News and Events
March 11, 2008
Avoiding Scams
I
was just reading an article in the newspaper about a telephone scam trying to
sell life insurance, where the real purpose is to inquire about and use
personal information for identity theft.
Not
all scams are meant to solicit personal information for identity theft, some
are simply meant to make quick money, but you can never be too certain. No
matter how large or small the scam is, you never want to be the victim.
Here
are some helpful tips to avoid being a victim of a scam:
*
Never give out personal information over the phone, unless you have called your
financial institution or a business that may require your personal information
for verification. If someone calls you telling you they need your personal
information, hang up before giving out any information!
*
If a sales person calls with an offer that seems too good to be true it
probably is. There have been many cases
of scams where the caller or salesperson says that in order to reap the
benefits of a free vacation, you have to pay a small fee upfront now, and you
pay the money upfront and never hear from the person again.
*
Ask for receipts for all transactions! If any sales person comes by your house
to sell you something, be sure to ask for a receipt. If the receipt seems phony
or they cannot produce one, end the sale right away.
*
Do not respond to emails asking you to confirm personal information. This
includes those from a financial institution, paypal, or ebay. Links in the
emails are often phony. If you have
concerns, contact the bank that the email came from.
*
Before investing with a company or buying something from them, whether it be
online or door to door, be sure you thoroughly investigate the business and
whether it is legitimate or not. Just a quick search on Google can turn up
companies that have been reported for scamming others!
The Internet has made scams even easier for a con artist to get away with, but there are still other resources scam artists are using, so be sure to keep your eyes and ears peeled for those calling or stopping by your house! A great website to check out potential scams is www.consumerfraudreporting.org.
