Scam artists are in full swing, with more people using the internet than ever before. Their main objective is to trick people out of their money by posing as a business or a seller. They usually offer hard-to-resist deals to vulnerable individuals.
Here are three common scams to be on the lookout for, followed by how to protect yourself from them.
1. Phone Call Scams
This scam is often targeted at elderly people. Scam artists see them as vulnerable people to victimize paving the way to elder financial abuse.
Phone call scams typically work in the following:
- Scammers contact elderly folk via phone
- They ask questions about their credit card or extended phone warranty
- By pretending to be their provider, they ask for personal information to “update their records”
- Once this sensitive information is acquired, they use it to their advantage
The biggest consequences of phone call scams lead to identity theft which can result in large sums of money being taken from your account or the opening of new credit cards.
How do you protect yourself from phone call scams? Don't answer unknown numbers, much less give out sensitive information over the phone. If they claim to be your bank calling, verify their phone number. Or, hangup the phone and call the institution directly.
Thankfully, newer phones have built-in protection systems that will inform you when a call is possibly a scam. By doing this, you can avoid being one of the millions of Americans who fall prey to identity theft each year.
2. Sweepstakes & Lottery Scams
This scam most often comes in the form of phone calls, emails, texts, or advertisements on the internet. They will usually have information about sweepstakes or lotteries that you can enter but will require you to put in your secure information.
Or they may say that you were randomly chosen and happen to have won these things. They will then tell you that to get your reward, you must put in your information. Sometimes it requires a fee of some kind.
To keep yourself safe from these scams, always hang up on suspicious phone calls and do not click on any odd emails. Also, remember that if you did not enter into any contest, the odds of you winning a large sum of money or a paid vacation is very slim, and it's best to ignore anything that tells you otherwise.
3. Pyramid Schemes
Pyramid schemes are an interesting and more complicated type of scam. For this scam to succeed, it requires a constant feed of new participants, most of whom are unaware that they are in a pyramid scheme.
A pyramid scheme will usually be disguised as a legitimate business. It starts by getting investors and then tricking them into selling a bit to new recruits. Then they use the new person's "investments" to pay "profits" to the original victim.
To avoid being one of the many victims of this scam, you need to be wary of several things. Signs you may be invited into a pyramid scheme includes:
- It requires you to recruit more people
- There's an overabundance of success stories
- It's not listed on the Better Business Bureau
Though this is a tough scam to be wary of, it is still necessary to be on the lookout, so you do not cause yourself any financial hardships.
The Takeaway
Scammers are everywhere and are always trying to victimize people. Make sure you don't fall prey to their scams. You can do this by following the tips above and always practicing caution when someone reaches out to you with an opportunity that sounds fishy or too good to be true.
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