Never Give Your Credit Card Number over the Phone to an Unsolicited Salesperson. Swindlers may say they need your number for verification purposes only. Once you give it, however, substantial charges may be placed on your account.

Don't Fall for High-Pressure,  Door-to-Door Sales Pitches. Watch out for phrases such as "this is the last day to buy at this price." Don’t fall for the sympathy approach either: Organized crews are trained to tell sob stories just to get you to make a purchase. Remember, anyone who sells to you in your home must give you the right to cancel the order within three business days.

Be Suspicious of Door-to-Door and Phone Solicitations for Charities and Community Groups that are Unfamiliar to You.  Just because you believe in the cause doesn’t mean the organization is legitimate. For example, helping the environment is a noble aim, but how do you know that your money is actually going for this. Many scam operations take names similar to those of reputable organizations. Check out unfamiliar groups with the Charity Fraud Bureau of the Attorney General’s Office at (212) 416-8431. If they represent a legitimate group, they won’t mind waiting.

Beware of Get-Rich-Quick Schemes. You see an ad for an easy way to make money at home, such as addressing envelopes. Later, you find out that you must buy equipment, materials or instructions. After you do this, you will discover that either "your efforts are not up to standard" or there is no market for what you did.

Stay Away from Pyramid Distributorships.  These illegal schemes have been surfacing recently, calling themselves "networking organizations" instead of distributorships. No matter what name they use, they are still pyramids. Their function is to get you to recruit distributors, who in turn recruit more distributors. The object of this business is not to sell products, but to obtain investors. The person at the top of the pyramid gets rich on your investment. The majority of the participants lose.

Don't Be Taken in by a Modeling or Talent Agency That Requires You to Spend Money Before They Can Find a Job For You. They may require you to be photographed by a specific photographer or take singing lessons from a particular school. These agencies often receive a ‘cut’ from the photographer or school and there is little chance that you will get the job. 

Watch out for Free Inspections. Be suspicious if you receive a phone call or a flyer offering to check your furnace, roof, wiring, or chimney. After the "free inspection," you’re told that you have a problem that could be dangerous if not fixed immediately. The urgency of the situation is stressed, so there is no time to call for a second opinion. You have the repair work done on the spot and never know if it was necessary or if any work was done at all.

Don't Deal with Fly-By-Night Home Improvement Firms.  If someone appears at your door, claiming to have surfaced a driveway on the next block and offering to do your driveway with the remaining material for half price, say no. With this scam, you must pay in advance, and once you hand over the money, the contractor and the material disappears. In some cases, the work IS done, but it is of inferior quality and will wash away after the first rain.

Beware of Low-Balling on Auto Repairs You see an offer for brake lining, muffler replacement, or even a tune-up, at low cost. Although the work is done at the advertised price, the repair shop finds something else wrong with your car, such as transmission problems. The price for fixing this is higher than at other shops--and there probably was nothing wrong with your transmission anyway.

Do'nt Believe Offers that Promise You Instant Credit, Despite Your Credit History. They will not help you get a loan or a major credit card. When you contact the company that made the offer, you are told that you must pay a processing fee to obtain the credit. Unfortunately, when you get the credit, you find out that it can only be used to buy merchandise from the company’s catalog. Not only are you limited in what you can buy, but the prices in the catalog are inflated. You are now out the money for the processing fee, and you still don’t have a credit card with any widespread or major use. 

Be on the Look-out for Counterfeit Items. If the price of brand name watches, clothes, leather goods, or electronic products seems too good to be true, the items could be counterfeit. (Brand names can be easily engraved or sewn on the merchandise.) To avoid being stuck with counterfeit products, stay away from street vendors. Deal with reputable, established stores. 

Don't Believe Promises of Miracle Medicines and Quick Cures.  Unlike the traveling medicine show that sold snake oil to pioneers on the western frontier, today’s quacks are highly sophisticated sales people who use deceptive advertising to offer miracles that can’t be produced. Don’t fall for ads for products that claim to cure cancer, eliminate arthritis, or grow hair. Besides not doing what the ad promises, these "cures" could be dangerous to your health. Check with your doctor first. 

Widows and Widowers: Beware of Obituary Scams.  Swindlers sometimes read obituary notices and send the surviving spouse bills for non-existent debts, such as a gift for you that the dear departed ordered before he or she died. Don’t pay unless you’re sure of the order. 

Don't Accept a C.O.D. Package for a Neighbor, Unless You've Been Asked by Your Neighbor to do so. Often nothing was ordered and you end up paying for a box stuffed with old newspapers.