Watch out for scams this season
As we run around to purchase that special gift we all need to make sure that we do not fall prey to scam artists. Here are some to watch out for in your inbox or instant messenger:
- Know who you’re dealing with. In any electronic transaction, independently confirm the other party’s name, street address, and telephone number.
- If you are selling an item, try to use large sites like EBay where they have the names and addresses of people involved in the transaction. Paying through sites like PayPal protect you in case the product is not what was promised. There are also escrow services that will verify a product and will only send when correct amount of money has been sent.
- Resist the urge to enter foreign lotteries. These solicitations are phony and illegal.
- Delete requests that claim to be from foreign nationals asking you to help transfer their money through your bank account. They’re fraudulent.
- People saying that they have millions of dollars that they need you to get is another scam. They try to get your bank account number and transfer your money to another, usually out of country account.
- Ignore unsolicited emails that request your money, credit card or account numbers, or other personal information.
- If you are selling something over the Internet, don’t accept a potential buyer’s offer to send you a check for more than the purchase price, no matter how tempting the plea or convincing the story. End the transaction immediately if someone insists that you wire back funds.
- Actually this works for any transaction. Refuse to sell something unless the full amount is paid for in full. Don’t believe someone that is willing to pay more but needs more time. You will only get the first payment, the rest will never appear and you will be out the rest of the money without a court case.
- Keep your checkbook and charge cards in a wallet that you always keep close to you. Don’t make it easy by using a purse on a long string or large wallet that is sticking out of your back wallet. In the case of wallets, always use small models that can easily fit into your front pocket, which is much harder to pick than your back pocket.
- Don’t wear expensive jewelry when shopping. It makes you a mark from thieves that are looking to grab your expensive stuff and run. Plus it is difficult to work out a price when you are telling them you are very wealthy by wearing this jewelry.
- Don’t open email from people you do not recognise. Also do not click on links in email from what looks like a letter from your bank. Banks don’t send letters about lost account info to your email address. It is easy to send a bogus link to you that is really set up by a hacker to collect your banking data to empty your account.
- Always shred paperwork that you are not going to file. Banking data, investments and other items are easy to get out of your garbage. Also make sure the shredder is a cross type so that the shredding looks like small bocks. Shredders that only shred lengthwise are easy to get around and glue the page back together. Thieves regularly look through garbage looking for bank info, credit card receipt and other documents that give them access to your money and credit.
This isn’t exhaustive but it will put you in the right frame of mind to look for criminals. This is supposed to be the season of giving – don’t become a statistic. Watch yourself and your surroundings so this will be a fun and safe season.
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