NBSB Celebrates Older Americans Month – Week 3: Avoiding Scams & Identity Theft

It is a sad reality and inconvenient truth, but there are scammers out there who want your money and they know just how to trick you into handing it over.

Fraudsters and Scammers are not just a nuisance, they are criminals, and they hope to prey on your weaknesses to get what they want, your funds or financial information.

In a digital world, the risk is increased with most interactions since you cannot be sure of who you are talking to.

These “strangers” familiarize themselves with you through your online presence or cloaking themselves under the name of a trusted institution, such as your bank, credit card company or a government agency to trick you into divulging that information based on false trust.

It is important to know that sometimes, it not just your funds they are after. In some cases, they are after personal identifiable information that they can use to steal your identity. From being approached by a scammer to having your identity completely stolen, this lesson will show you what to look out for and how to protect yourself.

Here are some tips to help you protect yourself & your information.

• Register with National Do Not Call Registry at donotcall.gov to limit phone calls.
• Register with DMAchoice.org to limit
  junk mail.
• Use anti-virus software.
• Be very cautious about clicking on email links.
• Limit personal information on social media
• Be suspicious of any situation that requires you to send money up front or creates a sense of urgency.

Click Here to access the full lesson including how scammers find you, what variety of scams are circulating, how to protect yourself from both scams and identity theft and what to do if you have become a victim.