Charity and home improvement impersonators
Some of the most common scams are the ones that involve impersonators. For example, charity scam
might involve groups or individuals who claim to be raising money for a charity. These people
might even dress the part to beguile unsuspecting consumers or passersby.
We suggest verifying the legitimacy of an organization before donating money by checking with either
the Better Business Bureau or websites like Charity Navigator. Similarly, if you’re thinking of
employing someone to do any type of work, our advice is to stick with bonded, insured, reputable
companies. Refer to the Better Business Bureau.
Home improvement scams are another type of scam that involves an impersonator. “Someone appears
at your door wearing a workman’s outfit and offers to do a job for a dirt cheap fee, They want the
money upfront and will return later to do the work or some variant of this.” Think they’ll come back?
Think again.
Email and phishing scams
Many email scams involve phishing, which is when a scammer will try to get you to click on a link in
an email. That link might take you to a website that wants to gather your personal information, such as
your ID number or bank account number. Or, you might click on the link and get a virus.
One type of email scam: “You receive an email that seems to be from a legitimate company, like your
bank, the IRS, UPS, etc. In the message is a link that you click. You just downloaded a virus. Never
click on a link in an email. Instead, contact the company by phone.
Another example of an email scam is the ‘sob story’ You get an email that seems to be from someone
you know. They’re overseas, got mugged, lost everything, sob sob … and [they] need you to wire them
money. Don’t send them a penny; it’s a scam, I had several of these.
And lastly, most people have seen the emails or websites that scream “You’ve won!” “So you click the
link in the email to claim your prize, which is a nice fat virus that infects your computer. Run like the
wind if the message tells you that you need to pay a fee to claim your winnings.
Facebook Scams
A new Facebook friend tells you he has a great investment opportunity, and it’s too good to miss. He
said he works for a reputable investment company, blah, blah, blah, Phone calls to the company would
reveal the company never heard of him.
Also you hand over your phone number to a ‘new’ friend on Facebook, they say they are in danger,
there is a military coup, and they have a box of money to send you for safekeeping. They say you can
keep $5000USD from the box, but need to pay insurance of $XXX.
Computer and Internet scams
Despite passwords and information technology security, scammers still find ways to penetrate
networks for Internet scams. Beware of ‘computer lockout’ In this scam, you turn on your computer
and see a message stating the device is locked, To unlock it, you’re told to provide sensitive
information. Contact your security software provider or a local geek instead.”
Also, you’ll want to be careful when using free WiFi at public places like Starbucks or Pacific Coffee
etc. Unfortunately, free WiFi is risky because data is vulnerable to hackers when you log onto a free
WiFi network. Always use a VPN (virtual private network) such as Hotspot Shield or Tunnel Bear to
encrypt your data over free WiFi and enjoy your cappuccino.