Scammers are having a field day. If you’re not careful, they can steal your identity, delete the last 10 years of your credit history and even take away the money in your bank account. From email scams to phone calls and text messages, no industry is safe from scammers and their ploys. Here’s how to avoid falling prey to their tricks.

The most common scams

are a waste of time. Scammers typically look for opportunities to push fake goods, services, and currency on unsuspecting individuals. Don’t fall victim!

Scammers are trying to get something out of you—and it’s easy to spot if you see the same tactics in different forms of communication from one scammer to another.

Let’s say you receive an email from someone who identifies himself as an international shipping agent or a real estate agent. He wants you to send money for goods and services for your home. You realize that he is using your identity and the information he has about you.

Don’t fall for the scam: You can avoid this type of scam by doing a little research before clicking on any links or sending money. Make sure you’re aware of how much information is available about you online so that scammers cannot use your personal information and data to impersonate yourself in order to trick other people into paying them money through email scams and phone calls.

How to protect yourself from online scams

The scammers are on a mission — to steal the money and information you have. Scammers are everywhere, looking for your money and information so they can do whatever they want with it. The only way to keep yourself safe is to be extra vigilant. Here’s what you need to watch out for.

Email scams: Scammers use email as a vehicle of choice because it’s easy and free, but there are certain ways you can avoid falling victim to an email scam that could cost you hundreds of dollars in your bank account. If someone emails you suggesting that someone else is sending an email message, delete the email immediately because these emails contain malware that could steal your identity or take away all the money in your account (you don’t know who may be sending these messages). If it seems like an obvious scam, remember that’s why companies like spambots are such effective tools for scammers — because nobody has a good solution for them.

Phone scams: Phone scams work just like e-mail scams except instead of using a web service like Gmail or Yahoo!, phone scammers use carriers like Sprint or AT&T . As long as you don’t answer calls from unknown numbers, they can take advantage of your trust and rob you.

Get yourself a good credit score

To start, you need to have a good credit score. The credit score will tell your prospective customers whether or not they can get a loan from you. This is critical because if someone wants to use your services, they’ll want to know that they can trust you with their money and spend with confidence.

The best way to boost your credit score is by paying your bills on time and carrying a low balance in your account. If you don’t pay bills on time, the credit rating will take a hit and it could put off potential customers from applying for loans, getting business insurance, or simply buying products from you.

Scams are everywhere, so be smart about your money.

The first step is learning how to recognize a scam. Here’s what you should do if you think someone is trying to scam you:

Step 1: Don’t click on the link or attachment

Step 2: Do not agree to anything online

Make sure you stay safe! If anyone wants to help you out, that’s a good sign that they want something from you, not vice versa.