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Financial Security

Fraud Prevention Friday – April 30, 2021

Fraud Prevention Friday

  We've been sharing important information about specific scams for the past 3 weeks. If you missed those, make sure to check them out. They include information on romance scams, email/texting phishing, grandparent/parent scams, and fake checks.   For our final week of Fraud Prevention Fridays, we wanted to showcase 5 ways you can avoid a scam in general. Every scam is different, but the outcome is usually the same.   Here are 5 ways for you to avoid a scam:
  1. Don't feel pressure to act immediately to a threat - Businesses that are legitimate will give you time to make a decision if there is something going on. If someone is pressuring you to pay or give personal information quickly, it's a scam.
  2. Don’t give out personal or financial information to a request that you didn't expect - especially if they ask for your social security number, bank account, or credit card numbers. Even if the email or text looks legitimate, it's best not to click any links. Look up a phone number for the company instead of using the number provided in these texts or emails.
  3. Block unwanted calls and text messages - there are ways you can block unwanted calls and text messages by learning more through the FTC website. Here is the link to learn how to do that: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-block-unwanted-calls
  4. Stop and talk to someone you trust about an interaction - if you feel uncomfortable or confused as to why you are being called, emailed or texted to send money or provide personal information, talk to someone you trust and ask what they think. They may help you come to conclusion that you were targeted.
  5. Know how scammers tell you to pay - when someone says you need to pay them with a gift card or by using a money transferring system, they are trying to scam you. Like our previous blog post about fake checks, never deposit a check into your account or send money back to someone.
  Only you can prevent scams and fraud. If something doesn't seem right with a conversation, do some research. Even if ends up being legitimate, you will feel better knowing that you helped protect yourself and your information by asking questions.   Learn more about other scams and report a scam on the Federal Trade Commissions website. Here is the link:  https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/scam-alerts.