Don't Get Hooked by these Scams

The number of fraud cases reported in 2022 was down year-over-year but the amount of money lost to scams was up—to $8.8 billion from $6.1 billion in 2021. The most prevalent scams were those dealing with investments. Imposter scams were the second most-common, followed by online shopping scams.
To help yourself stay safe, remember these guidelines:

• Keep personal information private on social media and use privacy settings to limit who can see your posts.
• If it seems fishy, hit the brakes. Wait until your emotions have settled and research what's going on. Fraudsters use tight deadlines to try to force you into a rash decision.
• Never give away your password to anyone else.
• Never call back a number in a message asking for sensitive information. Don't follow a link in an unsolicited email or text message either. Go to the website of the company or organization, or call their main phone number, and get in touch with them through direct channels.
• When in doubt, do an internet search for the company or organization involved, followed by the word "scam."
• Remember that requests for payment in cryptocurrency, gift cards, or bank wires are RED FLAGS for scams.
• If you think you've been a victim of ID theft, report it to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and potentially affected account institutions. Put a freeze on your credit files if you don't plan to borrow money soon—or place a fraud alert on your credit reports. The freeze prevents any new credit from being approved, but you can freeze and unfreeze your credit file for free while applying for new credit. The fraud alert notifies lenders and creditors that they should take extra steps to verify your identity before extending credit.
• Contact one of the 3 credit bureaus to request a fraud alert or credit freeze (Equifax at 800-525-6285, Experian at 888-397-3742, or TransUnion at 800-680-7289).

Source: Fidelity Viewpoints. 1 June 2023. https://www.fidelity.com/viewpoints/personal-finance/preventing-identity-theft?ccsource=email_weekly_0706_1037578_51_0_CV1