How to Shut Down a Scammer: Four Rules

These are professional criminals. They do this all day, every day, and they are good at it. Getting the call is not your fault, and knowing what to do next is what stops them.

Get the printable version: Download the 10-page handout (PDF), or type radio.azcomputerguru.com/scam into any browser. It is free to copy and share, with a “Who to Call” page to tear out and two cards to cut out and keep by the phone.

Four rules. That is the whole thing.

1. Hang up. It is not rude. You never have to stay on a telephone call. There is no such thing as a call you are required to finish. You do not owe a stranger an explanation, a goodbye, or a reason.
2. Call back on a number you looked up. If it is really your bank, your grandson, or Medicare, they will still be there in ten minutes. Hang up first. Then find the number yourself: on your bank card, on a statement, in your own address book. Never the number they gave you.
3. Nobody real wants gift cards. No bank, police officer, government office or utility company has ever asked to be paid in gift cards, wire transfers, cryptocurrency, or cash in an envelope. If that is the ask, it is a scam, every single time.
4. Tell somebody before you pay, not after. Say it out loud to one person you trust. Scammers work hard to keep you alone on the phone, because alone is the only way this works.

If you remember nothing else: hang up, look up the number, call back.

What they actually say

• “Grandma? I’m in trouble. Please don’t tell Mom.” They can copy a real voice from a few seconds of video. Hang up and call your grandchild on the number you already have.
• “This is Microsoft. Your computer is infected.” Microsoft and Apple do not telephone people about their computers. Never let anyone connect to your computer because they called you.
• “This is Social Security. Your number has been suspended.” Social Security numbers are never suspended. Only a criminal says that sentence.
• “This is your bank’s fraud department. We need to move your money to a safe account.” There is no such thing as a “safe account.”
• “This is TEP. Your power will be shut off in thirty minutes.” Tucson Electric Power never demands immediate payment or prepaid cards. TEP’s real number is 520-623-7711, the one printed on your bill.
• “I’m with the Sheriff’s Department. You missed jury duty.” No law enforcement agency takes payment over the phone to clear a warrant.
• “You’ve won! Just pay the taxes and fees.” You never pay money to receive money.
• “I can get back the money you lost, for a small fee.” This is usually the same criminals, coming back for the rest.
• “We’ve been talking for months. I just need help with one emergency.” If someone you know only from the phone, the computer or a dating site asks for money, that is the scam.

Caller ID lies. A scammer can make any name and number appear on your screen, including your bank’s real number or the word POLICE. A caller who knows your name, address or part of your account number has proven nothing either; that information is stolen in data breaches and sold.

Five sentences that mean stop

• “Don’t tell anyone about this.”
• “Stay on the line while you go to the store.”
• “You have to act right now.”
• “Pay with a gift card.” (or wire, or cryptocurrency, or cash to a courier)
• “Let me connect to your computer.”

Any one of these, by itself, is your answer.

What to say to get off the phone

• “I don’t do business over the phone. Goodbye.”
• “I’m going to hang up and call back on the number on my statement.”
• “I never make decisions on a call I didn’t make. Goodbye.”

Or say nothing at all, and hang up.

Never, on a call you did not place: give your Social Security, Medicare, bank or card number; read back a code that was just texted to you; let anyone connect to or “fix” your computer; buy a gift card, send a wire, or feed cash into a crypto machine.

At your door: you never have to open it. Real utility and city workers carry ID and will wait while you call their office to check. Never let a stranger in to “inspect” a roof, pipe or meter, and never pay a contractor cash up front.

On your computer and your phone

• Never click a link in an email or text, and do not type in the address it shows you either. Use your own bookmark or the number on your statement.
• A pop-up that fills the screen with sirens and a phone number is always fake. Close the browser, or turn the machine off and on.
• Do not scan a QR code from a flyer, a letter, a parking sign, or an unexpected package.
• A text about a package you were not expecting is bait. Delete it.
• If your phone asks you to approve a sign-in you did not start, tap Deny, then change that password.
• A text saying you owe a court, a toll or a fine is bait. Courts do not take payment by text, QR code, Zelle or Venmo.

Medicare season: October 15 through December 7

Real Medicare does not call out of the blue for your Medicare number or a payment. There is no “new gold Medicare card.” Free braces, knee supports or genetic test kits offered by phone are fraud. Questions about a plan? Call 1-800-MEDICARE yourself, or Arizona’s Senior Medicare Patrol at 1-800-432-4040.

Set these up this week

1. A family code word. One word only your people know, not a pet or a birthday. Anyone calling as family in trouble has to say it. It defeats every voice clone.
2. A trusted contact at your bank. Someone your bank or broker may call if something looks wrong. Brokerages are required to ask you for one. That person cannot touch your money.
3. Two-step sign-in on your email and your bank. A stolen password alone will not get them in. The code is for you to type, never to read to a caller.
4. Think about freezing your credit now. It is free, it does not hurt your score, and you lift it when you apply for credit.

If your information was in a data breach

Freeze your credit at all three bureaus. It is free.

• Equifax: 1-888-298-0045 or equifax.com
• Experian: 1-888-397-3742 or experian.com
• TransUnion: 1-888-909-8872 or transunion.com

Read the breach notice, but do not tap the link in it. Expect calls that use your real details. If someone opened an account in your name, go to IdentityTheft.gov.

The Arizona courts breach (September 2026): the court system says criminals copied records on about 1.3 million people whose court debt went to collections, including Social Security numbers. If you ever had court debt go to collections, freeze your credit. Check whether you are on the list at azcourts.gov/cybersecurityalert (type it in yourself). Help desk: 602-452-3519 or 800-720-7743, weekdays 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

If it already happened

Tell someone today. Speed is the one thing that gets money back. Being fooled by professionals is not a character flaw; staying quiet only helps them.

1. Call your bank or card company and ask for the fraud department.
2. Tell one family member or friend you trust.
3. Gift cards: keep the cards and receipts and call the company on the card right away.
4. Crypto machine: keep the receipt and contact the machine’s company and the Arizona Attorney General within 30 days. Arizona law can require a refund if you were new to that company.
5. Gave out your Social Security number? Freeze your credit.
6. Report it, using the numbers below.

Expect a second call offering to recover your money for a fee. That is the same crime wearing a different hat.

Who to call

• Emergency, you are in danger: 911
• Tucson Police non-emergency: 520-791-4444
• Pima County Sheriff (outside Tucson city limits): 520-351-4900
• Adult Protective Services, Arizona: 1-877-767-2385 (des.az.gov/aps)
• Arizona Attorney General, Consumer Protection (Tucson): 520-628-6504 (azag.gov/complaints/consumer)
• Pima Council on Aging helpline: 520-790-7262
• Medicare: 1-800-633-4227
• Arizona Senior Medicare Patrol: 1-800-432-4040
• Tucson Electric Power: 520-623-7711
• Federal Trade Commission: 1-877-382-4357 (ReportFraud.ftc.gov)
• Social Security fraud hotline: 1-800-269-0271

All numbers verified October 7-9, 2026.