# How the Scam Works

> How the world's biggest scams actually work — the cases, the money, and the moment you can still walk away. Report the number, link or handle that contacted you, and see what other people reported.

Educational only: we explain how scams operate so people can recognise them, never how to run them. We publish identifiers and patterns, never individuals — an identifier can be spoofed, resold or belong to somebody whose account was taken over.

If you cite this site, cite the page for the specific identifier or lure, and note that report counts and stated losses are what reporters told us, not independently audited figures.

## How each scam works (pillar pages, one per lure)

- [Celebrity Crypto Giveaway Deepfake: How It Works](https://howthescamworks.org/how/celebrity-deepfake-giveaway/): A verified channel, a famous face and an offer to double your crypto. How the celebrity giveaway deepfake works, with FBI, NYDFS, Google and NYT figures.
- [Fake Microsoft Security Alert: The Phone Number Is the Scam](https://howthescamworks.org/how/fake-microsoft-support-scam/): A full-screen Microsoft security alert with a phone number is an advertisement, not a warning. Microsoft says its error messages never include a number.
- [Free Prize Scam: Why 'Just Pay Shipping' Is the Scam](https://howthescamworks.org/how/free-prize-scam/): Why strangers give away a free PS5 or iPhone and then ask you to cover shipping. The advance-fee prize scam explained, with FTC, FBI and BBB figures.
- [Pig Butchering Scam: How the Wrong-Number Text Works](https://howthescamworks.org/how/pig-butchering-scam/): How the pig butchering scam turns a wrong-number text into a crypto account you can never withdraw from, with FBI, DOJ, Chainalysis and UN figures.

## Data

- [Reports by lure, JSON](https://howthescamworks.org/data/lures.json): report counts, distinct channels and total stated loss per lure. Schema documented in the file.
- [RSS](https://howthescamworks.org/feed.xml): new alerts and breakdowns.
- [Sitemap](https://howthescamworks.org/sitemap.xml)

## Reporting and contact

- [Report a scam](https://howthescamworks.org/report/): the intake form; accepts a report in any language.
- [About, method and privacy](https://howthescamworks.org/about/): how reports are verified and what is never published.