Has
it happened to you? I’m almost ashamed
to admit it but it happened to me a few years ago. Got scammed and they emptied my bank
account. It was a hard few months to get
things straightened out, but we did. Why do people do these things? There always seems to be someone out there
who is trying to get something for nothing.
And sadly they seem to prey on those who are the most vulnerable. Maybe you should educate yourself on some of
their tactics and you’ll be better equipped to avoid being one of their
targets. I’m not, by any means, an
expert on scammers but here are a few of the terms used to describe their mode
of operations! Maybe you have heard of
some of them or maybe you need to do a little more research and get some more
details on what they mean. Here are the
terms: brute-force attack, catfish, drive-by download, ghosting, hash busters,
keyloggers, malvertising, man-in-the-middle attack, pharming, phishing,
ransomware, scareware, skimming, smishing, spear-phishing, spoofing, spyware,
vishing, and whaling. There may be more
that could be added to the list, but it is unbelievable the lengths that people
will go to sucker you out of your money.
Personally I think that the people who are smart enough to create and
carry out some of these scams (especially those involving computers) should be
able to get a legitimate job and make a lot of money because of the skills they
have! But, that’s just my opinion!
The
worst part is how they put their skills to work on people who can’t really
afford to lose ANY of the money
they have. But don’t let yourself believe
that you can’t fall for a scam just because you are well educated or you think
you’re above being “fooled” by their hoaxes!
It happens somewhere every day to people of any type of status!
Some
scams fall into what might be classified as the “more common scams” that are
being done today. Consider the
following:
(1) Telephone
Scams. Every year, thousands of
people lose their money and personal information to telephone scams. Typically, phone scammers will try to sell
you something you hadn’t planned to buy and will pressure you to give them
personal information, like your credit card details or social security
numbers. Such scams may involve travel
packages, credit or loan offers, fake business and investment opportunities, or
perhaps some charitable causes because of some recent disaster relief
efforts. Avoid phone scams by
registering your home and cell phone numbers with the national “Do Not Call
Registry” either online (www.donotcall.gov) or by calling 1-888-382-1222. It won’t stop all unsolicited calls, but it
will stop most.
(2) Banking Scams. There are several ways that scammers can con
you out of your money. Consider the unsolicited
check fraud. This is where a scammer
may send you a check that you didn’t have a legitimate reason to receive. Unfortunately, if you cash it, you may be
authorizing the purchase of items you didn’t ask for, signing up for a loan, or
something else you didn’t ask for. The
Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov) offers
tips to help you avoid being a victim of these scams, and recommends what to do
if you have already been a victim. Or
the scammers may use phishing, sending you an email message that asks you to
verify your bank account number or debit card PIN. By clicking on the link or replying to the
email with your account number, you are giving a scammer access to your
financial accounts. NEVER DO THIS! If you
question such a request, contact your bank by phone and verify before taking
any action.
(3) Pyramid Schemes. A pyramid scheme, also known as a Ponzi
scheme, is an illegal form of multilevel marketing. In these programs, your ability to earn profits
is based on the number of new participants you recruit, instead of the amount
of products or services you sell.
Sometimes there actually aren’t any real products that are being
sold. These schemes rely on the income
from new participants in order to pay fake “profits” to people that have been
part of the scheme for longer amounts of time.
However, the scheme falls apart when there aren’t enough new recruits to
pay into the system, so the earlier participants no longer receive earnings.
(4) Lottery and Sweepstakes
Scams. Not all
lotteries and sweepstakes are legitimate.
Before you participate, keep these tips in mind. Scam artists often use the promise of a
valuable prize or award to entice consumers to send money, buy overpriced products
or services, or contribute to bogus charities.
REMEMBER: Legitimate
sweepstakes DON’T REQUIRE you to pay
to collect your winnings! Scam operators
use the telephone and direct mail to entice consumers to buy chances in foreign
lotteries. These lottery
solicitations violate U.S. law, which prohibits the cross-border sale or
purchase of lottery tickets by phone or mail.
I can’t possibly discus ALL the possible ways some may
try to scam you out of your money. However,
a good place to look for more up-to-date details and current information is
online at https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/scam-alerts.
You could almost assume
that for every legal way to process some activity there is going to be those
who will try to “adjust” the system in their favor, even if this means using
illegal measures. We may feel “that would
NEVER happen to me!” But, speaking from experience, it can, and it
did! So educate yourself to the possibilities
and always be on your guard. Remember -
- - we’re only human!
THOUGHTFUL GEM
"Don't let your education get in the way of practical wisdom."
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