Protect Yourselves From Professional Scammers

Last May I attended a seminar at our local police department given by a retired police chief of a nearby city and our local police department. "Joe" now has moved onto our district attorney's office and spends a great deal of time investigating scam and fraud cases. He also educates and trains law enforcement officers to prepare them to handle these rapidly increasing crimes.

I have known a few people who have been targeted and unfortunately some have lost their life savings, identity, children's college savings which, in the end, causes wrecked relationships, mental and emotional issues, and can even lead one to suicide.

The targeted group for these scams are our senior citizens. This is because scammers believe they are naive, gullible, and alone. This came from the seniors themselves and "Joe." I begged to differ, only because the seniors I knew never fell for the scams they were confronted with. The victims I knew were all between the ages of 20 through 50 at the time the scams took place.

What exactly should we look out for to avoid falling prey to one of these scams? Well, let's first talk about a biggie. Social Security Numbers. How many of you know your Social Security number? Everyone should.....Where do you keep it.? IF YOU HAVE IT IN YOUR WALLET TAKE IT OUT IMMEDIATELY! NEVER CARRY YOUR CARD WITH YOU! There are very few people you should give it out too. When you start a new job your employer will need to make a copy of your card. Other than that put the card in a safe place in your home. Doctor's offices and utility companies really do not need your number. The only reason they ask for it is if you move and leave an unpaid bill. They can excess your credit report much more easily by using your social security number. Why would they do this? Well, what information is on a credit report? It should contain your current address and phone number. Now they have you.

Who knows what is on a Medicare card? Your Social Security number. This topic sparked a heated debate among the seniors and the officers. It is recommended that seniors not carry their Medicare card around with them. If they need treatment, they or a loved one can tell the hospital or physician's office that the card is at home for safety reasons and they will get the card to them as quickly as possible.

When you are at a hospital or physician's office and you are checking in be weary. There could be professional scammers out there in the waiting rooms blending in. Their job? Sitting there for hours listening on our conversions as we give out our personal information. What can we do? If we do give out our SS# write it down on a piece of paper and tell the person you want it back. Tell the person not to read the note out loud. Then dispose of the note AFTER you leave.

Don't forget to check your credit reports quarterly. You are allowed to one free credit report from each credit reporting company annually. Don't get all your reports at once. Spread them out over the course of the year. Check to make sure the information is accurate. You can dispute any inaccuracies.

How many guys out there carry wallets in their back pockets? Sitting ducks for a pickpocket. Easy trick to avoid being a victim if you can't stop. Wrap a big rubber band around your wallet. This way when someone tries to pickpocket your wallet, you will be able to feel it because it's bulky. Keeping with this theme, how many of us gals do this when we are out with a group of friends. Heck, I did this at the seminar and I was by myself. Talk about feeling STUPID! Us gals have to run to the restroom to freshen-up so we leave our purses with the guys and expect them to keep an eye on them. Are they really going to keep a good enough eye on them? This is what the pro-scammers look out for. Take your purse with you. If it gets snagged no one will know who took it and more than likely you won't get it back.

Telemarketers....the most annoying thing on the planet. What do you do when you receive such a call. Hang up. If you talk even one word they have you. Do not engage. They are looking for some common ground. FYI most calls come from Canada.

Overseas lotteries through the mail are a very common scam. Generally they are said to come from a European country. The victim is sent numbers in the mail via a lottery ticket. The more money you send, the greater your chances of winning the big one. However, when you take a good look at the ticket it is a losing ticket from one of the United States lotteries.

Another scam to watch out for is that of a door-to-door sales person. Most common of this is a young person claiming to be a college student selling X for school y for tuition. When checked out, this "student" doesn't exist at the school. The scammer makes off with peoples checks if not caught. There are other scammers such as handymen who have no contract and show up at someone's property to do a shady job and then they bill the person. They may have had an ok to do the job but are not professional handymen. They are in fact professional con artists.

We all love to give to charities. How do we know if our money is really going to the organization we intend it to go? For instance "Joe" informed the group, and ticked off the other officers, that the organization (the name escapes me) that accepts donations for police departments actually pays themselves a portion of our money for the work of merely collecting the money. He said that itself is a scam of the police. He said now that he has retired he can share the information and intends to because he feels we people on the outside have a right to be informed. He recommended if you want to give to any charity or organization contact that group directly. So if I was to give to my police department I would *gulp* contact our police chief directly.

The biggest scam is one done through the mail and can be done through email as well. A victim received a notification that he or she is a $1 million winner of a foreign lottery at random. To collect one has to fly to a country such as the Netherlands and there one can pick up their winnings. If they are unable to fly they are given the name of a "lawyer" who tells them the next step. He asks for personal information ID, SS#, birthdate, Spouse info, phone #, address, work-related info, and most important bank related. He says the money will be direct deposited to the account. First you have to pay taxes to get the money released. He gives you a banker's name. You then receive checks and are told to cash them and send them back a certain amount of money to a person at a specific address throught Western Union at Wal-Mart. These places have put a freeze on large amounts of money being sent over seas to certain addresses because it's too common. Western Union as well as the US Postal Service have been investigating. The checks bounce leaving the victim owing the bank thousands upon thousands of dollars.

If you fall prey to one of these scams or others not mentioned contact your local authorities. Larger departments usually have detectives specializing in scams. Some smaller agencies may not be trained and may tell you it's not a police matter. This is what happened to my husband. Since then our department has become trained in scams. If you cannot get help from your local authorities you can seek help else where. Contact the bank the check is drawn from. Some will want to investigate others will tell you to dispose of it immediately.

Above all do not wait to contact law enforcement. The longer you wait the harder it will be to catch the criminals and if possible get your money back. Seek counseling if you become depressed. This can destroy relationships and even your closest relatives may not understand. Do not try to scam the scammer. It won't work. You will just lose more money and feel worse.

The best thing if you've been scammed is to start over and rebuild your life.