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9. SIGN UP FOR IDENTITY MONITORING Credit score and identity monitoring services can help you quickly detect and stop fraud. “Monitoring services can alert you to fraudulent activities, such

as unauthorized transactions or identity theft, giving you the opportunity to act before things spiral out of control,” Zirkle says. You might already have access to a free monitoring

service through your bank, credit card company or other service provider, points out Christopher Ray, a longtime chief information security officer who is now head of strategic and

transformation services at Google-owned cybersecurity firm Mandiant. “Credit monitoring services keep an eye on your credit score and let you know if anything changes. This could be anything

from new accounts being opened in your name to someone checking your credit history. If something fishy is going on, you’ll get an alert so you can fix it right away," Ray says. One

of the easiest ways to protect yourself from scams is to avoid answering calls or texts from unknown numbers. Sam Island 10. AVOID UNSOLICITED CALLS, TEXTS AND EMAILS Because scammers often

initiate contact by phone or text, one of the easiest ways to protect yourself from scams is to avoid answering calls or texts from unknown numbers. Set up robocall blocking, for one. But

even familiar numbers can be suspect. “Phone numbers can be spoofed to appear on your caller ID as being from a legitimate source, hiding the real number contacting you,” notes Steve

Weisman, senior lecturer of law and taxation at Bentley University and editor of the blog Scamicide.com. Email addresses can similarly be manipulated. “Expand the headers on your inbound

email messages by clicking the little down arrow so that you can see the full email address, not just the name of the sender,” DeLiema advises. “Read their email address carefully to make

sure that a criminal didn’t just copy [a legitimate one] and make a small change in the letters of their name or organization.” If you do engage with an unknown party by phone or email,

avoid providing personal or financial information.  11. FREEZE YOUR CREDIT When you freeze your credit, “it blocks anyone from opening new accounts or lines of credit in your name, which

stops scammers in their tracks,” Zirkle says. It’s free and easy to freeze your credit by contacting each of the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. You can

initiate a credit freeze online, over the phone or by mail — and temporarily pause or permanently remove it later if you need to apply for a loan, for instance. You can also request a free

credit report from each of the three federal credit bureaus every 12 months. (Find out more at AnnualCreditReport.com.) 12. MAXIMIZE ONLINE PRIVACY SETTINGS If you use social media, be

cautious what you share with friends and followers, and change your privacy settings to limit who can see your posts. “Social media accounts are prime hunting grounds for scammers to gather

personal information,” Zirkle says. “Limiting the amount of information that you share online and using the strictest privacy settings reduces the chance that a scammer can trick you into

thinking they’re someone you know.” The ability for scammers to impersonate someone you know is what makes social media so risky, echoes Weisman. “Scammers harvest information from social

media, and use that information to craft specifically tailored spear-phishing emails and text messages that are more likely to get us to respond,” he says.  13. THINK TWICE BEFORE

CLICKING ON LINKS IN EMAILS AND TEXT MESSAGES More than 90 percent of successful cyberattacks begin with a phishing email, according to the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security

Agency. It might include a link that could download malicious software (malware) to your computer, or try to get you to reveal your passwords, Social Security number, credit card numbers or

other personal information, explains Michael Bruemmer, vice president and head of global data breach resolution and consumer protection at Experian. The solution: Never directly click

links in emails or text messages. Instead, go to the website independently by typing the URL into your browser or use the company’s official app. Scammers often disguise malicious links, so

it’s always safer to verify first. 14. GO STRAIGHT TO THE SOURCE Verify phone calls and emails by going straight to the source — by responding to incoming communications with outgoing ones.

Consider email, for example. “If you are unsure about the message, email the sender directly using a new message and use the email address that is saved in your contacts,” DeLiema says.

“Don’t just reply. Better yet, call the sender on the phone.” The same is true for phone calls. For example, if you receive a call from someone who claims to work at your bank, hang up the

phone, then call the customer service number that’s printed on the back of your credit or debit card to confirm, says Darius Kingsley, managing director and head of consumer banking

practices at JPMorgan Chase & Co. Regularly updating software on your phone, computer and other devices helps protect against malware. Sam Island 15. UPDATE YOUR SOFTWARE Software

updates are one of the easiest things you can do to secure the devices that are connected to your router. “Scammers often exploit vulnerabilities in outdated software to hack into devices,”

Zirkle notes. “Regularly updating software on your phone, computer and other devices helps close security gaps and protect against malware.” 16. ONLY HIRE TRUSTED CONTRACTORS To avoid

fraudulent contractors and fake construction companies, always get multiple bids on home improvement or repair projects, says licensed contractor Rodney Hakimi, owner of Prime Renovations in

Baltimore. “This will help you find a fair price and avoid overcharging,” says Hakimi, who recommends checking licenses and insurance before hiring a contractor. “It is necessary to deal

with professionals who are correctly credentialed. Check your local government website for a contractor license lookup tool.” Other signs of a fake or unscrupulous contractor are

high-pressure sales tactics and requests for extremely high deposits. “A genuine contractor would never hurry you into making decisions,” Hakimi continues. “Also, at no instance is one

required to pay more than one-third of the total cost in advance. It’s reasonable to give a down payment, but never pay everything upfront.” Finally, be sure to check references and get a

signed contract. “Always get a written, detailed contract before any work has started,” Hakimi says. 17. BE CAUTIOUS WHEN PURCHASING PROPERTY Because a home purchase is a large and complex

transaction, real estate scams can deliver big paydays to ambitious scammers, who try to intercept down payments — a devastating experience for home buyers when the criminals succeed (and

they often do). Home buying can be an unfamiliar, complex process “where a lot of confusing information comes at you from all directions, making it difficult for you to detect when

something seems ‘out of the ordinary,’  ” says Tom Cronkright, cofounder of CertifID, a wire fraud prevention firm, and Sun Title, a residential and commercial title company in Grand

Rapids, Michigan. “Scammers will leverage public property and listing data to intercept trusted communications and then impersonate your agent, attorney or title company to get you to send

your money to the wrong place.” To protect yourself — and your investment — ask your real estate agent how they verify the identity of a seller before you close on a property. “Don’t act

hastily,” Cronkright says. Also: “Call your real estate agent, title company or attorney to independently verify any wire instructions before sending funds.”