Whenever there’s money involved, there’s potential fraud waiting to happen. Learn to recognize the most prevalent financial scams here.
What’s a voided check? It may sound contradictory. Checks are documents that order banks to process payments, while the word “void” cancels those orders. Even though you can’t send money with a voided check, they still share useful financial information. People often use them to set up electronic payments. How To Use Voided Checks For example, you can send a voided check to a company so that they know where to make the deposit. Or maybe a business requires your …
Social media has become a powerful tool for businesses and, unfortunately, scammers. It’s the easiest way for a stranger to reach out to you, who may not use a real account. While these companies fight fraud, it’s too easy to misrepresent your profile. Within minutes, you can make up an identity or supplant someone else’s. Social media becomes dangerous when there are so many scammers a few clicks away trying to get your money. Why Are There Crypto Scams On …
Imagine how many scammers may be trying to steal your bank account. Sometimes, they just need a few pieces of data to breach all your accounts. That’s why the first step starts with security. You set passwords on your account and not share them with anyone. What about the account number? You may notice that when you want to transfer money, all you need to do is enter your number and the destination number. Yet, this number is visible everywhere. …
Imagine this week your store made more sales than usual. Naturally, you feel confident about your brand: people love your products! Next week, you check your sales to see if there’s any new clients: you’re selling as much as you always did. But what about the sales spike? When you check, it still shows as a pending order. “Well, everything should be fine once the product ships.” You assume. When it’s finally the day to deliver the product, clients cancel …
We all experience unpredictable events in our life. From time to time, you may need more money than you have to respond to those events. Get fired at work? Relationship issues? Medical emergencies? For your convenience, many helpful lenders will offer you generous amounts. Right at the right time, these people reach out and come up with an offer that’s too good to be true. Money may solve problems. But how much does it matter Who you trust to help …
When you least expect it, you may find a surprise letter in your inbox. Perhaps you find an email message, or a collector calls to your phone number. “We are this institution. You still owe us this amount of money. If you don’t pay it back by this time, you’ll be in serious trouble.” That’s a message worth paying attention to. What do they want from you? What happens if you don’t listen? “If you don’t want to deal with …
Who says no to money? What if you could get it for free with no catch? Most people would believe it’s a scam. Although it’s unlikely to happen, you may find any of these cases: What they have in common is, you first need to participate to have a chance to get unclaimed money. If you have never participated, then any claim of you having unclaimed money should be viewed as highly suspicious. Think about it: why would a stranger …
Aren’t you tired of collector calls? They won’t let you breathe until you paid the last penny you owe. Whether you pay or not, they may take all kinds of legal actions against you because of your vulnerable condition. If you don’t pay back borrowed money in a while, a 3rd party collector may become your new lender. Once the lender believes you’ll never be able to pay it back, he’ll look for help. It doesn’t matter how they punish …
Did you just receive a suspicious email, call or a text message that was supposed to be from Bank of America? How to tell if it’s a scam and what can you do about it? Thieves attempt to lure you into providing personal information with the help of bank phishing and email spam, fake telephone calls or even through regular mail. The goal of getting your personal information is the same, just the communication method is different. Bank of America …
Can you trust Moneygram? Yes, they can scam you on Moneygram, just as they can on any platform. Like Western Union, Moneygram is a money transfer company that wants the best for their customers. When we look at the usage of these payment methods that others make, that’s a different story. Even today, the most preferred methods to pass money to a scammer are money orders and wire transfers, hence the bad connotation of these companies. It doesn’t mean all …
Once you’ve been a victim of fraud or identity theft, it’s difficult to know what you should do first. One of the statements you may have heard when it comes to identity theft is a fraud alert. But do you know what fraud alerts do, what types of fraud alerts are available or how fraud warnings work? What Is a Fraud Alert? Credit fraud is nothing you ever want to concern yourself with, but the sad fact is that some …
Cash and vending machines are prone to security breaches and outdated cash machines are especially vulnerable. If you’re the owner of a cash or vending machine you must acknowledge the most common security concerns to update or replace your machine. If your machine is located in an isolated area and left unmonitored, it could be drained of the merchandise or cash inside it. Depending on the security level of the machine, it might not require security upgrades. This is valid …
“You can fool all the people part of the time and part of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.” – Abraham Lincoln Opportunities come and go. Those who move fast arrive first and reap the best reward. The risk of fast decisions, of course, is overlooking facts and not thinking clearly. Investors who don’t think independently become money chasers and the scammer’s favorite target. The difference in dealing with securities fraud …
You found a great opportunity: a product to buy, a business idea, or a job to apply. When it looks impossible to go wrong, it does. You did your part, but the other person didn’t. You wired the funds, but the other hasn’t responded since then. What will happen to your funds? Will you ever get that product? The internet has offered us a lot of things that we wouldn’t have without, but with it we’ve also been exposed to …
“Make thousands working from home. Our partners make over $3,000 in their first month. Anybody can do it!” What kind of a home job could promise that? Copywriting? Designing? Programming? If the ads about making a lot of money from simply stuffing envelopes seem too good to be true; they probably are. The proliferation of envelope stuffing ads is already so dense, and the promises of easy riches are so grand, that it is a wonder that no one yet …
Banks are a comfortable, relatively secure way to save money. In fact, they seem so reliable that some people trust them with all their fortune. After all, it’s easier to manage your finances if everything is in one place, right? Reevaluate. It’s okay to rely on one source as long as you control what happens to that stream. Imagine how stressful it has to be relying on a single place to store your money. Plus, who can feel safe with …
Need money? You’re in luck. Many lenders will give you the amount in no time, depending on who you are. If you have strong credit, you can get low-interest loans fast. But most people won’t likely qualify for these. Without a good history, loans become a complex, long process with tons of paperwork. Because why would a lender trust money to an unreliable person? Some lenders decide to give such people a chance: free loans for everyone, no matter your …
Wire transfers are a popular payment method, and sometimes this is exploited for the wrong purposes. It’s a convenient way to receive money, but we can’t say the same about sending it. Why? Because wiring money to a stranger is like moving cash: once the other has it, you most likely lose it forever. Many scammers request wire transfers to their victims because of these “flaws”. It’s not that bank wire transfers an services like Western Union or Moneygram are …
Bank fraud is a crime that has been around as long as banks themselves. Anytime there is a large amount of money floating around, there are going to be people trying to figure out ways to get to it. In developed countries, bank fraud is a serious problem that causes billions of dollars in damages every year, and is considered a federal offense. In certain undemocratic countries bank fraud is even punishable by death. Bank fraud is defined as attempting …
Most of us have the gift of human compassion. Whether it is the victim of a dissease or the little orphan across the street, we are glad to help out. Billions of dollars a day go to charities worldwide. People donate to charities as a sign of goodwill and grace. Unfortunately, thieves know that and take it to their advantage. How do you know your donation is actually helping people? Unless you donate directly, the foundation decides where the money …