Scams
Prevent Tax ID Theft – Here’s Your Checklist!
Key Points The IRS estimates that it paid $3.1 billion in fraudulent identity theft refunds in a recent year. Identity thieves can use your information to file fraudulent returns in your name while they pocket the return. Get your personal identification number (PIN) early and keep your paperwork secure to help prevent your personal financial infor...Read More
Are You Being “Reeled In” by a Catfish?
By now I hope that you’ve read my last post on “How To Spot a Scammer” but maybe, somehow, your radar missed it. You find yourself actively chatting with someone but perhaps you’re a little suspicious? It’s obvious that English is not his first language but you’ve decided to overlook that, perhaps you even find it endearing. He’s telling you how b...Read More
How To Spot a Scammer – AKA Catfisher! My 5 Signs!
In the online dating world, scammers are called “Catfishers” and they are all over the dating sites. To “catfish” means to lure someone into a relationship by means of a fictional online persona. They target everyone and you don’t have to be rich or dumb to fall victim to them. The common denominator is that you are online looking for love, which ...Read More
Listening To Your Gut
Today more than ever we need to pay attention to warning signals that bombard us from the environment. We can detect all sorts of danger signals, some obvious, others less so. Ignoring the signals can put us in danger. Listening to our gut feelings is a mechanism that can alert us to the fact that something untoward is taking place. It is part of o...Read More
Scams: Targeting Our Aging Loved Ones
Recently we ran an article that flew right to the top of the charts: Scammed By Love. It’s the true story of 73 year-old Lydia, from Vancouver, who was scammed by a guy she met through an online dating site. And it quickly reminded me of the time I was in my 90 year-old mother’s home when the infamous “Rachel from Cardmember Servi...Read More