Are you a target?
Women, especially older women, seem to frequently be in the news as targets of scammers. This evening there is an alert going out in the Jacksonville, FL area about a man who has been telling women they are victims of identify theft and need to give their money to him for safekeeping. While that one does not sound that convincing to me, there have been others that are a bit more real sounding. So what are some ways to keep yourself safe?
1. Do not give money to anyone you don’t’ know.
2. Do not give our any personal information over the phone or even in person to someone you don’t know.
3. If someone comes to your door, ask for verification of who they say they are. If necessary, call a reference number to see if he/she is legit.
4. Women can be scammer too!
5. When using any credit cards or debit cards, make sure you are keeping them safe. Do not carry you PIN numbers with the cards.
6. If you get email telling you you’ve won something, that your account at XYZ bank is locked, or you need to reactive your ebay/paypal/online banking…DON’T! Never click on the links in those emails, and if you do…NEVER enter your information into those sites. While some of these emails look official, they almost never are. If you are really concerned call the bank or credit card company.
7. Empty out your wallet and photo copy all it’s contents. All your ID, credit and debit cards, etc. Put this in a safe place. You’ll have the information you need to quickly close accounts if you should ever lose your wallet. Better yet, put your wallet on a diet and keep only the bare essentials on you at any given time.
I’m sure many others have other suggestions as to how you can keep yourself and your bank accounts safe, so if you have more suggestions, feel free to leave a comment below.
Stay safe!
