Tips on Protecting Yourself from Scams

What is a scam?  It is an attempt, through deceit or trickery, to intentionally mislead someone, usually with the goal of financial gain.  Traditional scams play upon the vulnerability of people by exploiting human virtues such as compassion and trust.

There are many different types of scams that are being used today and here is a list of the ones we feel are most commonly identified in our region: 

Foreign Lottery Scams

• Ignore communications from foreign lotteries
• Legitimate lotteries doesn’t require winners to pay fees to collect winnings
• Be very skeptical of unsolicited letters, calls or emails informing you as a winner of any lottery
• Don’t trust the check accompanying the correspondence advising you of your winnings – most of the time the checks are counterfeit

Inheritance Scams

• Check with relatives about recent deaths in your family
• Don’t give out personal information over the internet or telephone
• Be very skeptical of unsolicited letters, calls or emails informing you of a recent death of a long-lost relative overseas

Employment Opportunities Scams

• Watch for vague or generic job openings
• Guaranteed job placement with any face-to-face contact
• Watch Exaggerated wages, benefits or perks
• Review where your correspondence is being shipped from, paying close attention to out-of-state addresses, post office boxes and mail-drops - these are all warnings signs
• Do your homework and investigate the company – Google is a good source of information – find telephone number and make calls to verify the individual who is offering you the job opportunity.

Overpayment Check Scams

• Know who you are dealing with – independently confirm your buyer’s name, street address, and telephone number
• Be cautious when dealing with out-of-state buyers
• Never accept a check for more than the selling price
• Never agree to wire back funds to a buyer – a legitimate buyer will not pressure you to do so, and you have limited recourse if there is a problem with a wire transfer
• Resist pressure to “act now.”  If the buyer’s offer is good now, it should be good when the check clears
• If you accept payment by check, ask for a check drawn on a local bank or a bank with a local branch.  You can visit that bank branch to determine if the check is legitimate but only accept the check for the amount of the purchase

Money Transfer a.k.a. Fund Transfer Scams

• Every check negotiated through your account, you are held liable if the check is ever returned unpaid
• If the company can not process the payments, they should accept another form of payment from their customers
• Avoid job listings that use the terms “money transfers,” “wiring funds,” and “foreign agent agreements”
• Never forward or transfer money from any of your personal accounts on behalf of an employer
• A legitimate job would require money to be withdrawn from the employer’s business account

Mystery Shoppers Scam

• Never accept a mystery shopping job that requires a wire transfer
• Be skeptical of mystery shopping promoters who guarantee a job, charge a fee, sell directories or companies that provide mystery shoppers, or advertises in a “help wanted” section or by email. 
• Find information about legitimate companies on the Mystery Shopping Provider’s Association Web site at www.mysteryshop.org

Advance Fee Fraud / 4-1-9 Scam

• Watch for sense of urgency
• You are encouraged not to discuss the confidential nature of the transaction
• Watch for documents with official looking stamps, seals and logos to make the proposal seem authentic
• Do not provide personal banking information