Tag: Fraud

Knock, Knock (No Joke)

Compliments to one of my colleagues for highlighting this disturbing trend – under the heading, “this could never happen to me”:

Apparently, there is a new trend emerging in the ever-evolving landscape of fraud. In this case, fraudsters are showing up at victims’ homes or arranging in-person meetings with the aim of collecting physical cash, gold bars or other valuables. This in-person, “show up at the door” version of fraud is a significant shift from digital scams – where the victim’s financial and other assets and data are at risk – to a scenario in which the victims could end up in imminent danger of physical harm.

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Serious as a Heart Attack

For those who have experienced a real heart attack or that of a loved one, please forgive the expression. Today’s message is nearly as sobering and meant to encourage action to take even a small amount of time considering the serious matter: for individuals and families, risks of a cyber hack and identity theft are real and present.

Admittedly, almost no one wants to talk about these topics. But even a brief discussion can be eye-opening and attempt to minimize (but not 100% eliminate) risks. The best warnings and presentations – truly the best and most accurate – unfortunately and appropriately leave attendees scared, stunned or both but at least better informed.

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Bitcoin 2024

This edition of TGIF 2 Minutes will make a brief attempt at summarizing Bitcoin’s recent meteoric rise to around $95,000. There is still a huge segment of the population who might ask, “$95,000 for what?”. At the same time, Bitcoin has increasingly become an accepted form of currency, although in limited and illiquid ways.

One of the more obvious and possibly over-done in the short-term reasons for Bitcoin’s price rise has been the run-up to and aftermath of the recent US presidential election. Investors seem to expect in the near future a more friendly regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies overall.

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Fraud is Trending

If you clicked on and are reading this edition of TGIF 2 Minutes, give yourself credit for being smart! Awareness of the following is of paramount importance.

Fraudsters are targeting high-net-worth people and non-profit organization accounts.

A “fraud trend” (yes, there is such a thing) currently taking place is with bad actors using social engineering tactics to collect personal information and then using that information to open new credit card, investment, and bank accounts in a person or organization’s name. The fraudster then attempts to use these new, false accounts to take over high net worth people’s existing accounts and withdraw those accounts’ funds.

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Border Security (not what you think)

Nearly every American is aware of the lack of security at the US-Mexico border. The toxic politics around that issue make it front page news nearly every day and evening. But the other border – that of the border protection around your sensitive personal information – can be just as vulnerable.

Yes, yesterday’s TGIF 2 Minutes covered this issue. But the issue is so serious, it requires a follow-up, with practical examples and then a handful of steps readers can research or choose to take.

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Beware of Money Scams

Just in the past week, two friends notified me they had been party to a money scam or potential money-related email hack. Going back further in time, there are numerous instances where a client or friend has made it known they were, regrettably, on the losing side of a money-related scam.

Look no further than this week’s news on a larger scale: due to recent, repeated money-request scams via the online payments network Zelle, major banks and financial institutions including JP Morgan, Bank of America, Capital One, and PNC Financial announced talks to reimburse scammed Zelle customers (Zelle is an online payments network in which various major banks participate).

All of these events prove that money-related scams are no longer isolated incidents.

Even intelligent people can accidentally find themselves in the midst of these gift card scams or urgent calls for money from what seems to be the IRS, the FTC (Federal Trade Commission), or Social Security.

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