Beware of Scams – both Online and In Person

Identity theft continues to make headlines, but you don’t hear much about other Internet scams. Unfortunately, they are just as prevalent as identity theft. Here are some scams you should be aware of so you can better protect yourself.

Odd Jobs
A lot of people are out of work these days. Many of them are willing to do just about any odd job to put food on the table, and scammers are taking advantage of them. A popular scam happening involves a solicitation – online, by e-mail or even in person – to do a one-time job for a good wage. When the job is completed, the worker gets paid by a cashier’s check, but the amount is higher than agreed upon. The recipient of the check is asked to send the rest of the money somewhere else. Usually the check is fraudulent. When it gets returned for insufficient funds, the person who did the job is out the money they should have earned, as well as the excess money, which comes directly out of their account.

Use caution when accepting odd jobs. Ask to be paid in cash whenever possible and never agree to pay other people. Try to find another phone number for that company and call them to see if the offer is valid.

Social Media
Facebook and other social media sites are a new scam target. Scammers will hack into someone’s account, pose as them and ask their friends to borrow money for an emergency. It’s easy to fall prey to this, because people actually think it’s their friend asking for money. If this happens to you, always contact that person by phone or through their personal e-mail address to confirm the request really came from them.

Vacation Rentals/Entertainment Tickets
This has become particularly popular through Craigslist. Sellers advertise deep discounts on condos or vacation houses they don’t really own or they try to sell invalid passes to Six Flags or Sea World. If someone has a season pass to sell, check with the entertainment venue to see if they require photos on their passes. If the answer is yes (and it is at least with Six Flags), that’s a sure sign someone is trying to scam you. On vacation rentals, you may try Googling the address to see if it’s ever been rented before. You might also type the address into whitepages.com and see if you can find a phone number associated with that address. Call there to see if the owners are really renting the place.

The harder you make it for people to scam you, the faster they will move on to someone else. Use common sense. If it seems too good to be true, it usually is.