

Contact the payment provider immediately. Call the bank, credit-card issuer, wire-transfer company, gift-card company, payment-app provider, or cryptocurrency platform using contact details from an official source.
Ask whether the transaction can be reversed. Explain that it was fraudulent and ask what documentation or dispute process is required.
Secure affected accounts. Change reused passwords, enable multifactor authentication, sign out other sessions, and contact the account provider if someone may have accessed your email, phone, or social-media account.
Protect your identity. In the United States, consider the appropriate identity-theft response if you shared a Social Security number or other sensitive information. In Canada, ask both national credit bureaus about placing a fraud alert if your identity or credit information may be at risk.
Report the incident. Include payment records, screenshots, usernames, phone numbers, and wallet or account details where relevant.

Don’t pay anyone who later promises to recover your money for an upfront fee. Recovery scammers often target people whose information has already appeared in an earlier fraud report or victim list.

United States and Canada: where to report

Situation	United States	Canada
Suspicious or unwanted text	Use your phone’s report-junk option or forward it to 7726.	Forward it to 7726 and report the incident to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
Unwanted call with no financial loss	Use the National Do Not Call Registry complaint process.	Report telemarketing concerns through the appropriate Canadian complaint channel and report suspected fraud to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
Money or personal information was lost	Contact the payment provider, then report to the FTC and consider contacting local law enforcement.	Contact the financial institution immediately, report to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, and contact local police when appropriate.
Account may be compromised	Change passwords, enable multifactor authentication, and use the provider’s official recovery process.	Take the same account-security steps and notify the affected provider or financial institution.

What happens next?

The FTC’s alert does not announce a new deadline or a single nationwide shutdown of scam activity. It is a consumer warning about the channels scammers are using and the steps people can take now.

For readers, the practical next action is to treat unexpected requests for money, passwords, account codes, or sensitive information as unverified until you confirm them independently. Reporting an attempted scam is still worthwhile, even when you recognized it before paying.

Helpful Links

FTC consumer alert: How are scammers trying to reach you? – Review the FTC’s May 21, 2026 warning about scam texts, calls, job offers, investment pitches, and social-media messages.
Report fraud to the Federal Trade Commission – Submit a report about fraud, attempted fraud, or information about a scammer in the United States.
Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre – Report fraud or attempted fraud in Canada and review current fraud warnings and reporting options.
Government of Canada fraud and scam protection – Find Canadian government guidance for reporting scams, identity theft, financial fraud, and online threats.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Should I reply to a scam text so the sender knows I recognized it?

A. No. Don’t reply, argue, or confirm that your number is active. Use your phone’s report-junk option or forward the message to 7726, then block and delete it.

Q. Can a caller ID or verified-looking social-media profile prove that a message is real?

A. No. Caller ID can be spoofed, and social-media profiles can be copied or fabricated. Verify the request through an official app, website, account statement, or phone number that you find independently.

Q. What should I do if I gave a scammer a one-time passcode?

A. Contact the affected account provider immediately, change your password, sign out other sessions, enable multifactor authentication, and review recent account activity. If money or banking information was involved, contact your financial institution right away.

Q. Will reporting a scam guarantee that I get my money back?

A. No. Reporting helps agencies and financial institutions identify patterns, but it doesn’t guarantee reimbursement. Your best chance of stopping or reversing a payment is to contact the payment provider immediately and follow its fraud procedure.