Even though we use our phones a lot for texting these days it doesn’t mean we don’t get telephone scams. Some of them can be nickels and dimes, but some scams can be our entire life savings. Scammers today will do anything to cheat people out of money with many posing as government officials.

Of course there are other scams out there, but they all follow a similar structure. They claim to work for some company that you trust or they’ll send you an email asking you to call them or click a link.

Even as telephone scams have become more sophisticated over time, there are still some specific characteristics that we can uncover to identify them.

First of all, a scammer will work hard to ensure you don’t think much about their pitch. Their focus is to get you to continue to say yes or make you feel a certain way that you act on those emotions.

That being said, even for people who have caught onto that, some go a step farther and can provide testimonials or websites to further their claim. They’re fake of course, but it can satisfy those who are thinking a little ahead.

Instead of that particular approach, I’d suggest using the following identifiers:

• You’ve been specially selected for a unique offer.

As you can tell, these identifiers are all situational and it depends on the type of scam call the scammer is employing. In most cases, the methods they’ll use have a certain process around them. Here is how they’ll try to hook you:

• A travel package: it’s usually a free or low-cost vacation that’s advertised. The scam is there is a series of hidden costs and in most cases the vacation you paid never takes place.

These are only the tip of the iceberg but staying vigilant and digging further into the information provided can help you in ensure you don’t get scammed.