Scams are nothing new. How many times have you gotten e-mails from a person you know that states they are in a foreign country, their wallet was stolen, and they need emergency funds? Or someone claiming to be from the IRS calls stating if you don’t pay a fee right away, someone will come arrest you? The IRS WILL NEVER CALL YOU UNLESS YOU CALLED THEM DIRECTLY AND REQUEST THEY CALL YOU BACK! THE IRS ALWAYS CONTACTS YOU BY WRITTEN MAIL.
Sometimes you have to be careful. There are times you can get mailings that appear very much like they are from the IRS and they are not. It will have a number for you to call. Do not under any circumstances do so. Go to IRS.gov for more information. Call the official IRS phone number to report any scams 1-877-477-9135 to verify any suspicious mail you receive.
How many robo-calls do you get a day extending your vehicle’s warranty or help you with student loans and you have neither?
Around the holidays, you would get inundated from calls from “charitable organizations” asking for donations. One of the lowest scams would be people calling claiming to raise funds for victims of natural disasters.
You have to be careful who you donate to, especially if it’s a startup.
Another old scam is called “The Good Faith Scam”. You are approached by someone who has a “winning lottery ticket” but cannot cash it because they are in the country illegally. They ask you to go to the bank and withdraw 80% of what they claim the ticket is worth and give it to them “In Good Faith,” then you can claim the full amount of that “winning ticket” which turns out to be worthless.
There are plenty of other scams out there. You might say what person in their right mind would do something so stupid? But, unfortunately it has happened many times.
You should always be careful, especially when signing legal documents or checks that people can backdate.
For example, instead of dating any legal document such as a check 1/12/20, that could be changed to 1/12/2000 or 1/12/2001 all the way to 1/12/2019. Every ten years, when the decade turns, it’s important to make that change.
It has been reported that people have doctored legal documents due to not having the full 4-digit year written out.
You still have to be careful using ATM machines. There was just another bust where several ATM machines were compromised in New Jersey. The people who rigged those machines were able to get, passwords, pin numbers, and account information.
Even if your bank has anti-hacking software, it’s important that you look at your banking everyday.
How many times have there been data breaches not only in banks, but in other corporations such as Facebook, WAWA, Target, Marriot, Ebay, and many other companies.
How many times are you notified of the breach sometimes weeks or months after it has occurred.
Just a few tips to help keep your information safe.
CM. & K.M.
