A friendly acquaintance starts visiting an older relative. Then odd mail shows up: a welcome letter for a "new owner," a water bill set up in someone else's name. Nobody sold the house.

On November 5 New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a guilty plea in a Queens deed theft case. Her office says two people forged deeds, using a fake notary signature, to take the home of an elderly widow who was in hospice care there. One of them then took a $552,500 mortgage on the house and kept more than $312,000. He pleaded guilty, and at sentencing the deeds will be voided and the home returned to the family. The other defendant has pleaded not guilty. The red flags: mail for a "new owner" of a home nobody sold, utility accounts nobody opened, and a casual acquaintance who suddenly asks to move in.

The rule: Never ignore mail about a sale that didn't happen. Help older relatives watch their mail. New Yorkers can report deed theft at 1-800-771-7755.

Source: New York Attorney General: Attorney General James Secures Conviction of Queens Deed Thief Who Stole Elderly Widow's Home

Your phone rings. The caller says he's with the sheriff's office and there's a warrant out for you. You can clear it today, he says, by feeding cash into a Bitcoin ATM and scanning the QR code he sends.

On October 29 Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday warned that scammers posing as sheriff's offices and police are steering people to crypto ATMs, and said his office has seen more of these calls this year. Once cash becomes crypto and goes to the scammer's wallet, it's fast, hard to trace, and hard to get back. One Pennsylvanian paid $4,000 after a fake warrant call. The red flags: a surprise call about a warrant or arrest, pressure to pay right now, and any demand to use a crypto kiosk or scan a QR code.

The rule: Police, courts, and banks will never tell you to pay at a crypto ATM. Hang up and call the agency using the number on its official website.

Source: Pennsylvania Attorney General: AG Sunday Warns Pennsylvanians of Scams Involving Crypto/Bitcoin ATMs During National Cryptocurrency Month

You find a good holiday fare, tap through quickly, and book. Later your statement shows more than the price you saw.

On November 3 the FTC warned holiday travelers about hidden fees and pointed to its complaint against the travel app Hopper. The FTC says one screen showed a "total" price, then the next screen had a "Swipe to Book Flight" button, while two extra charges, a "Tip" and "VIP Support," were already switched on and added. Those charges only showed if you scrolled past the booking button, which most people didn't. These are the FTC's allegations. The red flags: boxes or toggles already turned on, a final total higher than the price you were first shown, and important details placed below the pay button.

The rule: Before you pay, scroll all the way down, turn off extras you didn't choose, and compare the final total to the first price you saw.

Source: FTC: Booking holiday travel? Hidden fees can cost you

You're scrolling your feed or searching for a deal. An ad pops up with a familiar store's name, or a government agency's. It looks real, so you click.

On November 2 the FTC said scammers pay for ads that impersonate well-known businesses and government agencies on social media, in search results, and on shopping sites, and that people are losing large amounts of money to them. Impersonating businesses and government agencies is already illegal under the FTC's Impersonation Rule. Now the FTC is weighing new requirements for platforms: check advertisers before ads run, give people a way to report impersonation ads, and investigate and remove the scams. The red flags: an ad that uses a trusted name but sends you to an unfamiliar web address, and a deal that seems too good to pass up.

The rule: Don't trust an ad just because it uses a familiar name. Type the company's or agency's web address yourself. Report imposter ads at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Source: FTC: Tell the FTC about imposter ads online