On Personal Finances…

I borrowed the attached from a realtor in South Florida.

 “The housing collapse has produced a new breed of mortgage fraudsters, with dishonest companies targeting distressed homeowners with foreclosure rescue and modification scams. Beware of slick advertising!  Is your agent solvent? If your agent cannot manage their own properties, how can they advise you about yours? I'd be happy to show you some examples.”

She couldn’t be more precise. If you are approached by a financial advisor regarding Investment or retirement accounts, realty or mortgage transactions, personal or small business loans, or life insurance coverage, ask to see their financials.  If they are unable or hesitant, for obvious reasons, to show them to you at a very high level; you should become suspicious.  If your house is not “clean” how can you formulate an opinion or offer to clean mine?

Keep in mind that the transactions I just mentioned are BIG TICKET (important) transactions that ought to be handled by professionals.  When I say professionals, such individuals should be able to apply the same principals (concepts) they advise on, and make a living out of, to their personal finances.   

Do not fall for scams or unscrupulous “professionals” that are ONLY concerned with making money out of your transaction independently of whether you are getting the best deal possible.  When in doubt, get a second opinion.  If your representative minds that you shop around, he/she may not be providing you fair advice.

As with a medical procedure, second opinions are a must for financial transactions.  Do not rush into making decisions you may regret in the future.  If it sounds too good to be true, it is probably not true.

Do not become a victim of E-mail Fraud and Internet Scams

It appears e-mail fraud activity and Internet scams have been increasing in the past few months.  There is a way to reduce your exposure by looking at certain characteristics of electronic communication you receive:

1.       E-mails from ids you are not familiar with:

a.       mrvictor_nana@att.net that shows Mrs. Rosemarry

b.      Mr Mohamed Usman whose e-mail id is officefile----4129@att.net

c.        newlaptops@cratux.com showing the sender as New Laptops

d.      ACCESS BANK PLC using e-mail id bill118874@att.net

2.       Receiving e-mails with questionable subject lines:

a.       PAYMENT APPROVAL / REMITTANCE NOTICE

b.      I need your reply

c.       CONTACT DHL DELIVERY COMPAN

d.      Product testers needed to test and keep a new laptop

e.      BARRISTER of …

f.        MAGISTRATE of…

g.       President of Bank of…

3.       E-mails which make you the “LUCKY” beneficiary of astronomical amounts of money:

a.       Donation of $5.5 Million Dollars

b.      Sending you a box via DHL with $4.5 Million Dollars

c.       Wire transfer of $15.5 million from an inheritance you “FORGOT” to claim

4.         Receiving e-mails asking you to click on the attached link or file:

a.       Be aware that the link can take you to a website which takes over your computer (without your knowledge) and places a tracking cookie that stores the sites you visit along with the ids and passwords used.  Later on such cookie transmits the stored information to a preprogrammed e-mail thus releasing your personal and private information to vandals. 

b.      Clicking on an attached file such as PDF, RTF, TXT, XML, HTM, etc. has the same results as the item mentioned above.  

5.       E-mails asking you to send your personal information in return for a product sample, a cashier check or anything of value:

a.       Keep in mind that a vandal only needs few pieces of your personal information to order a credit report on your name and later use the information to secure credit on your name and commit fraud.  AKA identity theft.

b.      Also keep in mind that “THERE IS NO FREE LUNCH”.  As much as we want to believe and give the benefit of the doubt, there is nothing free out there.   

6.       E-mails from:

a.        PayPal advising you of unusual activity

b.      AOL advising that your e-mail address is about to expire or that your billing information has expired thus your e-mail has been blocked, yet you are reading your e-mail.

c.       Bank of America (or any bank) asking you to click on an attached link to verify your personal information.  However you are still able to use your ATM.

d.      An e-mail from the FBI telling you that they came across a financial transaction that involved your name.  Believe me if the FBI wants you, they would not send you an e-mail to give you heads up.  They will be knocking down front door right about NOW.

The above are just a handful of examples to make you aware of the risk.  I am not trying to scare you to the point that you do not want to get near a computer.  All I want is to bring to the forefront some of the tactics I have seen lately and disseminate the message.  This is not to be interpreted as an all inclusive listing. 

Do you remember SYMS clothing stores?  “AN EDUCATED CONSUMER IS OUR BEST CUSTOMER”. 

Let’s try to live by the same slogan and avoid FRAUD activity in our life.  The process to remove fraud activity from your credit report is a painful one and dealing with the police department is not pleasant either.  Protect you personal information, as much as you can, and do not fall from unrealistic promises.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Best regards.