A robovoice told me calmly but very seriously that my M&T Bank Visa had been used in a suspicious circumstance, and my account had been suspended.  It then explained that I should punch my credit card into into the phone to log into my account to reach the Fraud Department to get it restored.  My fingers reached for the keypad when I heard a voice in my head that said, don't do that!  Hang up!  OK, it was my wife's voice -- I had the call on speakerphone.  Good advice.

I logged into my account on my computer and there was no indication whatsoever that my card had a problem.  And then the robovoice called my wife.  When it called my daughter we knew for sure it was a scam because my daughter does not have an M&T Bank Visa.

These calls come more often than you would think.  And otherwise intelligent, thoughtful people fall for them.  You know the one where someone you know emails, messages, or calls to say they are in a foreign country, lost their wallet, was picked up by the police and needs you to wire money immediately?  I got an IM on Facebook a few years ago, purportedly from a friend who was supposedly in London, finding herself in just that situation.  As it happened I was alert to this particular scam, and on top of that I had just seen her a few days earlier.  I was pretty sure she would have mentioned a trip to London!

The person on the other end of the instant message window played the part, and seemed upset that I wouldn't help.  When (s)he called me a few choice names for being a heartless son of a B it confirmed this was not my friend.  I got a good laugh, and so did my friend when I told her about it a couple of days later.  She was aware of the scam, because a number of her friends had been hit up for cash.  She changed her password and regained control of her account -- and she was lucky, because it could have been a lot harder than that if the scammers had been a little smarter.

My parents were a riper mark.  They got a call from South America, and couldn't quite hear the name given, so my mother asked if it were her grandson by name.  Of course the scammer said yes.  This threw my folks into a panic.  They had no idea their grandson was even planning to go to South America, let alone find himself in jail.  Luckily there was a hole in the story, so they called me to see if I knew anything about this.

I immediately recognized the scam, and tried to assure them that their grandson was not only still at home, but was on a date at that very moment at a restaurant on the Ithaca Commons.  Now came the wacky part -- both educated, intelligent people, they were so panicked that they didn't believe me.  My dad was just about ready to wire the money when they reached my son on his cell phone.  Taken somewhat by surprise, he didn't know what they were talking about, but was able to calm them down enough to realize that he was not in distress -- quite the opposite, since he was enjoying a nice dinner with a nice girl on the Commons.

The scammers called back demanding to know why the money hadn't been wired yet, so my father took the opportunity to give them a detailed idea of what he thought of them.  That was a close call with a happy ending.

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) has stepped up their reporting of scams and dispensing of advice on how to avoid becoming the victim of one.  At the time of this writing the BBB Scam Tracker Web site is reporting 2,123 know scams across the United States, 14 of them based in New York State.  But these only represent scams reported to the BBB.  I noticed the M&T Bank scam wasn't among them, and I surmise that the scams noted on this Web site are only a fraction of scams being perpetrated on New Yorkers.

The Scam Tracker Web site locates scams on a Google map of the United States.  The biggest cluster centers on the eastern midwest, with 109 located in and around Cincinnatti.  Richmond, VA is another hot spot with 167 scams in the general area.  None are shown for Upstate New York, but it wouldn't be a stretch to surmise the M&T scam may originate here, since M&T is headquartered in western New York.  But it wouldn't be a stretch to surmise it originates anywhere in the world, since telephone scammers have the ability to fake the Caller ID on their calls.  A lot of them use the 876 area code with a fake number.  876 is a local Jamaican area code, but that doesn't mean these calls are actually originating in Jamaica.

Nigerian scam has become so well known it has long been grist for late night television comedians.  Some respectable muckymuck -- a royal family member or a high government official -- from Nigeria solicits your help in removing his or her millions from the country before it is seized by their evil government.  You may keep three million (or a percentage) if you will just let them transfer all the money to your account, and then return the bulk of it to them when they make it to America.  Once they have your account information they transfer your money and that is the last you hear of them.

The first time I was approached with this scam was by postal letter.  I was pretty sure it was a scam so I called the Ithaca FBI office (yes, Ithaca has an FBI office).  They weren't too concerned, as this scam was well known to them.  I told them I was curious as to how it worked, and they explained that it depended on my gullibility and willingness to share my bank account information with a stranger.  I remember telling my dad about it, and he laughed and jokingly said, "Yeah, but wouldn't it be great if it were true!"

That's the number one thing to look for: if it's too good to be true, it isn't.

Also look for grammar and spelling.  Scammers may be clever, but the majority of them are also stupid.  There are various telltale things that mark scams as scams.  Poorly worded email scams, especially those that supposedly come from American companies, rank number one in the category of figurative flashing red scam warning lights.  Believe me, Target or Walmart or American Express isn't likely to send you an email worded, "Click here to log you account in and get most wonderful discount."

A variation of the Nigerian scam is one in which you are told you qualify for free government grant money.  They then ask for your checking account money so they can transfer the money to your account.  Of course what they actually do is transfer money out of your account.  Or they demand processing fees before you can receive money.  Once your check is cashed you never hear from them again. 

"Does that sound too good to be true? That’s because it is," says BBB of Upstate New York's Peggy Penders.  "If you take the bait, scammers will then congratulate you on your eligibility. Then, they ask you for your checking account information. They claim that they need to deposit the money directly into your checking account, or to cover a one-time ‘processing fee.’  Whatever the reason, two things will happen: You will never see that money, and scammers have access to your banking information."

The BBB recently offered tips on how to spot a grant scam:

• The government typically doesn't call, text or email.
• Government agencies normally communicate through U.S. Mail, so be very cautious of any unsolicited calls, text messages or emails.
• Don't pay any money for a government grant. If you have to pay money to claim a ‘free’ government grant, it isn't really free. A real government agency won't ask you to pay a processing fee for a grant that you have already been awarded.
• Don’t rely on caller ID. Some con artists use Internet technology to disguise their area code in caller ID systems. Although it may look like they're calling from Washington, DC, they could be calling from anywhere in the world. Be wary of look-a-like government agencies. Just because the caller says they are from the ‘Federal Grants Administration’ doesn't mean that they are... or that such an agency exists. When in doubt, do a quick online search.
• Pick up the phone. If you receive a suspicious call or email, call the local government agency to check its legitimacy. Look for the phone number on previous correspondence or the official government website. Don't call a number in the email.

If you find yourself tempted by a scam, think about it before acting.  If you get an email from a company you deal with do not click on the link in the email to access your account, as it may be a fake copy of the company's real Web site.  Instead, manually type in the Web address of the real site in your Web browser and log in.  That way you know you are not giving away your username and password to a scammer.

In this electronic world it doesn't matter where the scammer is -- you can be scammed in the comfort of your own livingroom.  In a way that helps the scammers -- they catch you in your comfort zone, in your own home where you feel safe.  But it is important to remember to think before you act, no matter how comfortable you feel.

Remember what your mom told you to do when you get angry?  It works for scams, too.  Count to ten.  Calm down.  Think it through.

Remember what Ronald Regan said?  "Trust but verify."  When presented with just about anything by phone, letter or email do something like that, but not exactly that: Don't trust.  Always verify.

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