Ways to Save Wednesdays: How to (Not?) Become a Victim of Fraud!

Have you heard all those stories about people becoming victims of fraud? Maybe you’ve seen them on television and read about them in the newspaper and now you’re concerned that you’ve missed the chance to be defrauded yourself. Don’t worry, you want what they don’t have and I’m here to tell you how to get it.

It’s not too late and today we’ll talk about how to make that possible in your own life. Are you excited? Because I’m excited! If you don’t come away without at least three ways to lose your money to criminals, I will personally dig through my Spam filter and send one of those fine, upstanding citizens your way. Do you have a grandmother? Let’s get her involved in this as well. It’s a Lose/Lose for everyone!

Okay, okay. Enough chitchat. Let’s get to the good stuff:

1.Know that wiring money is like sending cash: Do you have a Western Union near you? Great! You’ll need them for this tip. When you’re buying online from sites like Ebay, Kijiji, or Craigslist, be sure to always use the least secure method of payment possible – especially when the seller lives a long distance from you and you have no means of guaranteeing that they’ll send the merchandise.

Is Ebay warning you against sending money to someone outside of their Paypal system? That’s nonsense! They just want to make money. Go ahead, wire that $700 to that dude on the other side of the country promising to send you that “deal of a lifetime” iphone 7. Wiring money is exactly like putting cash in an envelope and sending it to them directly. That’s a sure-fire way to become a victim of fraud!

2.If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck: It’s probably not a duck. Especially if the duck is asking you for personal information like usernames and passwords. Or in our particular example – an email from Visa. Phishing is a fun way to become a victim of fraud and involves someone representing themselves as a trusted individual or company you would talk too openly. This might be a phone call or an email that sounds or looks really legitimate but then follows up with requests for private information that gains them access to your accounts – like credit cards or bank accounts.

If you suspect that Sally from Indiana with the thick Eastern European accent isn’t actually an employee with MasterCard, give her everything that she asks for immediately. This is a perfect invitation to be out thousands of dollars and better yet, you didn’t even have to get out of your armchair to become a victim of fraud.

3.Become a totally legit Financial Officer: Ever wanted a job in finance but had zero qualifications? Wow, do we have the job for you! Take a job from Craigslist as a Chief Financial Officer and become a money mule! Your new job will include accepting money from your new “Employer”, keeping a small percentage, and then sending it on to someone else in a different country. While Debbie Downers might view this as a way for fraudsters to insulate themselves from stolen money, I like to think of it as adding a new level of victimization. Not only could you be out the money you “earned” by keeping a percentage of the money transferred, you get to be criminally charged for your efforts. Yay! Now that’s what I call multi-tasking.

Now that you have some great ways to lose money (and be charged with a crime!), I will give you some ways to become even more attractive to fraudsters:

-Never ever check your credit card statements. Ever. Verifying all your account transactions makes it harder for criminals to make charges against your account without you knowing. A definite do not do if you are wanting to be a victim of fraud.

-Absolutely do not contact Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion to receive regular credit reports. A fraudster’s work is already challenging, do we really need to add another layer of security against loans being taken out in our name?

-Make sure you take every opportunity to get a computer virus. Open email attachments at will, especially those messages from people selling products from far away places. Also, avoid updating your virus scanner software or, better yet, just uninstall it altogether. Not doing this will only limit a fraudster’s ability to plant a virus and glean important financial information you have stored on your computer.

-And finally, never read the reviews when buying something online. Especially don’t learn about the seller. Doing either of those things will only make you suspicious of certain kinds of sellers and we don’t want that at all. Everyone deserves a chance to make money unethically so stop being selfish and just buy that online Live Forever Elixir coming straight from Mexico. What could possibly go wrong?

So there you have it! Strategies that will help you be a victim of fraud, no matter what your circumstances. Make sure you follow all these steps and you will find your own success with being defrauded (and losing money). Work hard and live your dreams!