Rod SpurgeonHow to keep your mobile device away from criminals
It’s a beautiful morning and you decide to visit your favorite beverage shop to enjoy a tasty treat. With your go-juice in hand, you move to an empty table and sit down. You pull out your mobile phone to catch up on emails and read the latest news when you realize you forgot to get napkins. Leaving your coffee and phone on the table, you walk to the nearby counter, pluck two napkins from a holder, and return to your seat. As you approach your table, you move to set the napkins next to your coffee when you realize something
Continue readingHow to Stop Money Scammers
Why scammers get away with their crimes – and what you can do to stop them! It’s not always easy to avoid scams. Criminals are tricky, aggressive, and they’ll say whatever they have to that will convince someone to hand over their hard-earned money. If one of these scoundrels rips you off, what will you do about it? How to Stop Money Scammers Everyone has the potential to become a victim of a scam, including you. I’ve seen countless stories come across my desk of victims who refused to believe that scammers ripped them off until they’ve lost everything. Some
Continue readingThis Grandparent Scam Continues to Sweep Nation
The next time you receive a call from a relative asking for money, be sure that person is who he or she claims to be. In a recent scam, a senior received a call from a person pretending to be her grandson. The caller told the woman he had been arrested and needed bail money to be released from jail. To prove he was telling the truth, the caller handed the phone to another man who claimed to be a detective. The detective said the woman's grandson was indeed in jail and would only be released if she mailed $10,000
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Kylie JohnsonWarning signs of identity theft
Here’s what to look for if you think an identity thief has targeted you: A strange charge on your credit card bill When reviewing your bank account, do you ever notice a charge that you don’t remember making? Even a small discrepancy can indicate fraud. Sometimes criminals make a test charge just to be sure a transaction will go through before making a bigger move. Credit card bills stop coming in the mail If you didn’t opt-in to paperless billing but some of your mail isn’t showing up, now’s a good time to give that company a call. Identity thieves
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Lisa Ann SchreierQuick Tips Before you Listen to a Timeshare Presentation
If you’ve ever sat through a timeshare sales pitch, you know that they can be high pressure. The sales staff has been trained to do one thing and one thing only—-influence you to purchase on the spot. Because of that high pressure, these sales pitches can be laced with, ahem, some misrepresentations. Here are the most common things that are misrepresented at timeshare sales pitches: Price Today vs Price Any Other Time This is the one that is used the most, often in conjunction with ‘quoting’ some State Statute. If there is such a statute, such as in Florida, it
Continue readingProtecting Yourself from Credit Scams
Smart chips are continuing to working their way into credit and debit cards around the nation. While they offer a stronger measure of protection against fraud, they can also be a target for scammers. Protecting Yourself from Credit Scams Unlike magnetic strip cards, smart chip cards can be inserted into a slot on a card reader for payment processing. Data on the card’s chip can’t be read by card skimmers placed on or around a card reader, making it more difficult for criminals to acquire information from processing devices. Not every financial company has issued smart chip cards to customers.
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Kimberly JohnsonHow Seniors Can Keep Information Safe Online
What’s The Issue? The Pew Research Center found that in a 2017 study that 67% of adults ages 65 and older say they go online. In a growing technological world, seniors are having to adapt more and more to living online. How Seniors Can Keep Information Safe Online Unfortunately, since most of everyday life is spent online, the rise in online identity and financial theft has risen considerately. CNBC reported back in August that over $36 billion dollars has been stolen from seniors in online financial fraud schemes. That same report says that one in every 18 cognitively intact older adults
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Carol MarakSocial Security Changes to Safeguard Online Accounts
Last year, the Social Security Administration stated that it would require a two-factor authentication for online account users. Initially, they would use a cell phone for the authentication. The older recipients who said they didn't own cell phones didn't like the idea. So the design changed. Social Security Changes to Safeguard Online Accounts However, the government agency moved forward with the idea of ramping up security for recipients using a computer to access their accounts. The hope is to cut back on the number of hacks of government websites. And the agency found success. So, as of June 10, 2017, people
Continue readingFriendly Scammers Preying on Seniors
With friends like these, who needs enemies? Most people wouldn’t want to become friends with someone who is trying to rip them off. Yet, every day, people hand over their hard-earned money to strangers who’ve become good friends – within the timespan of a single telephone call. How is this possible? Friendly Scammers Preying on Seniors Some criminals use aggressive, threatening tactics to steal money from victims over the phone. It’s easy to identify these scoundrels as enemies, people who want to cause financial harm to other people. But what about someone who calls pretending to be a friend? Friendly Scammers Preying
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