Common Everyday Scams to Avoid -- How to Safe Guard Your Money and Identity

It seems as though in todays world the scam artists are never at a loss for ways to obtain peoples personal and financial information. Whether by mail, phone or internet, these sharks continue to take advantage of innocent hard working individuals every day. In order to protect yourself and your family, it has become more important than ever to be aware of potential attacks you could be subjected to. Let's face it, the only reason these snakes continue to get away with their deception is the fact that people continue to fall for them. As long as they get away with it, these scams will be a part of our society. The best thing you can do is be informed of the common everyday scams to avoid, along with how to safeguard your money and identity. This article will cover some of the more common methods these criminals use to compromise your personal security. You won't believe how simple many of them are!

The first thing you should do, purchase an identity guard plan. This is an inexpensive way to have a system in place, that will monitor your personal financial activity on a daily basis. No matter how diligent you are, you can't possibly take the time (your life is busy enough) to check on the activity of all those credit cards, bank accounts, investment accounts, loans, and credit reports every single day. For a few bucks a month, these system's will monitor your financial activities and inform you of any unusual events. From credit card charges to applications for credit. Believe me, life is hard enough, grab a little piece of mind and enjoy the time you have.

The scam artists don't have the information they need to harm you. So they attempt to get you to give it to them. Be careful who you divulge personal information to.

Don't Divulge Personal Information.... It could come to you via an e-mail, or a phone call, or even by mail. Know who you are communicating with! Watch out for those e-mails that indicate there is a problem with one of your accounts. One that indicates your bank account is about to be closed, or asking you to verify a purchase you never made. In these e-mails you will be asked to urgently respond, to verify your identity by clicking a link that takes you to a different site. There you will be asked to enter personal information. This information then goes right into the hands of a thief. Often times these e-mails will even appear legit (the logos or graphics will resemble those of the actual company). Be aware of any e-mail that asks you to click a link, and then asks for account numbers or your social security number, and or username and passwords. No legitimate company will ever ask you to give your password (except when logging into your account). This is the easiest way to have someone steal your identity.

Don'ts....
Don't click on links within e-mails that ask for personal and financial information.
Don't give info on suspicious e-mails without calling the company to verify it's legit. Open a new window in your browser and type in the company name.
Don't do financial business on-line without an internet security program such as Norton or Mcafee Internet Security (with a firewall), be sure to keep it up to date with all the latest updates.

Phone Scams.... Beware of phone calls where the caller asks for a credit card number to claim a gift or prize they claim you won, or where the person claims they are calling from your credit card company to tell you your card has been used fraudulently, and then asks for the number, expiration date, and security code on the back. Your credit card company will never ask you for the number to the card (they already know it), rather they simply ask a couple questions to verify it's you. Questions like your address and maybe the last 4 numbers to your social security number (never the whole number).

Don'ts....
Don't give out banking information to someone calling you unless they are willing to allow you to verify them.
Don't hesitate to call your credit card company if you suspect fraud. Better safe than sorry!
Don't give out Paypal information on the phone. Paypal will not call you on the phone and request account information.

Mail Fraud.... You receive a check in the mail, or a letter claiming you won the lottery or a drawing, with instructions to send money (usually by wire or western union) to claim your prize. Sometimes you are asked to deposit the check into your account. When it doesn't clear, you end up paying the fees and worse yet, your account information gets back to the sender. No legitimate company would ever ask you to send money via any method for something you have won. Many of these scams are coming out of Nigeria.

Don'ts....
Don't ever wire or send money to anyone for a so called prize or lottery you won!
Don't deposit any checks (no matter how real they appear) without knowing who they came from.
Don't respond to any claims from something you don't remember entering.

These are some of the common everyday scams to avoid. Remember, don't count on others to safeguard your money and identity. Just use common sense, and you can avoid the nightmare of having some thief disrupt your life.