Help Ukraine but don't get scammed

 Michelle Singletary, Washington Post financial journalist, warns:

Fraudsters will use Russia’s invasion, declining stock values and spiking oil prices to come after your money

"You see images from Ukraine and feel compassion and the need to give what you can to help civilians fleeing to safety. Con artists see the Russian invasion as a way to use your generosity against you."

Stock market indexes are down, and you worry your investment account won’t return what you need to live a financially peaceful retirement."

"Not to worry. Criminal enterprises are ready to persuade you that they have a guaranteed way for you to invest and earn big money without any risk."

Rising inflation makes con artists jump for joy because they know frightened investors are more likely to fall for scams involving gold, cryptocurrencies, foreign currencies or fake investment opportunities."

If you want to help Ukrainians, take the time to check out a charitable appeal.

Here’s how Americans can donate to help people in Ukraine

To avoid a scam using the conflict in Ukraine or any other current event, start with the premise that every direct message, link, email or text is fake and work from there. This should be your default response to any contact you did not initiate.

Trust nothing. Verify everything.

Paranoia is your protection from losing your hard-earned money.

 

Financial Scams targeting Seniors... and what adult children should know

"Many financial scams specifically target seniors. Knowing what the warning signs are for each of these scams can help you avoid falling for them."Adult children need to know how to recognize signs of scams that may target their parents... and their future inheritance. 

A Senior’s Guide to Financial Scams (And How to Avoid Them)

Lear: Why Are Seniors Susceptible to Financial Scams?

 

A quick summary:

7 Financial Scams That Target Seniors

1. Fake-Check Scams

2. Medicare Scams

3. Tech-support Scams

4. Lottery + “You’ve Won…” Scams

5. Investment Scams

6. Grandparent Scams

7. Charity Scams

Get the details at: https://www.annuity.org/financial-literacy/seniors-guide-to-financial-scams/

Who is more susceptible to financial scams: Seniors or young adults?

 We all know that financial scams target seniors and that they are the most susceptible to the bait. Right? think again...

"Stop it with the ageism and delusions of invincibility. Young adults often don’t recognize the bad checks coming at them, or fake job offers, either" writes Ron Lieber for The New York Times.

"For years now, the Better Business Bureau’s survey research has shown that younger adults lose money to swindlers much more often than the older people you may think of as the stereotypical victims. The Federal Trade Commission reports similar figures, with 44 percent of people ages 20 to 29 losing money to fraud, more than double the 20 percent of people ages 70 to 79."

It's not the Nigerian prince or pfishing scam. "The targeted activities vary widely, from the online shopping that these victims may do nearly every day to their once-in-a-blue-moon handling of paper checks. Illegal schemes also target the student debt payments they must make and the jobs they seek to afford them."

"Pet and pet-supply scams have historically made up 25 percent of the online purchase scams reported to the Better Business Bureau."

"Given its size, con artists try to impersonate Amazon more often than any other company’s brand."

Employment Scams: never give your date of birth or Social Security number online. 

Fake check scams “Sorry, this is an accidental overpayment” or “Please use some of the money to perform mystery shopping of online money transfer services.”

 

Student Loan Scams: Once the moratorium on repayment ends, "expect a flood of thieves offering “free extended forbearance” or “Biden forgiveness plans” that do not exist. "Then they’d try to redirect victims’ payments or use their personal information for identity theft. Or both."

 

 

Rampant Social Security Scams

Have you received a threatening phone call (on mobile or land line) urging you to provide your Social Security number?

Social Security scams are growing at an alarming rate. Please heed this warning from the Social Security Administration:
"Scammers are pretending to be government employees. Scammers will try to scare and trick you into giving them your personal information and money. They may threaten you or your family and may demand immediate payment to avoid arrest or other legal action."

IF YOU RECEIVE A SUSPICIOUS CALL:

1. Hang up!

2. DO NOT give them money or personal
    information!

3. Report the scam at OIG.SSA.GOV!

I never answer my cell phone unless the caller is in my list of contacts. If a person wants to leave a message, I'll consider returning the call but never if it sounds like a scam. If you have a land line and caller ID, don't answer if you don't recognize the caller. They can leave a message. No phone call needs an immediate response. Waiting and considering the message gives you time to consider if it might be a scam.

Social Security may call you in some situations but will NEVER:

• Threaten you
• Suspend your Social Security Number
• Demand immediate payment from you
• Require payment by cash, gift card, pre-paid debit card, or wire transfer
• Ask for gift card numbers over the phone or to wire or mail cash

Social Security Scams

US seniors lost close to $38 million last year in a Social Security phone scam in which fraudsters trick seniors into offering confidential information or money, senators said at a hearing. This scam has been reported to the Federal Trade Commission and the Senate's Aging Committee fraud hotline more than any other con.

Full Story: ThinkAdvisor (free registration) (1/30)  
https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2020/01/30/social-security-phone-scam-is-biggest-fraud-facing-seniors-lawmakers/

Social Security phone scams

"Social Security phone scams are becoming more numerous and more sophisticated, with the administration's inspector general warning that telephone scammers are now also sending people official-looking documents via email. If there is a legitimate problem with your Social Security account, officials will almost always contact you via mail, Mary Beth Franklin writes."
https://www.investmentnews.com/social-security-phone-scams-on-the-rise-176257

Managing Sequence of Returns Risk in Retirement & avoid scams with income annuities

What IS "sequence of returns risk"?
Sequence risk, or sequence of returns risk, is the risk that the stock market crashes early in your retirement. Long-term average returns matter less than when those returns occur. If your portfolio drops dramatically in value early in retirement you end up selling low without the ability to gain by buying low. You also have to sell more of your stocks to generate the same amount of income, which means you’re selling off your nest egg shares at a faster rate. It's very difficult to recover from a major investment crash early in retirement. As persons who retired in 2008.
https://www.moneycrashers.com/sequence-returns-risk-investments-retirement/

Sequence-of-returns risk can have a severe impact on an otherwise sound portfolio, writes Phil Caminiti of New York Life Insurance. He suggests retirement savers look into using income annuities as they can provide guaranteed lifetime income regardless of market fluctuations and reduce the amount retirees may need to withdraw early on to cover expenses.
"Income annuities are a useful hedge against sequence-of-returns risk for two reasons: 1) They provide a guaranteed source of lifetime income that is not correlated to market ups and downs or interest rate fluctuations, and 2) annuity income lowers the withdrawals that retirees might need to cover expenses. This is particularly good news when the market performs poorly in the early years of retirement by helping retirees avoid selling at the bottom."
https://www.investmentnews.com/article/20191206/BLOG09/191209955/timing-matters-when-it-comes-to-managing-sequence-of-returns-risk

Another major advantage of an income annuity is that scammers can't get access to your nest egg. There have been too many examples of super-sophisticated scams targeting older persons resulting in them losing their entire nest egg. The Wall Street Journal recently reported on scammers who very convincingly impersonate IRS and FBI officials threatening the targeted person with jail and high fines if they don't cooperate and transfer their investments to accounts where the FBI can supposedly protect their money. These super sophisticated scams have exploded in the past year.

Don't get sucked in to one of these scams and don't let your parents or grandparents become victims.

Beware Scammers Offering Student Debt Relief

One of my favorite resources, the Squared Away Blog by Kimberly Blanton, reports:
"Despite numerous state efforts to crack down on fly-by-night firms falsely claiming to reduce or eliminate young adults’ student loans, new firms keep popping up."
"Their social media pitches and websites promise borrowers things the companies can’t possibly deliver on." They appeal to potential customers struggling to pay student loans with slogans like “Get Rid of Your Student Loans Today!” or “$17,500 in Up Front Forgiveness” – “100 percent guaranteed!”
These debt relief firms use similar tactics. "They charge an average $500 to $700 in upfront fees, and sometimes monthly fees, and purport to offer services that unsuspecting young adults could’ve received for free from the U.S. Department of Education. The fraudulent companies often give the misleading impression they are affiliated with the federal government."
Learn more: http://squaredawayblog.bc.edu/squared-away/scam-alert-student-debt-relief/

The latest internet scam

"Your love of a good deal could be a deal breaker. Fake gift cards and coupons for Lowe’s, Bed Bath & Beyond, Home Depot, Target and IKEA (phew!) have infiltrated the internet. On Facebook, the phishing scam is taking the form of a $50 coupon for Lowe’s and a $75 one for Bed Bath & Beyond. (Check out photos of the bogus bucks here and here). The coupons appear as posts and ads on the social media site. Once you click on them, you’re directed to fake websites or survey pop-ups that instruct you to answer a few questions in order to “earn” the coupons. The surveys, predictably, ask for your personal information (in order to steal your identity, and yada, yada, the rest is history). The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is telling consumers to beware of pop-up-type offers and to “watch out for a reward that's too good to be true” because “few businesses can afford to give away $50 gift cards for completing a few questions.” They also caution that it’s easy for scammers to mimic a company’s website by tacking on a company’s logo, using its letterhead or making the website address (URL) look similar. If you’re wondering about a particular offer, visit the company’s real website and see if it’s listed there. And remember, $75 off nothing equals...nothing!"
Source: 

A Consumer Action News Alert • May 2017 • www.consumer-action.org

SCAM GRAM is Consumer Action’s monthly e-newsletter alerting you to the dirtiest players in the world of tech fraud, credit card scams, ID theft and general con-artistry. Don’t be fooled by liars, cheats and crooks—wise up with SCAM GRAM!

8 Phone Scams to Watch Out For

"Scammers target millions of Americans every year via robo dialers and many people fall victim as they are threatened with arrest warrants or guaranteed free vacations. One of the most infamous phone scams, the IRS scam, has stolen over $14 million collectively since October 2013 and it's on the rise."

1. Free Vacations and Prizes

2. Phishing Scams

3. Loan Scams

4. Phony Debt Collectors

5. Fake Charities

6. Medical Alert/Scams Targeting Seniors

 7. Warrant Threats (for arrest)

8. IRS Calls

Read the details to protect yourself, your family and friends:

https://www.callersmart.com/articles/16/8-Phone-Scams-to-Watch-Out-For#

Scam Gram

Check out the latest scams at the Consumer Action "Scam Gram"
Windows 10 scam
Phoney iphone fix
Beware the Craig's List kooks
It includes more examples of scams and "Tips to keep you safe." If you think you are immune from scams... think again and review this list.
http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/50872/t/0/blastContent.jsp?email_blast_KEY=1327634

Scams prey on older Americans

The Nigerian email scam is well known but are you aware of the scams emerging from Jamaica? Scammers increasingly target the elderly because 1) that's where the money is, and 2) cognitive impairment, even the mild type which may go undetected to friends and family, increases with age and makes seniors vulnerable. Read about the scams and how to protect yourselves and your loved ones at: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303330204579248292834035108?mod=dist_smartbrief

Stop Robo calls to your home, cell & Voip phones

I've been getting a lot of robocalls lately so I was delighted to read a Wall Street Journal article by Jennifer Waters about the new service Nomorobo that will intercept robocalls and put them on the FTC list to stop the calls.

"It doesn't matter if you're on the Do Not Call List," says an FTC spokesperson. "A lot of them are fraudulent calls and people who engage in fraud are not going to abide by the Do Not Call registry."

According to Waters:

"A robocall is what you hear when you answer the phone from an autodailer with a taped message, sounding like a robot. Millions of calls are made instantaneously and could be targeted directly at you or totally at-random dialing that stumbles upon your number."

"If the call turns out to be a politician or a charity, their solicitations are lawful. You might also get robocalls from your children's school informing you of canceled classes, an airline warning you of a flight delay or a doctor's office reminding you of Tuesday's appointment."

"Those are legal because you gave them permission. But sales pitches you didn't knowingly give your written OK to aren't." 

If you get robo calls: "file a complaint at the FTC's donotcall.gov site." DO NOT respond by pressing a number to supposedly get off the robo caller's list!

Waters writes: "Here's what else you can do:

Don't answer unfamiliar numbers.

Hang up immediately.

Never give out personal information.

Call your phone provider but be wary of fees tied to blocking calls."

Watch the 4 minute video that explains Nomorobo "a service developed by software programmer Aaron Foss, who won $25,000 in the FTC's challenge for a robocalls solution" http://nomorobo.com/

IRS Warns about Charity Scams Following Tragedies in Boston and Texas

"It’s sad but true. Following major disasters and tragedies, scam artists impersonate charities to steal money or get private information from well-intentioned taxpayers. Fraudulent schemes involve solicitations by phone, social media, email or in-person."
"Scam artists use a variety of tactics. Some operate bogus charities that contact people by telephone to solicit money or financial information. Others use emails to steer people to bogus websites to solicit funds, allegedly for the benefit of tragedy victims. The fraudulent websites often mimic the sites of legitimate charities or use names similar to legitimate charities. They may claim affiliation with legitimate charities to persuade members of the public to send money or provide personal financial information. Scammers then use that information to steal the identities or money of their victims." Learn more at: http://www.irs.gov/uac/IRS-Wants-You-to-Know-About-Schemes,-Scams-and-Cons: