Editorial Policy

Sources we rely on

Every article must cite at least one official U.S. government source (a .gov website). Our primary sources are:

• Federal Trade Commission consumer alerts and data (consumer.ftc.gov, ftc.gov)
• FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center public service announcements and annual reports (ic3.gov)
• U.S. Postal Inspection Service (uspis.gov)
• Social Security Office of the Inspector General (oig.ssa.gov)
• Medicare, CMS and the HHS Office of Inspector General
• State attorneys general and other official state consumer protection offices

News reports and industry research can help us notice a new trend, but we do not publish a claim, a dollar figure or a statistic unless we can confirm it in an official source. Every source is listed at the end of the article with the date we last checked it.

How we check facts

1. The writer drafts the article from official sources and records each source's address and the date it was read.
2. Every number, date, phone number and quote is checked against the original source page — not against another article.
3. Phone numbers and web addresses we tell you to use are opened and tested before publishing.
4. If a figure cannot be confirmed, it is removed. We do not estimate or round numbers in a way the source does not.

Review before publishing

A second member of the team who did not write the article reviews it for accuracy, clarity and tone. The reviewer's name appears at the top of every article. Articles are written in our own words; we summarize and explain official guidance rather than copying it.

Scam examples

Our sample texts, emails and call scripts are made up, based on patterns described in official warnings. They are always labeled "EXAMPLE — SCAM" and use only fictional phone numbers (555-0100 to 555-0199) and example web addresses (example.com), so that no real person, business or website is shown.

Use of AI tools

We may use AI writing tools to help prepare drafts, summaries and layouts. AI tools are never treated as a source. A human editor checks every fact against the cited official sources and approves every article before it is published.

Updates

Scams change quickly. We review published articles regularly and whenever an agency issues new guidance. The "Updated" date at the top of an article shows the last time its content was meaningfully changed. Fixes to errors follow our corrections policy.

Independence

We are an independent publication. Advertisers, sponsors and the companies we mention have no influence over what we write or how we rate a risk. Ads are clearly labeled and are never placed inside scam examples. See our advertising disclosure.