Criminals are getting more bolder every day. They prey on the elderly and the uninformed through numerous scams. I don’t want anyone that is reading this to ever become a victim. Money scams come in all shapes and sizes. Today, I will discuss 4 money scams that you should watch out for.
Foreign Lottery Scam
If you play the lottery from time to time you want to pay special attention to this 1st scam. The foreign lottery scam is a very popular scam that is conducted online. A person is sent an e-mail saying that they have won a foreign lottery. The 1st red flag that should go off is that I’m willing to guess that 99% of the people receiving that e-mail has never played a foreign lottery, so how could they have won? That alone should make them think twice about that e-mail. Unfortunately, some people are blinded by the thought of easy money and fall for these e-mails. They end up sending scammers personal information such as bank account or social security numbers.
Asking for money upfront
This is a popular scam that I’ve seen on Craigslist or in newspaper classifieds. This scam is where someone is selling or promoting something and they want you to pay for it upfront. An example that I saw was an ad on Craigslist telling potential actors and actresses that they can get them a-list roles by joining their exclusive website. By joining their website, they would have access to a list of all the roles that were coming to their area. They were charging $30 for people to join that website. I hope no one fell for that scam.
Money orders
This scam can also be found on Craigslist as well. The money order scam goes like this. Somebody will send you a money order for a service. The money order will be for a higher amount than the service. They will want you to deposit the money order in your account. After you keep your part of the money, they want you to send them the rest back. Don’t fall for this scam. The money orders look legit, but they are fake. Your bank will find out and alert you. Your account could be closed due to fraudulent activity. If something seems too good to be true it usually is.
Fake Inheritance
The fake inheritance scam consists of receiving an email from someone claiming to be a representative for your so called long lost relative. The e-mail states that the long lost relative passed away with a substantial amount of money. It also says that you are next of kin and that you will receive that money if you follow the directions in the e-mail. They typically want your account information or want you to pay some kind of bogus international transfer fee. Don’t do it. These criminals will keep your transfer fee and you will never hear from them again. It’s sad to know that people will do anything for money these days. These types of e-mails generally are caught in your e-mails spam folder. If you see one delete it immediately!
Have you dealt with of any of these scams up close and in person?
Jason Butler
Jason Butler is an Atlanta native, as well as businessman, blogger and teacher. Not only is Jason a prolific flipper, marketer, writer and side hustler his number of years in higher education and student support have given him expert knowledge in understanding the economics of the student loan industry.
Whats amazing is how many people fall for advance fee fraud.