Guides

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Everything on this site, in the order most people need it.

Checked and updated November 8, 2026 by Byte Federal’s fraud-prevention team. How we check facts.

What to do in the first hour: the operator, the police, your bank, the FTC and the FBI, in that order.

The stories scammers tell on the phone, word for word, and the red flags that give every one of them away.

These scams most often begin with a phone call. How spoofing works, what carriers do and don’t do, and the tools that screen scam calls.

Six questions to answer before you put cash in. One “yes” means stop.

The conversation to have now, the call screening to set up, the signs a parent is being coached, and what to do if it has happened.

Where these scams start, where fraud money really moves, what Indiana’s ban did, who loses when kiosks close, and what works.

Every state’s kiosk law with the statute: limits, bans, and where the law makes the operator reimburse scam losses, with the deadlines.

Every agency that takes reports, including for the number that called you, what each one does with it, and what to have ready.

Why anyone who promises to get your crypto back for a fee is almost certainly running another scam.