Fraud Awareness Month

We are all targets of scams and the most vulnerable are likely those least in a position to afford it.  Factor in the dramatic increase in new technologies and it’s easy to take an off-ramp towards the wrong part of town.
Quantity-wise, most approaches are likely to come through a telephone or via your computer.  One also has to have their guard-up in a new environment such as when travelling.
Like a growing segment of society we recently made a decision to drop our home landline.  The primary reason was that a growing percentage of the calls originated with overseas entities seeking to sell, scam or otherwise separate us from our money.  After years of a Do Not Call registry in place for Canadian- domiciled companies, the big telcos appear indifferent to dealing with the problem at source in favour of promoting call screen and block services to a shrinking base.
Putting a 7.5 hour shift daily in an office doesn’t mean that I don’t have a landline any longer, just not one on every scammers top ten list.
Any seasoned business person knows about the non-existent or over-priced directory scams but of late it has turned to Search Engine Optimization “experts.”  A recent peddler with a heavy accent cited that his search for financial planners in Campbell River did not yield my site.  He was however able to recite a list of competitors’.  “Really, that’s shameful, what can I do about this, how much would it cost, how can I send you the money, when will I see results?”
I dangled him for 10 minutes while scrolling through the same search before sharing the news that the site featured prominently and wished him luck in finding a more honourable profession.
If, “William Smith” with poor written skills contacts you via Craigslist and is interested in your vehicle’s best price but just can’t make the trip to view chances are a pitch will be forthcoming for a wire transfer. Similarly, ignore requests from “look-alike” emails requesting urgent attention to your bank, credit card or apple accounts.  Internet service providers don’t call you at home when you have a problem with your computer, you have to phone them.  Your responsibility for the use of credit cards is the safe care of PINs and for online banking-passwords.
When in doubt, look-up the telephone number, make the call directly and speak with a representative of the institutions you deal with.