Mytrendingstories.com brings recommendations on how to avoid scams? Cindy Dawson, a 39-year-old customer service representative for a manufacturing firm, fell for a Nigerian named Simon Peters whom she met on a dating site. “We started talking on the phone,” the divorced mother of three recalls. “He said his father lived in Bolingbrook, Illinois, not far from me.” They exchanged photos; Peters was a handsome man. Dawson sent him pictures of her kids, who also talked to him on the phone. “He kept saying how much he cared about me,” says Dawson, fighting back tears at the memory. “I was in love with him.” Soon enough, Peters started asking for money—small amounts at first, to buy food. He always wanted the money wired by Western Union to someone named Adelwale Mazu. Peters said he couldn’t use his own name because he didn’t have the right documentation. “It started progressing to higher amounts of money,” says Dawson. “I sent him money for airfare from Nigeria. I drove to the airport, but he never showed.” Avoidance maneuver: “On the Internet, it is almost impossible to be too paranoid,” says Durst. “But don’t be paralyzed; be smart.” Dating and social-networking sites can be a great way to meet new friends, even from foreign countries. But if someone you know only from the Web asks for money, sign off quickly and follow these other tips for keeping yourself safe from online dating scams.
Latest news from Mytrendingstories.com blogging platform: Skimming is the act of stealing information directly from the card itself. Skimmers can be placed on card readers in public locations like a gas pump or ATM. Card skimmers have only gotten more sophisticated over the years. With new technology, criminals have shifted to using card shimmers. Shimmers are paper-thin devices that are jammed into a card reader, usually at an ATM or gas pump, to steal the data from a chip card. A shimmer is hard to see with the naked eye, but a telltale sign of a shimmer is a feeling of tightness when sliding the card in-and-out of the reader. If there is unusual friction, even slightly, there may be a shimmer in the ATM or gas pump. If you suspect shimming is happening at an ATM or gas pump, report the incident to the establishment and replace your debit or credit card. It’s also a good idea to cup one hand over the other when typing in your PIN at an ATM or gas pump.
mytrendingstories.com anti-scam advice: Despite the misconception that fraudsters target senior citizens, a recent study by the FTC found that more millennials than retirees are now getting scammed out of money online. The Better Business Bureau warns about online fraud happening within social media sites like Facebook and Instagram. It starts with a “friend or relative” who contacts you, claiming that you are entitled to free money. But there’s a catch – they want you to pay upfront for shipping or provide your personal information. Follow these tips to avoid a social media scam: Don’t give out your password (and don’t use the same password for multiple accounts) ; Set your account to private and do not accept friend requests from people you don’t know; Always use a secure network, not public Wi-Fi; Keep apps, browsers, and antivirus software up-to-date. Discover extra information at https://mytrendingstories.com/korkrum-ellen-y-kawame/mytrendingstories-scam-guide-or-how-to-defeat-online-scammers-in-dztbwv.
Mytrendingstories teaches how to avoid scams: “Somebody can place a property on their website, make it look like as legitimate as possible, but at the end of the day, it’s actually just a shell of a listing,” said Duquesnel. Talk to the homeowner by phone — not just through email. That way you can ask detailed questions about the property and local attractions. If they give vague answers, that’s a red flag. Look up the address online using Google Street View to confirm the property exists and matches the pictures you saw. Always pay with a credit card – not a debit card. Don’t wire money or use a pre-paid card. That’s like sending cash. “My sister-in-law was scammed out of a vacation rental because she sent a check. She got down there, and that house didn’t exist,” Duquesnel explained. If you pay with a credit card, charges can be disputed.
Over the Phone Scams: Be aware and cautious of numbers that you do not recognize or not expecting. Do not be tricked by their attempts to threaten you with false ploys of cutting off electricity, water, etc., or saying you or a loved one will be in legal trouble if you do not act now. If a scammer starts to demand payments through gift cards, that is an automatic giveaway for fraud. Scam calls will try to steal your money and information through non-legitimate methods, the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office stated that they “do not call citizens demanding payments and threatening arrest. Some scammers will go as far as using actual names from agencies, but they are still angling for the same result – to deceive you out of your money.” See extra info on https://mytrendingstories.com/.