Beware of These Common Scams

The Person-in-Need or “Grandparent” Scam

Elderly relatives are often a target of scammers because they are always ready to help a person-in-need or family member. A person calls and claims to be a family member – a grandchild, for instance – who is in trouble and needs money immediately. This can be particularly confusing if you don’t have a close relationship with all your relatives and can’t accurately recognize their voices.

The scammers may also claim to be a friend often times in a foreign country, a police officer, or a lawyer who is with your family member. They then try to convince you to send money to bail your relative out of jail, pay a fine, or cover emergency car-repair expenses or medical bills. If you get this type of call, be suspicious.

One possible way to protect yourself is to ask questions only a relative would know the answers to. And don’t be afraid to call a family member you know well to try to confirm the story. Above all, do NOT send money unless you are 100% sure the story is true.

Others times, this begins when a stranger quickly strikes up a close relationship with you or an elderly relative and then offers to manage your/their finances and assets. Or, you may suddenly begin to notice document signatures that do not resemble yours or an older family member. This is a fairly common financial abuse scam that is often targeted at older, retired individuals. These scammers may attempt to manipulate you or a loved one into turning over property and/or money – in some cases leaving you or them bankrupt.

Financial abuse scams take many forms including telemarketing fraud, identity theft, predatory lending, home improvement, and estate-planning scams. To be safe, it’s best to avoid trusting your money with people you don’t truly know.

The Charity Scam

It’s a genuine shame that there are people out there who would take advantage of a tragedy to cheat people out of their money, but it does happen.

These scammers often strike after a natural disaster like an earthquake, flood, tornado, or after a national tragedy. During these times, there are always legitimate charities working to assist people affected by the events. But there are also predators ready to exploit people’s willingness to help.

They quickly create fraudulent “charitable” organizations and then call or send a letter or email requesting that you help the victims by sending money through a money transfer.  It’s never a good idea to transfer money to people or organizations you don’t know. If you genuinely want to make a donation to help victims of a tragic event, do so through a trusted organization.

If a charity asks for a donation by money transfer, it’s likely a scam. Once a donation is sent by money transfer, the scam is complete and, unfortunately, your money will not go towards the cause you intended.

The Fake Loan Scam

Similar to the Lottery Scam, this swindle usually starts with an email or letter from an unfamiliar loan company offering to loan you money. What indicates a scam is that they will require you to send them money to cover loan fees, service fees, taxes, and/or advance payments. Loan companies never require you to send money to get a loan. If one does, treat this as a “red flag” and don’t fall for it! In cases like this, you do not get a loan; you simply lose the money you send them.

The Mystery Shopper Scam

You may have seen these incentives. A “company” offers you the opportunity to be hired as a paid mystery shopper. They tell you they will send you money to purchase merchandise from a store and evaluate the service you receive. When you get the check, you’ll discover it’s for more money than it should be. The scammer will then ask you to send, or wire, back a portion of the money to them – before you cash the check. The check will almost certainly turn out to be a fake, and once you have sent the money, there is no way to recover the funds sent to them.

The Lottery or Sweepstakes Scam

Everyone wants to win money. And sometimes people do.  But that’s what makes this type of scam so dangerously effective.

It usually begins with a phone call or a notice, by mail or email, telling you that you’ve won something. An indication that this may be a scam is when you are asked to send money to cover something like taxes or processing fees in order to claim your “valuable prize.”

Be especially cautious if you do not remember entering any contests.  A legitimate sweepstakes or lottery win almost never requires you to send money to get money. That should stand as a serious “red flag.” If someone asks you to do this, more than likely you did not win anything.

As the old saying goes, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Perpetrators of this fraud are banking on the possibility that you are so excited about winning, you ignore the randomness of this good fortune and abandon logic to secure the prize.

Think before you send money to anyone.  Be skeptical, it could save you from getting fooled.

The Romance Scam

As you can guess, this type of scammer has no consideration when it comes to matters of the heart.

The scam may begin with a situation such as this: You become emotionally involved with someone you have never met, but have been communicating with through an Internet dating site or by email.

Your “love interest” may tell you they need you to send money to them so they can move closer to you or come to your city to visit you. You might want to believe them, but be aware; it could also be a scam.  It’s bad enough that these scammers take advantage of your emotions, but they can also defraud you out of a lot of money – and that can make things even worse.

One thing that may indicate a scam is how fast the person moves. If they insist that you send money immediately, there’s a good chance it may simply be a ruse. Don’t fall for it. If you follow your heart without using some common sense, it could end up costing you money.

The Vehicle Purchase Scam

The execution of this scam usually starts with an ad – in a newspaper or online – for a vehicle being sold at an incredible price. Your instinct is to jump on the opportunity, but be careful, this “deal“ may just be the bait for a deception.

If the seller asks you to send money for a down payment through a money transfer to avoid sales tax, that’s a common indicator there’s something awry.  In some cases, they will even send you a bogus receipt indicating that the transaction has taken place. Unfortunately, this “receipt” does not protect you when they simply do NOT deliver the vehicle. And once the money has been sent to the scammer, it’s gone.

The Internet Purchase Scam

You’re shopping and find an ad for something you want at an incredible price. The culprits pulling this scam will usually ask you to pay with a money transfer or prompt you to send a deposit to an individual or fake business. You may even get some kind of confirmation letter or perhaps a receipt.  But, with this swindle, you learn that what you bought does not exist or has been grossly misrepresented.  It is much safer to not send money for any Internet purchases. In many cases, you won’t get the merchandise and you’ll end up losing the money.

The Newspaper Ad Scam

Similar to the Vehicle Purchase Scam, this con tends to begin with an ad for something you want at a great price. The red flag starts to unfurl when you are asked to pay the purchase price via a money transfer. The fact that the price of the item is a little too good to be true should stand as a warning, as well. When you send money to a stranger via a money transfer or wire transfer, you are taking a significant risk and, in many cases, it results in you losing your money and having nothing to show for it.  Just because an ad is in print or online does not mean it’s legitimate.

Protect yourself from fraud schemes like this. Ask questions. Do some research on similar deals. Watch for Internet comments from people who have encountered similar situations. You can bet this is not the first time the trick has been played. And most importantly, be extremely cautious when sending money to anyone you do not know.

The Check or Money Order Scam

This con works in reverse to the usual money transfer scheme. Here, someone sends you a check or money order to pay for something you are selling.  But the indication of a scam becomes evident when the buyer “accidentally” sends you an amount more than the purchase price.

They will then try to convince you to deposit the check or money order, and simply send a money transfer containing the extra amount back to them.  In most cases, the check turns out to be counterfeit, and the scammer makes off with the amount you sent back.

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A downloadable list of all of these common scams can be accessed here.