One of my favorite childhood movies was Disney’s Pete’s Dragon. Disney movies often have shady side characters and this one was no different. There was a salesman and his sidekick who were selling some sort of tonic that “cured” people from any kind of ailment. Of course, there was no cure at all but these guys made a lot of money from ordinary folks until they were discovered and run out of town.
Snake oil salesmen and women are still around convincing people to part with their money or information but they can be harder to spot. I arrived home recently and listened to three messages on my phone that said the IRS was suing me and I must call the given phone number “Immediately”! My kids heard the message and were alarmed. Frankly, while I knew it was a scam, it still sounds intimidating to be told that the IRS is suing you and you need to do something about it right away. I did a little research. It turns out the IRS is aware of these scams and wants everyone to know that they send communications by mail, not the telephone.
I’m not the only one receiving these calls. This scam and others like it are all around. We’ve heard from clients who’ve been told the police will be coming out to arrest them if they don’t pay whatever the person on the phone tells them is due. These scammers are trying to strong arm people into parting with their money, bank account, or credit card information. It goes without saying, please be on high alert if you get any calls of this nature. Today the scammers are using the IRS as their reason, tomorrow it could be something else. Never, ever call a number you don’t know and give your personal information.
And the scammers aren’t stopping with getting money directly from you. They are also going after those who work with you. A story was published recently of a financial advisor who received emails from what he thought was his client asking for money from his account. The advisor didn’t check to make sure this was really his client, and then he did some “favors” for the client by not making him sign some needed forms. He ended up sending the client’s money directly to the scammer. When you are working with businesses or advisors in any field and they call to make sure it’s really you or have you sign a form to confirm what you requested, know this is done for your own protection. We all have to be vigilant at every step to make sure those who are up to no good can’t get access to our sensitive information.
Scammers throughout time have relied on convincing us of something and they usually play on our emotions to do so. Yesterday’s snake oil salesman is today’s robo-caller or email shyster. They don’t wear funny hats anymore like they did in the old Western movies, but they can wreak a lot of havoc in our lives. We don’t always see them coming but we need to expect that they will. Be careful with your information and if you feel your emotions are being played upon, they probably are. Don’t fall for the tall tale.
Time to cue the Disney music and run them out of town.