Fraud 101: Scams and how to spot them

There is no shortage of bad actors out there employing a plethora of schemes all with the same object — separating people an their money or valuables.

But there are ways to spot a scam, and steps you can take if you believe you have been a victim or an intended one.

To help spread awareness of fraud and identity theft, Jerry Mitchell from the state attorney general’s office spoke to an audience of more than 60 people on Monday at Old Bedford Village at a seminar sponsored by Community Life, Pennsylvania Link to Aging and Disability Resources, Center for Independent Living and Huntingdon-Bedford-Fulton Area Agency on Aging.

Prevention is the first and most important step to heading off a scam.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, some typical phone scams include:

• You may be a winner — You may be, but if you have to pay to get the prize, it’s not a prize, it’s a scam.

• You are in trouble with the law — The caller may say you will be arrested or fined if you don’t pay a certain tax or debt. The goal is to frighten you into paying, but real law enforcement agencies do not make such threatening calls.

• Act now — Legitimate businesses will give you time to consider their offer. Take your time and don’t give in to pressure.

• Gift cards are a gift … to the scammer — Callers often ask you to pay by wiring money or using a gift card, prepaid card or cash reload card. The purpose is to make it difficult for you to get your money back. Such calls are almost always a scam.

• Don’t give out private information — Agencies such as Social Security or the IRS will not call you for sensitive information.

• You don’t have to take those robocalls— If you are on the national Do Not Call Registry you should not get live sales calls from companies you’ve not done business with in the past; in fact those calls are illegal, and whether it’s a scam or not, probably a hint that it’s someone you don’t want to do business with.

Some other common scams, the FTC warns, include:

• Impersonators — Someone calls, claiming to be with a government agency or even a love interest. They may even have fake names or numbers to fool your caller ID.

• Debt relief scams — The caller will offer to lower your interest rates or get loan forgiven — but only if you pay first.

• Investment scams — Before you invest your money, check out the potential investment with securities regulators.

• Charity scams — Always check out a charity before parting with your money, and don’t feel pressured to give over the phone.

• Extended car warranties — Callers find out what kind of car you drive and offer overpriced or worthless service contracts.

• Free trials — Be sure you can cancel when the “free trial” is up.

• Loan scams — The scammers target people with poor credit histories to guarantee loans or credit cards for an up-front fee. Legitimate lenders don’t work that way, especially if you have poor credit or no credit.

• Travel or timeshare scams — Free or low-cost vacations can cost you a lot of cash, and sometimes you find out there is no vacation.

When you receive a call you’re not comfortable with, the FTC advises these steps:

• Hang up — As noted above, robocalls are illegal if you are on the Do Not Call Registry. Don’t press numbers or speak to anyone, it will just lead to more robocalls.

• Consider call blocking or call labeling.

• Don’t trust your caller ID — Scammers can make any name or number show up on your phone ID.

Scams can take many forms, and sometimes take the form of a new romance. But, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the same rules of caution apply. Some warning signs:

• A new love who lives far away asks you to wire money or share your credit card number;

•Your love interest asks you to sign a document giving them control of your finances or your house;

• Your love asks you to open a joint bank account or co-sign a loan;

• The new flame asks for access to your bank or credit card accounts.