Given our shared humanity, we naturally want to trust and believe in other people. We may also believe in luck, good fortune and/or divine blessings. What we must always remember, however, is that there is a small percentage of people whose goal is to separate us from our money. Technology, especially the rise of social and digital media, is often a double-edged sword. While it allows us to connect more easily and seamlessly, it does not sift out those who would do us emotional and financial harm.
Not long ago, an elderly family member reached out to me to get my assistance in sending a wire to get another relative out of jail. The story was that my relative went out of the country and was driving with someone when the police stopped them and found a small amount of marijuana – the police had taken them to jail. While it was not a major infraction, we would need to wire money to bail them out of jail. The fraudster knew just enough information that he could call my family member at home and convince them that our relative was in peril. Knowing it was fishy, I asked for the phone number they gave, I was transferred to the “commander” and after a couple of brief questions, they hung up on me. I then called the relative they claimed was in trouble. He was at work as usual and had not traveled out of the country. They wanted $4,000 and they had been very close to getting it.
In another instance, I received a voicemail message saying my power was going to be cut off for non-payment and giving me a number to call so I could send the payment immediately. Having received these sorts of calls before, I knew it was fraud and I always delete them. However, this time I decided to call the number to see what would happen. A man answered and I said I was calling about my payment owed, and he was preparing to go into his fraud script on how to send payment etc.…but I stopped him and asked simply, “Why are you doing this and taking advantage of people?” After 3 – 4 seconds of silence, he hung up.
Fraudsters prey on our fears – fear of missing out, fear of having a past due payment, fear the IRS is going to audit you, fear a relative is in trouble, etc.…. They prey on our greed, our desperation, our lack of sophistication, and our declining cognitive skills as we age. They prey on our desperation due to some financial struggle…or they feed on our need for companionship and desire for romance.
Remember what economists say – there is no free lunch! And, remember the old adage that if something seems too good to be true, it is. Maybe in a parallel universe, strangers are calling you by phone, sending you email and maybe US mail to give you money and free things, but not in this space and time. If someone needs you to wire them money so they can unlock a huge fortune for which you will be part beneficiary, and that sounds both believable and plausible to you, then you need to get off the internet and turn off your phone. If you think you can make $50,000 a month working part-time from home, see instructions above.
I tend to never click on emails for which I do not know the sender. Even if I recognize the sender, that does not mean the email is legitimate. I have received emails supposedly from Amazon and Apple that look the part, but have forged email addresses. If you get unwanted or suspected fraudulent emails, don’t click but rather mark is as spam.
Even something as innocuous as completing a survey you received from a text message could lead to fraud. Someone could be doing some social engineering and building a profile on you using answers you provide that are seemingly innocent.
Be wary, but not afraid. Educate yourself on the ways to help protect yourself and your loved ones. This link will take you to a page in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s website that includes information on a variety of frauds/scams and how to avoid and detect them.