How to Prevent Being Scammed
by Darity Wesley
A poet’s work is to name the unnameable, to point at frauds, to take sides, start arguments, shape the world, and stop it going to sleep. ~Salman Rushdie
Scams and frauds have been happening for as long as there has been commerce. Though the context of the activity looks much different now than it did in the year 418, high tech instead of at the open market for example, the result is still pretty much the same. The victim loses an asset and the perpetrator gains one by deceptive means.
There are some circumstances that fraudsters are consistently looking for in order to pluck ripe victims. Disasters tend to bring out the best and worst in people and are highly emotional times. The recent flurry of natural disasters is no exception. In the wake of the tsunami in Japan, the flooding along the Mississippi River and tornadoes in the southeast and Midwest U.S., your Privacy Gurus® warn you to be wary of urgent appeals for charitable donations.
We all want to do what we can to help in these situations, and unless you are close geographically to the area, the way we can assist is by offering a monetary contribution. If you are asked in person, by phone, e-mail or postal mail to make a donation, consider these tips about giving wisely:
- Donate to charities you know and trust. Be alert for charities that seem to have sprung up overnight.
- Give directly to the charity, not to the person soliciting on behalf of the charity. Solicitors keep a share of the donations to cover their costs, which leaves less for victims.
- Do not give out personal or financial information – including your credit card or bank account number – unless you know the charity is reputable.
- Never send cash: you can’t be sure the organization will receive your donation.
- Check out a charity before you donate. You can look them up on the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance at www.give.org.
There are also everyday ways people can be scammed when out and about. Many of us have gotten lax over the years about protecting our personal identification numbers (PINs) for our debit cards and scam artists are thrilled about that. Please stay vigilant about protecting personal information and save yourself oodles of time, money and misery. It is up to you to do your part to protect your privacy.
Sometimes though, a business gets stung. Michaels Stores, Inc. said that customer debit and credit card numbers plus PINs had been stolen through PIN-pad tampering at its stores nationwide. The company disabled and quarantined suspicious PIN pads and removed around 7,200 of them from its stores. Michaels acted quickly enough so that to-date there have been fewer than 100 incidents reported. However, there is a class action suit brewing by a consumer seeking compensatory damages, and consequential and statutory damages.
It’s a complex world we navigate today and it’s up to us to stay aware and alert as to how to best protect our families and ourselves. Your Privacy Gurus® are your champions in keeping you informed with the latest from both the personal and professional sides of our lives.
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Darity Wesley is Founder and CEO of Revive Your Spirit™ and creator of her daily Oracle email service. Additionally she is CEO and Legal Counsel for Privacy Solutions, Inc,.a San Diego based consulting firm. You can always reach Darity at Darity@PrivacyGurus.com or 619-670-9462.
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