On today’s Money Minute — a big warning on scams.

Some people may think they can spot a scam but some can be trickier to spot. Here are some tips to help keep you from becoming a victim.

“There’s been a huge increase,” said Shannon Doyle with LSS Financial Counseling.

Doyle said that just over the summer, scams really ramped up, especially in how you pay for things and the target is younger generations.

“…ask you to pay thru cyber currency,” Doyle said.

This includes payment apps you and your friends pay each other with, debit cards, credit cards and asking you to pay with gift cards.

“We are seeing more fraud,” said Steven Warren, a CPA at Schechter Dokken Kanter.

Warren says scammers are smarter and their emails and messages are looking more like the real thing. It’s hard to tell the fakes, so it’s important to treat them carefully.

Warrens says to be suspicious, “If you’re not expecting the communication that you got.”

Also, be wary if you get a message claiming to be from someone you know that seems odd or suspicious.
Call the number you have for your contact and ask them a simple question.

“Did you just email me or call me?” Warren noted.

All of this seems simple, but that’s how they can get you in these scams so it’s important to keep your guard up.