The following is from Crystal at Budgeting in the Fun Stuff. That’s where she writes about her bills, saving for the future, and making sure to fit in fun stuff along the way.
No one cares as much about your money as you do…well, you and scammers. Be vigilant and protect your cash. There are a million ways that bad people will try to grab your money for themselves. Here are ones that I’ve heard about recently.
Identity Theft
I was eating lunch with my grandpa and his friends last week. Other than me, no one at the table was under 75 years old. One of the nice ladies handed me her cell phone and asked me to listen to a voicemail from her bank – it didn’t sound legitimate to her. I listened to the message and agreed 100% that it was left by a crook. Banks do not inform you of problems on a voicemail and ask you to call back with your social security number and other personal info.
We agreed that her best course of action was for her to go to her local bank branch and let them listen to the message. Then she would ensure that her account was fine and the bank would know that they were being used in someone else’s scam.
Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) Scandal
According to this article on The Guardian, one of the most recent financial scandals in the UK has been the decision for Lloyds Banking Group to set aside 3.2 billion pounds in order to compensate people who were sold payment protection insurance that they didn’t need or couldn’t use. They estimate that more than 3 million people were sold these unnecessary policies and that they will receive claims via PPI Claims Companies and the like for 4.5 billion pounds or more. Holy moly!
Craigslist Scams
The most prevalent Craigslist scam right now is for someone to offer to rent out your room or buy your item using a money order. The trick is that the money order is for more than you actually requested. After you refund them the difference, you find out that there money order was a fake.
This specific scam has been tried on me at least 3 times and I know of two friends that had to look out for it too. You can report the scammers, but nothing has happened with my reports so far.
In the end, research properly before you become one of the latest victims of slimy con artists. Also listen to your instincts – if it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.
What scams have you heard of recently?
Photo courtesy of Don Hankins