Protecting yourself against phone fraud, phishing and scams has never been more important. Consider these tips to help protect yourself:

• Scammers can pretend to be a person or organization you may normally do business with. Don’t provide information to an unexpected caller claiming to be from a familiar business.
  
• Do an online search with the caller’s company name and add the word “scam” to see if others have reported similar calls as scams.
  
• Don’t believe your caller ID —technology makes it easier for scammers to fake caller ID information.
  
• Don’t pay for anything over the phone unless you expect the call or initiated the call directly to a company. Use a credit card when making phone payments for their built-in fraud protection.
  
• Be skeptical. If something doesn’t seem right, trust your instincts and do some research before providing any personal information.
  

The Office of the Indiana Attorney General provides resources on topics such as identity theft, fraud and other scams. Visit the Attorney General’s website at  www.in.gov/attorneygeneral where you can sign up for fraud alerts, access their ID Theft Protection Toolkit and more.