Financial Scams Part 2: 3 Common Scams to Watch Out For and Avoid

Scams and fraudulent activity have become a part of our lives. Unfortunately, as hard as we work to avoid it, the inevitable hits us when we least expect it. With it currently being the International Fraud Awareness Week (November 12-18), I want to share a quick story and then get into some common scams you will want to try to avoid.

We discuss means of saving for your future, and many of us work hard to reach that goal. However, what happens when others try to inhibit this? Well, recently one of these individuals targeted my household. It started when I was reviewing the bank account transactions. I will be honest, work and family had taken precedent recently, and I had not been monitoring them as closely as I should have. When I did check it, I discovered there were multiple $75.00 transactions trailing back multiple months. Luckily, there was a phone number on the transaction. I called the number and talked to a manager. They quickly verified it was fraudulent from their end (due to the odd email signup). They were then able to refund the money back to me with 5 days. This situation was small and easy to take care of. They can get much, much, much worse.

There were two lessons learned from this experience. The first and glaring lesson was the need to check bank account activity on a regular basis. Historically I am an avid visitor to my bank’s online site to review my accounts. In this situation, I ASSUMED it was okay. Well,  ASSUMING anything typically does not end well. Secondly, with my busy schedule, I was neglecting the “budget meetings” I would have with my wife. If we had done them on a bi-weekly or monthly basis like we should have, we would have caught these items. Lessons learned.

3 Common Scams to Watch Out For and Avoid

The “Generous” IRS Caller

This caller will typically call and want to discuss an urgent matter. They will likely let you know they are from the IRS and they are calling to “help” you with your IRS debt outstanding. This “happy helper” will want to verify you by asking details about you such as name, date of birth, mother’s maiden name, social security number, etc. DO NOT GIVE THEM ANYTHING! You may ask questions about the “case,” but do not provide any further information. It would be best to hang up the phone and block the number. However, if you would like to be adventurous, ask for their name and direct number so that you may call them back later to take care of the matter. You can then block the number and report it. To report it appropriately follow the instructions on the IRS website, link found here.  Please keep in mind, the IRS DOES NOT call anyone for outstanding collections. They will ALWAYS send you a letter in the mail to take care of any outstanding IRS matters.

 The “Aggressive” Bounty Hunter

Okay, so bounty hunter might be a stretch. However, this call/letter/email will typically use the “fear” factor to get you to act. The most common is through the phone. When the caller gets a hold of you they will inform you of your charges. These can range from some of the following: missing jury duty, parking tickets, back taxes, etc. These individuals will tell you to pay them money to take care of these outstanding charges. All of these “charges” are likely due to the manipulation of your public information. Regardless of how aggressive they are or how truthful they sound, they are not real! Law enforcement will not call you if there is a current warrant out for your arrest. The best thing you can do is play along. You can ask what agency they are with and take down their information. You can Google the agency to check the validity, and maybe even call them to see if they were just talking to you. The probability is fairly high you were not talking to them and it was fake. On the off chance the scam runs deeper, you can find public files of current warrants outstanding. Just search your name and see if you show up. If you do, get an attorney. If you don’t, RELAX! Scams work very well on those who succumb to the fear technique. Just remember to stay calm with situations like this, remain skeptical, and you will get through it!

The “Fake” Bank

This type of scam has continually remained a strong contender for a broad range of fraudulent acts. The premise behind this scheme is simple. A scammer will have figured out who you currently bank with through spyware or monitoring techniques. They will provide a fake email to you to update your current banking account information.  This may come in the form of an alert or request due to changes made on the site. It will indicate you to click on the link provided to you for logging into the site. Since the site is fake, the login will not work. However, they would have been able to copy your login credentials to your REAL bank account, and can now access your money. Delete these emails. If there is ever an email for an account you own, they will ALWAYS ask you to go directly to the website to change your information. If you think you or someone who has access to your accounts has fallen for this scam, report the possible fraud to your bank. They will walk you through the appropriate actions to take to ensure your safety. It is best to always be skeptical or think everything is a scam. Although not always true, it will keep you on guard.