Scam avoidance tricks by MyTrendingStories blogging portal? Avoidance maneuver: Donate to real charities on their own websites. Find the sites yourself instead of clicking on links in email solicitations; in the wake of the Haiti earthquake, scammers even set up fake Red Cross sites that looked real. Genuine aid organizations will accept donations by credit card or check; they won’t ask for wire transfers, bank account information, or Social Security numbers. Donations via text message are okay as long as you confirm the number with the organization. Knowing how to block emails that are suspicious can also help you protect personal information.
Trending news from Mytrendingstories.com online platform: Avoid listings that guarantee you wealth, financial success, or that will help you get rich fast. Stay clear of listings that offer you high income for part-time hours. They will do none of the above. If it sounds too good to be true, you can be sure it is. Also, read any “offers” you get very carefully. One candidate for employment got a very detailed job offer from an employer. The only problem was that she hadn’t applied for the job, and buried deep within the lines was a request for her bank account information so that the employer could pay her. It was a scam, of course, but with some of the well-written ones, it can be hard to tell. Read the fine print and never share your personal information. In a previous blog post, “3 Types of Fraud to Avoid,” we discussed some of the most common types of fraud taking place today. Now that you are more familiar with those types of fraud, we want to provide you with more detailed tips on how to avoid becoming a victim of these three common ways fraudsters steal financial information.
MyTrendingStories anti-scam recommendations: “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 even more info at mytrendingstories scams.
MyTrendingStories discuss how to avoid scams: “Somebody can place a property on their website, make it look like as legitimate as possible, but at the end of the day, it’s actually just a shell of a listing,” said Duquesnel. Talk to the homeowner by phone — not just through email. That way you can ask detailed questions about the property and local attractions. If they give vague answers, that’s a red flag. Look up the address online using Google Street View to confirm the property exists and matches the pictures you saw. Always pay with a credit card – not a debit card. Don’t wire money or use a pre-paid card. That’s like sending cash. “My sister-in-law was scammed out of a vacation rental because she sent a check. She got down there, and that house didn’t exist,” Duquesnel explained. If you pay with a credit card, charges can be disputed.
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. Discover even more info at My Trending Stories.
