By Jo McGuire, Senior Project Manager

Three calls this week. One automated call had a computer voice warning me that my Microsoft account was compromised (it wasn't), another said I had won a prize and needed to stay on the line (I hadn't) and a third concerned person said, "Your computer is running slow and needs to be updated. I am going to help you." My computer was perfectly fine. A friend received a call that she owed the IRS thousands of dollars and was going to jail for not paying it. There is a major problem with that message: the IRS doesn't make phone calls.

 

What do these encounters have in common? They are all SCAMS. Meant to persuade the unsuspecting victim to provide as much personal information as possible, then steal their identities, drain bank accounts and generally wreak havoc.

 

Then there are the emails asking for money, but they aren't quite that up front. First, they promise to send money in exchange for retrieving some frozen funds. As a helpful soul works very hard to help the poor, stranded individual, they end up spending thousands of their own dollars which is poured into the bank accounts of thieves and scam artists. Yet another type of trick is the email demanding payment for a package or service that is completely fraudulent but may look very similar to a legitimate business or website.

 

And finally, the very worst of these come in the form of "cat-fishing". A person posing as someone else on social media who works at beginning a relationship with the victim. As the intended victim becomes enamored with their pursuer, there comes a continuous stream of requests for financial help. People have been bilked for millions of dollars this way.

 

Why aren't these brazen thieves caught? Because they operate from foreign countries, masters of the con-game, continually preying upon generous but vulnerable people. Sadly, some of the victims become unwitting parties to money-laundering and have faced criminal charges.

 

What can be done to protect yourself and your loved ones? Here are some helpful suggestions:

 

For your own personal safety, it is best to remember that if it sounds too good to be true, it is. Remain aware, alert and don't fall for the traps laid by those seeking to rob or defraud you.

By Renee Schofield, CEO

This month, many of you - and your high school- and college-age children - are getting ready to travel for spring break. It's par for the course to have conversations about travel security, situational awareness, personal space and other safety issues in advance. But as more locations in the United States and abroad have some sort of marijuana decriminalization, we at TSS urge you to make sure that know the facts about additional new risks you or your kids could be facing while you are on vacation and the ways you can protect yourself.