A Better Life - Safe From Scams, Don't Fall for a Scam

How to Stay Safe From Scams

Stay safe from scams - be more suspicious and aware. Do not trust much of anything that comes to you by mail, email, text, or phone call. Toss out most mail, delete texts and emails, and don't answer the phone if you don't know the number calling you.

DO NOT respond to ANY texts, emails, phone calls, US mail, etc. that you don’t know the person or entity sending it – they are trying to scam you. . Don’t trust that the sender is really who you think it is, if anything is strange about it. And NEVER call a number or click on a link that is given in any of that. Google the company contact number on the Internet and use that. Remember this - if someone is trying to push you to do something, it's probably a scam. A real company will be patient if you want to make sure you have a legitimate contact number. Social Security encourages you to check out any numbers the agent gives you. Don't fall for a scam - it's easy to let your guard down.

Don't even review purchases from email solicitations as scammers throw out any and all types of emails to hook people. If the email doesn't give the store, AND what you purchased AND the date, then it's just phishing for you to connect with them. I get emails of these all the time and know I did not purchase from there recently.

The scammers are very good at looking official but be assured they will do you some damage if you let them in. They plant their own teams on the phone, email and texts so everything sounds and looks official. Stay safe from scams.

Once the scammers have a “live” one – a victim, they sell the information to other scammers, so the number of scams increase. You might want to get a new email address and let the junk stay on the old one. Just don’t look at the old one except to see if anyone you know sends an email, In case you forget to give the new email to. someone.

On that note, BACK UP your computer and upload a phone back-up to the cloud – to make sure you don’t lose everything in case you get hacked (or even if the computer drive or phone die or fail). Back up regularly - daily with phone and at least weekly for your computer (though better if after every change or addition you make).

Change your passwords on everything – your phone, bank accounts, computers, credit cards, loans, stores and anything else you can think of. Make them different from anything that has to do with you – not your birthday or name or address or social security number – nothing to do with you. Make sure they are different from each other, not to use the same password over and over. You can make passwords with your pet’s birthday or cousin names or grandchild’s nickname, or reference a vacation you took years ago and never posted on social media. Use numbers and words with caps and lower case, plus at least a symbol. Keep a list of passwords but NOT on your computer where someone may gain access to it - or encrypt them (or not use vowels in your list of passwords, and don't put a whole birthday but just one number to clue you on whose birthday or trip year I am using).

Don't fall for a scam - read the stories and learn to spot a scam - to be educated is the way to keep safe from scams.