Reported by Tara Siegel Bernard

Cybercrime is on the rise, but even the best antivirus software can’t thwart scammers who target the human psyche.

Here are tips on how to avoid some of the most devastating schemes and what to do if you or someone you care about becomes ensnared.

If You Become a Victim

What’s my first step?

The nature of each scam is different, so the remedies will vary. But generally speaking, the first call should be to your financial institution to alert them. If you’ve wired money to a fraudster, you can try to request a recall or a reversal, but that needs to be done almost immediately.

If you’ve purchased a gift card, in another example, immediately report it to the gift card issuer.

Which law enforcement agencies can help?

Many people don’t report frauds because they feel so much shame, but it’s important to do so quickly with as much information as possible. That helps law enforcement aggregate complaints, detect patterns and emerging threats, and identify and investigate criminals.

Local police. Experts suggest starting with your local police department, though not every one will have experience or training in cybercrime. If yours doesn’t, ask for a detective who specializes in economic crimes. But some locales, including San Diego and Santa Clara, have created specific task forces to investigate online scams or elder exploitation.

F.B.I. All cybercrime victims should file complaints with the bureau’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, or IC3, the government’s central reporting hub.

The center’s Recovery Asset Team helps to facilitate communication between local F.B.I. offices and financial institutions, which can potentially freeze funds. Last year, for example, IC3 received a complaint from a home buyer in Stamford, Conn., who was deceived into sending $426,000 to scammers to close the transaction. IC3 was notified within two days and was able to freeze the scammer’s account and returned all but $1,000.

But IC3 itself does not conduct investigations, so don’t expect a call back. Instead, an analyst reviews your complaint and forwards it to the proper federal, state, local or international law enforcement or regulatory agencies with jurisdiction.

Victims should keep all paper and digital evidence in the event an investigation is opened.

For more guidance, see the IC3 website.

Secret Service. The Secret Service may not immediately come to mind, but its cyber investigative section may be able to help, particularly if you’ve wired money. You can report crimes to your local field office.

But you need to do so almost immediately if you want to have any shot of recovering the funds. Jason Kane, special agent in charge of the agency’s Nashville office, said that if a person wires money to a fraudster and can contact the Secret Service less than 48 hours later, agents may be able to help.

“The sooner you call, the better our chances to recover funds, but if we are past the 72-hour mark, the likelihood of funds return is significantly less,” Mr. Kane said.

The Federal Trade Commission also collects complaints.

I would like someone to help walk me through this process.

The National Elder Fraud Hotline, run by the Justice Department, can help. The AARP Fraud Watch Network(available weekdays at 877-908-3360) can also provide more guidance.

What are the chances I can get my money back?

It’s sometimes possible but usually not probable. It depends on the scam and how quickly it’s reported to the financial institution and appropriate agencies.

What should I do if my computer may have been compromised?

If you believe a scammer may have had access to your device, get your machine scrubbed clean by a professional, like BestBuy’s Geek Squad service (just beware of related scams!), Apple’s Genius Bar or a local computer technician.

That means formatting your computer back to its factory settings and reinstalling the operating system. Taking this step would remove any malware you can’t see, including remote access trojans, which let hackers control your device, explained Sinan Eren, a cybersecurity expert and chief executive of Opnova, a start-up that automates security.

“This is the correct approach to remove any doubt,” Mr. Eren.

If my computer starts sounding alarms, what should I do?

Several victims seem to have clicked on a pop-up window, ad or some other link that caused their computers to make loud noises, as if it were under attack. Do not follow the instructions on the screen. Instead, shut the machine off and disconnect from the internet. Then you’ll want to scrub the machine clean to ensure it’s free of any lurkers.

What should I do if I suspect my phone has been compromised?

Fraudsters can infiltrate your mobile device in different ways like having calls and messages forwarded to another number, or porting your phone number to a device they control (known as SIM swapping).

If you think your phone has been tainted, visit your mobile carrier’s store, or call the provider from another phone number.

Tell them about your suspicion and go over your account settings with them, including call forwarding and your voice mail password, Mr. Eren said. “It is a good idea to establish a security PIN with your mobile carrier, which will be asked when you call for service from there on,” he said.

Mr. Eren also suggests returning the device to its factory settings, recovering data through iCloud or Google Play, and always updating the operating system as soon as an update becomes available.

Read full report: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/10/business/online-scams-advice.html