Something is happening right now

Hang up. Close the window. Don't open the door.

You can do that this second, before you finish reading this page. Nothing bad happens because you hung up. Come back and read the rest once you have.

You are allowed to do this

The hardest part of hanging up isn't fear. It's manners.

You were raised not to be rude to someone who is being polite to you. Scammers know that, and it's the tool they use most. The urgency, the authority, the patience in their voice — all of it is built to make hanging up feel like the wrong thing to do.

It isn't. A real bank, a real police officer, a real grandchild, a real government office will all still be there in ten minutes. Not one of them will mind that you hung up to check. The only person who minds is the one who needs you to stay on the line.

You don't owe an excuse and you don't have to explain. You can say this and nothing else:

"I'm going to hang up and call back on a number I look up myself."

Then hang up, whether or not they've finished talking.

The next five minutes

Put the phone down.
All the way down, on the table. If it rings again, let it ring. If a popup won't close, hold the power button until the whole machine shuts off. You will not break anything.
Say it out loud to one person.
A spouse, a neighbor, your daughter, the pharmacist. Anyone. Scams need you alone and hurried, and telling one other human being what's happening ends more of them than any technical check ever will.
Look the number up yourself.
Your card, your statement, your bill. Then call and ask plainly: "Did someone from your office just call me?"

That's it. That's the whole defense, and you've already done the hard part by stopping.

If you already gave them something

None of this is a disaster, and every one of them has a next step.

A code from a text message. Change the password on that account now, from the real app or an address you type yourself. Then read the phishing page.

A password. Change it there, and anywhere else you used the same one. Your email account first — it's the one that can reset all the others.

Access to your computer. Turn it off now, at the power button, and read what to do next.

Your Social Security number. Here is what that does and doesn't mean — it's less than most people fear.

Money. Go to I think I was scammed and start with your bank. On that page, speed matters more than anything else.

If someone is at your door

You do not have to open it, and you do not have to answer through it.

Nobody legitimate arrives unannounced to collect cash, gold, or a card. Not a utility, not a police force, not a bank, not a court. If they say they were expected, they weren't. Call the company on your bill while they wait outside, or call 911 if you feel unsafe.

One more thing

If you stopped partway through, you did the whole thing right. There's no prize for finishing a conversation with someone who was lying to you, and no embarrassment in walking away from one.

And if it turns out to have been real? Then you called back two minutes later and sorted it out, and nobody thought twice about it. That's the trade this whole site is built on: a small, harmless delay against a loss you can't undo.

Free help — nobody blames you

National Elder Fraud Hotline: 833-372-8311 — Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern. Run by the Department of Justice.
AARP Fraud Watch Helpline: 877-908-3360 — Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern. You don't have to be a member.