Common Scams to Recognize and Avoid

Scammers get better every day at perfecting their craft. Last year, my husband and I discussed buying a dog. A few weeks later, I saw a Facebook post from a friend of a friend that said they were selling French Bulldog puppies, which was my dream dog. Since we had a mutual friend, I figured this person was legitimate. I got their phone number, and we messaged back and forth. We wanted a girl dog, and he only had one left. He asked for a deposit to hold the dog for me until I could pick it up over the weekend. Since there was only one female dog left of this desirable breed for a good price, I made the deposit. There seemed to be an issue with my transfer, so I sent it again. Afterward, it became difficult to coordinate a pickup time with him. Then, he told me again that there was only one female dog left and that I needed to make a deposit to secure my adoption. That’s when I realized this was a scam.

Four Red Flags

There are four main characteristics of scams. Scammers often use all four to try to convince their target that they are a legitimate organization trying to help you or ask you for help.

Scammers pretend to be a legitimate person or organization

With the help of AI technology, scammers can easily imitate a loved one. They also often pretend to be a government organization, charity, or company. They can call from an unsuspecting phone number. Many phones today give you a scam notice if the system catches unusual activity, but it isn’t fail-proof. In my situation, he was a friend of a friend.

Scammers say there is a problem or prize.

After pretending to be a legitimate person or organization, scammers often keep your attention in one of two ways. They may say you have a problem, such as an unpaid utility bill. On the other hand, they may say you are entitled to a cash prize and need your personal information in order to deliver the funds. For me, the problem was that there was only one prize left, the puppy.

Scammers pressure immediate action.

Many scammers get away with their schemes because they play on emotion. They pressure you into thinking you need to act now to try to avoid giving you time to think through the situation. With problem-related scams, they may threaten legal action. With prize-related scams, they may say it’s a now or never opportunity.  In my situation, I was pressured to quickly make a deposit to secure that the puppy wouldn’t be sold to someone else before I could pick her up a few days later.

Scammers have you pay with a specific method.

The fraudster will often require you to pay in a very specific method that they determine for you. By purchasing and paying with a gift card, you won’t be able to get your money back. By giving them your checking account information, they are one step closer to committing identity fraud. When you use a payment app, you don’t have the necessary support to retract a payment after you submitted the funds. The puppy scammer only accepted Venmo. I later realized paying with Venmo makes getting money back from a scammer nearly impossible.

Top Scams

Now that you know the red flags to look out for, here are some common scams.

Charity Scams

During a crisis nonprofits and fundraisers are often called upon to obtain donations and services to aid people in need. Scammers know this and will take advantage of the situation.

Tips:

• Ask for detailed information about the charity or nonprofit, including name, address, and telephone number.
• Never wire money to someone claiming to be a charity or nonprofit. Scammers often request donations to be wired because wiring money is like sending cash.
• Consider it a red flag if the organization thanks you for a pledge you do not remember making.

Computer and Internet Scams

This is when scammers dupe older adults into giving out their personal financial information by creating authentic-looking emails, text messages, or internet pages to entice their victims into disclosing financial information.

Tips:

• Do not email financial information or account numbers. Email is not a secure method of transmitting personal information.
• Do not open any message that comes from an unfamiliar source. Be cautious about opening attachments and downloading files from emails.
• Use trusted security software on your computer and make sure it is updated regularly.

Grandparent Telephone Scam

This is when an imposter calls a grandparent pretending to be a grandchild in trouble. Sometimes the scammer even knows the grandchild’s name and is usually crying, making it hard to recognize their grandchild’s voice.

Tips:

• Be sure to telephone your grandchild or his/her parents at a number you know to be valid to find out if the request is legitimate.
• If a caller claims to be from an established organization, such as a hospital, charity or law enforcement agency, look up the number of the organization yourself.
• Consider it a red flag if the caller insists on secrecy.

Never listen to anyone who discourages you from seeking information, verification, support and counsel from your family members, friends or trusted advisers before you make a financial decision. If you have any questions about a transaction that you think might be fraudulent on your account or about someone asking you for money, feel free to reach out to the credit union for help.