While fraud risk is nothing new, it is worth reminding ourselves that it is out there and a constant risk to all of us. In addition to reminding ourselves, it is important to take the time to educate our kids and grandkids of the risks, help them identify red flags, and develop prudent practices to help avoid being victimized. It is also important to keep our parents in mind too given the rise of elder abuse. Nearly everyone in my family – across generations – has had recent attempts (VERY convincing in one case) of being conned. I have seen more and more articles lately – there is one in today’s Wall Street Journal about check fraud – about the growing frequency and sophistication of fraudsters’ efforts so I thought it would be worth putting this email together to remind us all of ways to protect ourselves. The Federal Trade Commission notes on its website four signs of a scam:
Scammers pretend to be from an organization you know – utility companies, Medicare, Social Security.
Scammers indicate a problem or a prize. You owe money. A family member is in trouble. An account has been compromised.
Pressure to act immediately.
Insistence on paying in a certain way. Cryptocurrency, gift cards, or wires through the likes of a Western Union type company.
The risk of falling victim to a scam can be minimized by following several practices. The list below is not meant to be comprehensive, but it does outline many.
Avoid clicking on links or opening attachments in unsolicited emails or texts. Doing so can introduce malware onto your device that could provide entry for cyber criminals.
Do not assume that an email or text you get from a known vendor or organization indicating an issue with your account is actually real. Login into your account (not using a link provided to you!) independently to see if you notice any unusual activity. If the matter requires further inquiry, do not call the “service number” in the message. Instead, call the customer service number located on that vendor’s website or a statement you have received previously that is known to be authentic. If the message has been determined to be a fake, delete it and block the sender.
Do not rely on caller ID as these can be faked.
Never share sensitive personal information with someone who has contacted you unsolicited.
Do not be pressured to act immediately. Talk to a trusted source first.
Be careful what you post on social media. This is especially important with our kids. Fraudsters can take sensitive data from those sites. They can also use non-sensitive info to make themselves seem like a friend to a potential victim.
When using checks, take several precautions: use gel ink pens, mail directly from the post office, and monitor your account regularly. For more detail on this, here is a link to the WSJ article I mentioned above.
When you shop online, at check out, make sure there is an “https” in the URL. If it is missing the “s”, the site is not secure. In some cases, I have gotten a pop-up message telling me that I am being redirected to an unsecure site. In either event, I do not proceed with my transaction.
Monitor your credit reports. Each of the three major credit agencies – Transunion, Experian, and Equifax – is required to provide you with a free copy of your credit report annually, if requested. If you stagger your requests for a report from each company, you can get three free reports annually. For example, get one from Transunion in January, Experian in May, and Equifax in September. Come January the following year, you can start the cycle over. Sign up for alerts from these agencies to notify you of activity. Similar services are offered by other companies as well.
No fraud prevention method is going to be bulletproof. However, the more practices that we can adopt to lessen the risk, the better off we will be. Many of the practices noted above are routine for us, but it never hurts to remind ourselves – and others – of them from time to time.
On our end, we and Schwab continue to do all that we can to avert potential fraud. We always require verbal confirmation before disbursing funds. In cases where funds are being sent to new payees, written authorization is also required.
As always, please feel free to reach out with any questions.
Insights
Protecting Ourselves Against Fraud
While fraud risk is nothing new, it is worth reminding ourselves that it is out there and a constant risk to all of us. In addition to reminding ourselves, it is important to take the time to educate our kids and grandkids of the risks, help them identify red flags, and develop prudent practices to help avoid being victimized. It is also important to keep our parents in mind too given the rise of elder abuse. Nearly everyone in my family – across generations – has had recent attempts (VERY convincing in one case) of being conned. I have seen more and more articles lately – there is one in today’s Wall Street Journal about check fraud – about the growing frequency and sophistication of fraudsters’ efforts so I thought it would be worth putting this email together to remind us all of ways to protect ourselves. The Federal Trade Commission notes on its website four signs of a scam:
The risk of falling victim to a scam can be minimized by following several practices. The list below is not meant to be comprehensive, but it does outline many.
No fraud prevention method is going to be bulletproof. However, the more practices that we can adopt to lessen the risk, the better off we will be. Many of the practices noted above are routine for us, but it never hurts to remind ourselves – and others – of them from time to time.
On our end, we and Schwab continue to do all that we can to avert potential fraud. We always require verbal confirmation before disbursing funds. In cases where funds are being sent to new payees, written authorization is also required.
As always, please feel free to reach out with any questions.