Fraud :: Tips to Keep You and Your Finances Safe
In this day in age, it is very common to hear a story about someone that has been scammed out of a large amount of money or had some type of fraud happen to them. Having worked in banking for several years, I unfortunately have hundreds of stories I can tell of customers who have been taken advantage of.
But I would prefer to share some tips to ensure that you don’t become one of these precautionary tales.
Stop issuing checks for payments.
And certainly, don’t place checks in the mail. Those numbers on the bottom of the check are your routing and account number. Imagine giving some random stranger your social security number. That is basically what you are doing when you issue a check for payment. The last couple of years, the postal service has had many instances of the blue mailboxes being vandalized or postal workers getting robbed. Those checks are the loot. My advice is to use online bill pay to pay your monthly bills. Also, use money transfer services such as Zelle, Venmo, PayPal, or Cash App to transfer funds to individuals.
Use two-step verification when issuing payments to individuals.
While these apps are safer options to issue payment they can still be compromised. When you set up a two-step verification, it will require a pin number and fingerprint or some other identifier that is unique to you.
Be cautious when applying for jobs online.
Scammers will sometimes offer you a fake job. They tell you that they will send you a check for an amount over your pay, you are instructed to deposit the check, keep some and send the rest back via money orders or gift cards. By the time you have done all of that, the check has come back to your bank NSF or fraudulent. And now you are on the hook for that money.
There is no such thing a free money!
You can’t win a sweepstakes that you never entered. You cannot get a grant that you never applied for. Simple as that.
Be mindful of relationships on social media.
One of the biggest scams ever is the Romance Scam. The scammer will make the victim believe that they are madly in love with them and wants to marry them. They often request money. Other times they will have funds deposited into the victims account in the name of a third-party person. The scammer will then ask the victim to send them the money. So many times, the victim clueless and really believes that they are in a committed long-distance relationship. Scammers lurk in chatrooms, newsgroups, social networking, and dating sites looking for people to befriend.
Your bank will NEVER call you and ask your personal info.
If you get a phone call from someone requesting info, hang up and call your bank or go visit the local branch to make sure your account is safe. Also, be mindful of emails sent from companies with links for you to click on. Pay close attention to the sending email address to see if the company’s name is misspelled. Clicking on these fraudulent links can give the fraudsters access to your computer or phone. Also, the government, government agencies, or school usually won’t call asking personal information. Be mindful of who you share identifying information with.
Teach any child in your home that has a phone about safeguarding their information.
There are scammers that target kids and get them to send their parents financial information. They do this by claiming to have sexual pictures of them and they will send them to their school if they don’t give their parents information. This scam can cause a great deal of stress to all involved.
The elderly population is the most vulnerable of all.
Please speak with your older loved ones and teach them how to safeguard themselves. A lot of time older people are afraid to share that they have been scammed because they feel that they should know better and are too embarrassed to admit that they lost thousands of dollars.
Fraud is rampant these days. It is more lucrative than drug dealing and gets less jail time, if caught. Fraud can cost you and your bank thousands of dollars and lots of stress. Please use these tips to save yourself time, money, and stress.
