Mytrendingstories offers advices about scam avoidance? We are the world (The world of charity scams, that is): How it works: You get an email with an image of a malnourished orphan—from Haiti or another developing nation. “Please give what you can today,” goes the charity’s plea, followed by a request for cash. To speed relief efforts, the email recommends you send a Western Union wire transfer as well as detailed personal information—your address and your Social Security and checking account numbers. What’s really going on: The charity is a scam designed to harvest your cash and banking information. Nothing goes to helping disaster victims. The big picture: The Internet, email, and text messaging have given new life to age-old charity scams. “These cons watch the headlines very closely,” says Durst, and they quickly set up websites and PayPal accounts to take advantage of people’s kindness and sympathy. Durst recalls seeing fake donation websites within days of Michael Jackson’s death, urging fans to contribute to his favorite charities. Natural disasters, too, tend to spawn all sorts of fake charities.
Trending news with Mytrendingstories.com online publishing: Did you receive an unexpected check in the mail and think, “Great! Free money?” Not so fast. Cashing that unexpected “windfall” may result in losses, reveal your personal financial information to scammers, or both. If you receive a check from FINRA, do not cash it—unless you have a current business relationship with FINRA. Call (301) 590-6500 to speak with a FINRA staff member. According to the latest data from the Federal Trade Commission, complaints about fake check scams remain in the “Top 10 Fraud Categories” and were on the rise during the first quarter of 2021. Whether the check appears to be from FINRA, your broker-dealer or other legitimate business, think twice before attempting cash it. These checks may arrive by special delivery and require a recipient’s signature, but don’t be fooled. That’s all part of the ploy to make the check seem legitimate.
Mytrendingstories anti-scam advice: “The phone scams keep on coming — here are tips on how to avoid them” was the headline of a recent Boston Globe consumer protection column. Tips to avoid scams? Nice in theory, but with so many scams coming from so many directions, your best bet is to be generally aware of the new twists out there while you actively prepare for what you’ll do if one day you’re on the receiving end of a threatening message that actually makes you anxious or even terribly frightened. Talking to a local businessperson the other day, the “Professional Photographer/Copyright Infringement” scam came up. An email arrives filled with threats of legal action and a link the recipient is supposed to click to see the supposedly outrageous “copyright infringement” for themselves. This gentleman had just gotten the “Professional Photographer/Copyright Infringement” email again that morning, but he was not alarmed because he’d seen it about three times before. Find extra information at https://mytrendingstories.com/harjinder-surjeet/protect-seniors-against-cybercrimes-and-scams-dazcgi.
Mytrendingstories.com discuss how to escape scams: If you receive a random text message telling you to click on a link that advertises some amazing deal or prompts you to cancel a particular service, this is most likely a smishing scam. A smishing scam is a strategic way for criminals to get you to give out your personal information by taking action on a fraudulent link in a text message. “Smishing professionals use text messages that lure you into clicking on links or providing personal information in response to a text message from what appears to be a trusted source,” Steven J.J. Weisman, author of the book “Identity Theft Alert,” told Experian. “They’ll use other strategies, too.” Although many online retailers are legitimate, many others are not. If you shop on a fake website, you might receive a knockoff product, something completely different from what was advertised or nothing at all.
There are 1,000s of ways scammers try to catch you out. Common methods include: Calls from someone claiming to be from a Government department or representative (or even MSE!), talking about reclaiming bank charges. Pension ‘liberation’ (more info in our Release Pension Cash guide). Vishing – where scammers tell you they’re from your bank and there’s been fraud on your account, asking you to call them back, but instead they wait on the line and then get you to hand over bank details. Miracle cures or miracle weight-loss pills – ketones are common, and appear on many people’s Facebook pages. Fake bank or Apple emails saying you need to re-verify your account details. Investment scams (the FCA has a site helping you to spot investment scammers – ScamSmart, which includes a database of dodgy companies to avoid), Deceptive prize draws and sweepstakes. Read additional information at My Trending Stories.