by Tonya Sams

(Plain Press April 2026) Scammers continually seek new methods to exploit others for financial gain. The best way to avoid being a victim is to know the tactics that scammers use to take advantage of others.          

One such tactic is text scams.

“A text scam is when a scammer sends a text message to try to create a sense of urgency for you to a click a link that’s going to put some type of malware on your phone,” said Matt Alden, a Supervising Attorney in the Economic Justice Practice Group at The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland. “They may try to get you to give up your social security number, date of birth, or your bank account information. To help create a sense of urgency, scammers sometimes use the names of government agencies. They will pick agencies that they think will generate a quick reaction in people such as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).”

Tactics that prey on people who are looking for additional work are known as side hustle scams.They’re typically work at home positions, like processing orders or data entry, that claim to offer more money than usually expected for the type of work performed. To make sure that the company is legitimate, verify on the Better Business Bureau, Ohio Attorney General or the Federal Trade Commission websites.

“The first clue that it is a scam is if they’re asking you to pay money to get started,” said Alden. “A legitimate company that’s hiring someone does not charge you a fee to start doing the work.”

Another scam tactic is debt settlement scams.Scammers target those who owe thousands in credit card debt and will have them pay a certain amount of money each month into a fund, promising to reach out to creditors to settle the debt for less than what is owed.

“Some creditors may agree to accept less, but other creditors may sue you,” Alden said. “You will then have to worry about your wages being garnished, and you’re out of all the money that you paid the debt settlement company. You wind up either having to file bankruptcy or take some action to protect yourself.”

Because it’s tax season, beware of tax scams. Scammers will file a tax return under someone else’s name while also falsifying information such as work history or family size. The person who was scammed usually finds out when they try to file their income tax return and the IRS informs them that a tax return was already filed under their name.  

For free legitimate tax preparation services visit www.refundohio.org/tax-sites.

If you think that your personal information has gotten into the wrong hands, notify your bank and the three main credit bureaus (TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian) immediately.

If you have been scammed, Legal Aid may be able to help! To apply for free legal services, call 888-817-3777 or apply online: lasclev.org/apply.

Tonya Sams is a Development & Communications Manager at The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland.