Here's how to avoid getting scammed out of $50,000 over the phone

The incredible, heartbreaking and frustrating story of a respected financial expert who was scammed out of $50,000 over the phone has provoked quite a few reactions of disbelief and outrage, but I am more interested in ensuring, wherever you are, the veracity of this story, so that you don't end up equally scammed.

These are my top 7 tips to avoid phone scams and other similar digital scams.

Just don't do it

Don't answer the phone when you see a number you don't recognize.

Don't assume it's local and important because the call matches your area code.

Don't act on that text message telling you that you have a suspicious order from Amazon (we all shop on Amazon, so it doesn't take a genius to come up with a worrying online shopping scenario that applies to everyone).

Please do not call the fake “Chase Bank” number provided to verify the security of your account and funds.

Don't hand over money because no royal official or law enforcement officer will ever ask for it.

Decelerate

Say you made the mistake of answering that phone call from a number you don't recognize or you reacted in alarm to a text message and called that number or followed that link. Now you're on a call with someone who is doing their best to explain the dire details of your “situation.” None of this is true, but it seems plausible and you agree. But you are not.

Cut the chat and tell him you're going to stop, hang up and check your accounts. This means opening a web browser and navigating to the bank and shopping accounts you set up and frequent. You won't see any unusual activity, trust me.

Never use phone numbers that were given to you via text message or phone call from an unknown person.

Once phone scammers have you, their goal is to keep you trapped in their web of lies. This means as little contact as possible with the outside world. They will provide you with answers to all your questions, but each door they open will function as a Mebius strip, turning the scam around. They will often provide you with a phone number to call to verify their claims. Hang up and call the official customer service of your bank or shopping site.

They only know what you've already shared or hacked.

Phone and text scammers are very effective because they seem to know everything about you. In truth, they are simply performing the mentalist trick. Mind readers and phone scammers have this in common: They use publicly available information to create a profile of you, and you've already given them plenty of ammunition. Most of us have at least a decade's worth of personal information on social media. We share our children's names, birthdays, our spouses' names, our anniversaries, our nicknames, our photos and videos. There is nothing we don't share.

What's worse is that the things we try to keep private have been leaked through hacks on the dark web: email and home addresses, phone numbers, and even passwords and social security numbers. What scammers can't find, they will get from you by convincing you that they already have the information. A partial social security number? The scammer will read it to you and you will gladly fill in the rest.

I recommend sharing less, but the truth is that the genie is out of the bottle and unless you are ready to do some identity cleaning, there is little chance that you will be able to extract all your private data from the Internet. Still, if you move, you may never share your new address on social media.

Don't assume that anything you see or hear is real

AI is now powerful enough to recreate audio, video and photos of almost anyone, and phone scammers and criminals can use all of that to convince you that someone is trying to harm your family (or has even kidnapped a to be loved).

A very natural reaction is to take action and protect your family, but instead of giving in to the criminal's demands, start trying to contact that family member or someone close to them directly. You could even ask the scammer to have the “kidnapped” family member repeat a previously agreed upon “safe” word (this word should be selected and shared in person only). If the scammer can't get that word or phrase hostage from him, he doesn't have it. Believe me, they never had them.

Don't give in to emotions

The less you react and the more you analyze, the more likely you are to win against the increasing demands of phone scammers. You see, they only have the power you give them. When you stop saying yes and start doing your own work, they usually get stuck and usually abandon the call.

Follow these tips and I bet you won't end up like that author and will never lose $50,000.