45 Scammers Who Got ‘Destroyed’ By The People They Were Trying To Rip Off (New Pics)

Moreover, Kelso suggests being mindful of where you share your phone number and email address. If you give them out too freely, untrustworthy companies might sell your data. This could leave you with dangerous spam emails and unwanted calls.

Remember that scammers rely on psychological manipulation to take advantage of you. “They use fear-based tactics to get us into our primitive brain, which is always on alert,” Alex Melkumian, founder of the Financial Psychology Center, said for Time Magazine. “[This] really just hijacks our ability to rationally think through the situation.”

At the end of the day, Kelso says to “trust your gut.” Delete messages that make you feel uneasy and don’t make quick decisions. “If people really want to contact you, they will reach out [until they do].”