“A phantom is something you want that is typically unavailable to you,” according to Anthony Pratkanis and Doug Shadel, authors of Weapons of Fraud, a free book about phone scams from AARP, a nonprofit organization for people age 50 and over. A seasoned con gets you salivating over your phantom, then sets a trap: “In order to get this thing you are now fantasizing about, you have to pay $2,000 for a handling fee, or $3,000 for tax, or $1,599 for the ‘below wholesale’ cost,” the authors say.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, consumers reported being bilked out of $682 million in 2005 — and those were just the people who weren’t embarrassed to admit that they were fleeced. “Anyone can be taken,” says Shadel, who is the director of AARP in Washington state. “Cons will customize their pitch to fit what you tell them about yourself.” So rule one, he says, is never to share personal information, such as how many kids you have, with anyone you don’t know.

If you feel yourself becoming caught up in a call, try slowing it down, suggests Shadel. And feel free to just hang up the phone!

1. The Investment Scam
   You’re asked to put money into some new venture or to get in on the ground floor of a stock offering. The venture itself is often related to something in the news, such as alternative fuel sources.




2. The Credit Card/ID Theft Scam
   Capitalizing on fears of credit and identity theft, cons offer to provide “credit protection” in order to access your bank account and credit card information.




3. The Coin Investment Scam
   Here, real coins are often sold, but their true value is highly inflated. “It’s hard to prove fraud if the dealer actually sent you a coin,” says Shadel. You probably can’t prove that the seller lied about the coin’s worth during a phone call.




4. The Reload Scam
   You’re given the opportunity to recover money stolen from you through another scam by supplying “investigators” with personal and financial information. Often the person pulling the reload scam is the one who ripped you off the first time!




5. The Sweepstakes Scam
   These often start through the mail. By filling out a card and paying a fee to enter a phantom sweepstakes, you mark yourself as someone ripe for plucking. “If you get cards in the mail, or offers via e-mail, don’t fill them out,” cautions Shadel.




6. The Lottery Scam
   There’s a spike in these kinds of calls every time a big winner makes national news. If you have to pay to buy tickets to join a lottery club, you are being taken.




7. The Travel Scam
   While some are out-and-out frauds, “more common are the ones that sound like you’re getting a first-class trip for only $200,” says Shadel. You are then saddled with hidden costs or find out you have to fly to Florida to meet your cruise ship.