6 Tips to Protect Yourself and Loved Ones from Elder Financial Abuse What is elder financial abuse? The U.S. Justice Department defines elder financial abuse as any improper use of an adult’s finances and property, either without their consent or through manipulative and threatening measures. Sadly, 87.5% of older adults were victims of financial mistreatment by friends or family members, and according to the National Council on Aging,… Read More
5 Ways to Protect Yourself from Check Washing Have you ever lost a check in the mail or sent one that was never received? It’s possible the check was stolen and used for check washing. Check washing is when fraudsters use chemicals to wash the ink off a check and alter the payee’s name or dollar amount. In October 2023, the United States… Read More
Cómo detectar una estafa de compra de boletos Con la temporada de conciertos en pleno apogeo, los boletos agotados hacen que exista una gran demanda de boletos de reventa. Según el Better Business Bureau (BBB)^, las estafas de compras en línea – incluidas las compras de boletos y las alertas de entrega de paquetes, etc.- están clasificadas como la segunda estafa de mayor riesgo… Read More
How to Spot a Ticket Scam With concert season in full swing, sold-out shows mean resale tickets are in high demand. According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), online shopping scams—including ticket purchases, package delivery alerts, and more—are ranked as the second highest scam risk for ages 18-24 and 55-64. In 2023, 82.6% reported losing money to this type of scam.… Read More
5 Ways to Avoid the Biggest Identity Theft Scams this Tax Season In 2023, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) identified nearly 1.1 million tax returns as potential fraud. For many fraudsters, tax season can mean intercepting important tax documents and deceiving unsuspecting taxpayers to steal their money. Two common tax-related scams: 1) Fraudsters take your tax documents, such as a W-2, and file a return to ensure… Read More
Common Cybersecurity Attacks and How to Protect Your Information Cybersecurity is necessary to protect your computer systems and electronic data from the dangers of browsing the web. In fact, in 2022, over 490 million ransomware attacks were reported by organizations worldwide. In 2021 alone, 94% of malware was delivered via email, which demonstrates the value of knowing how to identify and prevent these sorts… Read More
4 Investment Scams to Watch Out For It’s no surprise that investment fraud is common, since investments can often be complicated and difficult for people to understand. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in 2022, consumers reported losing more money to investment scams than any other category, adding up to a whopping $3.8 billion. Here’s everything you need to know about… Read More
4 Steps You Should Take to Protect Yourself Against a Data Breach You’ve probably received an email before alerting you that your data has been leaked in a data breach. A data breach is an intentional security incident that exposes sensitive, confidential data to unauthorized third parties. This exposed information can range from banking details, personal identification, and protected health information to any other private intellectual property. … Read More
5 Signs This Text is A Scam Did you know fake bank messages are the most reported text scams? According to a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report, over 40% of people who reported a text scam in 2022 said the text impersonated a bank. To better protect yourself, here are five signs this text is a scam. Strange phone numbers In most… Read More
Check Fraud is on the Rise: 3 Ways to Protect Your Money The rise of digital banking has lessened check usage, but they are still relied upon by many. Unfortunately for check users, recent reports show that check fraud is escalating dramatically thanks to mail theft. In fact, it nearly doubled from 350,000 reports in 2021 to 680,000 in 2022, according to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.… Read More