I would think most states have a service similar to the one in
Washington State. It is a web site where you can check to find out if
you have any unclaimed money. One of our daughters ran across this
site and discovered that dear old Dad had some money waiting to be
claimed. Turned out that one amount was around $75.00, from a dentist
we had not taken our children to in many years. The other was for
around $150.00. I can't recall what it was left over from, but we
split the $225.00 three ways and gave it to the kids.
I did get taken badly once. We had a call from what sounded like our
second eldest grandson. It's a long nasty story, but the end result
was that I approved a substantial sum of money sent out of the
country. I could have been smart and called his cell phone, but I did
not check that out until it was too late.
There are some very clever, and some not so clever scams at work.
The current scam playing on our local phones, is some IRS guy with a
bad accent, advising us to call him in order to avoid penalties or
even jail. We ignored this call the first several times it showed up
on our voice mail. Finally I called the number. It had been
disconnected. The next time the call showed up I called the number
right away. The fellow with the bad English answered. I said that I
was requesting his name so I could finish filling out my report to our
state Attorney General. He hung up on me. Later that afternoon I
called him again. The number was no longer in service.
While that particular scam did not intimidate me, it works on many
elderly people. I doubt many folks are sending off their money to
Africa in hopes of getting a few million dollars from the rich
Cocoanut widow who needs a place to send her fortune. But there's
many more sophisticated scams. Like the one that assures you that you
will be perfectly safe if you open a separate bank account, allow them
to place your winnings in, and you can send them a small fee of around
$150, keeping the remainder for yourself. This transaction takes
place faster than you can say Jack Shit! The money is deposited, your
check is cashed, and the money is removed, leaving you with one
overdraft. Along with the penalty fee.
The Rule of Thumb is to never become involved in any offer that
requires some up front money. Even when it looks as if you can't lose
your money. That is the scam, convincing you that you'll get
something for nothing.
Before you do anything else, call the authorities and check it out.
There are web sites that list many of the current scams.
And don't do what I did, and forget your good senses and send money
off to help what you believe is a relative in distress, without doing
the basic investigation.
Oh yes, that reminds me of another scam. My friend emailed me from
New Zealand, telling me she had been robbed and needed a loan in order
to settle her hotel costs and help her with transportation to the
airport. She said she had kept her ticket in a safe place in the
hotel. So I called her and learned that she had moved and her phone
was no longer in service. I checked with several friends and learned
that some of them had received the same request. Finally she posted
on our WCB list and said she had moved out of the area and was living
happily in Arizona, and had never been to New Zealand.
Carl Jarvis
On 7/3/15, Charles Crawford <CCrawford@xxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi Blind-Democracy folks,
I just saw this and thought you might find it useful as well.
Charlie Crawford.
From: USA.gov [mailto:subscriptions@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: 02 July 2015 08:12
To: ccrawford@xxxxxxx
Subject: Learn How to Avoid Financial Scams
Scammers use a variety of tactics to rip you off and take your money. Being
aware of the most common types of financial fraud can help you stay
protected. Find trustworthy resources that will help you avoid the most
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