Today we’re diving into financial scams and what you should know. Different scams are constantly coming at people from all different directions, but most have a lot of things in common.
The Common IRS Calling Scam:
One scam is the IRS calling scam. Someone calls you on your phone and says
they’re calling from the IRS. Sometimes they’ll give you an ID number or
something saying that they are an agent of the IRS. These people will say you owe money and that you will need to pay right away, while requesting your bank account information
or credit card number. They will go as far as to say that if you don’t pay it right away, you will go to jail. They make it seem scary, but it’s important to not fall for it.
Generally speaking, the IRS is not going to call you to say you owe them any
money and to pay them. They will send you letters or something in writing
communicating an issue before they would call.
Hangup Scam:
This scam involves someone calling and the number that shows up in the caller ID looks like a local number. When you pick up the phone, there’s no one there. So, some people will call that number back to find out who it is that’s calling. You don’t want to do that
because there are oversees operators that put through calls to your cell phone number. When this happens, you end up stuck paying the fees on the bill. Your next billing statement will show an exceptional amount of unauthorized phone calls that have been billed to your
account.
The Not-So-Lucky Prize Scam:
The third scam is when someone calls you and says that you’ve won a prize and all you have to do is give them your credit card number to cover the shipping costs or the handling fee, and they’ll send the prize to you. Minnesota law says that if you haven’t received notice of fees in writing before the contest, you don’t have to pay any fees to get any prizes.
Friendship or Sweetheart Swindle:
The fourth scam is basically when someone gets to know you online and
eventually they start asking you for money so that you can help them get out of
situations. Unless you knew the person and you have met them face to face
beforehand, or have done your own research to confirm and verify what they’re
telling you is true, it’s not a good idea to send them money.
If you have any questions, give us a call at (651)243-3367 or send us an email