Identity theft, Ponzi schemes, mail fraud, email scams, phishing, swindles, investment rip-offs, and more are explored in The Con. We’re all vulnerable to this kind of activity. I’ve had my identity ripped-off twice, forcing me to cancel my credit cards and hassle with credit charges the thieves ran up (how about two First Class tickets to Thailand!). The authors show how real estate fraud bilks thousands of people out of their money each month. Forewarned is forearmed! The Con shows how all these schemes work and how to protect yourself and your family from being victims. GRADE: B+
It almost pays to never answer your phone, never use credit cards, especially in restaurants and gas stations, and never assume any investment is going to make you money.
Con men and women are everywhere, Patti. This books tells you how to protect yourself. I’ve made some changes already like never donating to a charity over the phone. I tell them to send me their literature and I’ll decide if I want to give. Ninety percent don’t send me anything and stop calling.
Wow – that’s amazing. How much did the tickets cost?
We also had two – first someone working at American Express (or with access to their accounts) charged several thousand dollars on an inactive card. I mean, have I ever spent $3,000 on a single meal at a restaurant? (Well, no more than a few times.) 😉
The second was totally bizarre. On a trip to New Orleans someone obviously copied our credit card number but instead of trips to Thailand they ordered a bunch of stuff – cigar of the month club, wines of the month, etc. – and had them sent to us!
I mean, isn’t that counter to any logic at all? It took weeks to sort it out – we had to wait for the stuff to arrive, call and send it back, etc. Only one guy gave us trouble and he was later indicted by the Attorney General of North Dakota for fraud himself.
The First Class plane tickets to Thailand cost over $3000, Jeff. We had to hassle with Capital One for over a month until they were satisfied we weren’t conning them.
Ugh. I’ve been lucky so far, but then I’m VERY cautious in all things. I NEVER give my information over the phone with perhaps 2 exceptions to vendors I know well. I change my passwords frequently, especially on financial accounts. I never give my PIN to anyone, etc. Wife had some checks stolen – on a closed account – and had a small hassle over it, but that’s it.
Yes, you’ve been lucky, Rick. But you’re lucky because you’re cautious. I’m still dubious about online banking even though everyone we know does it.
I’m going to get the book as a how-to. I need to supplement my meager pension.
You just need to spend more time at the casino, Bob.
It’s meager because you retired too early, Bob.
We’ve had two instances where our credit card numbers were used by someone else. In one case, our credit card company called us and asked if we were making overseas purchases; we weren’t and our card was cancelled and new ones issued. In another, just after spending our anniversary in a nearby resort, someone in Colorado started using a card with our numbers. Thankfully, that was also caught quickly. I always suspected that someone in the hotel took our credit card number and passed in onto someone else. Perhaps that’s unworthy, but it seemed a little more than coincidental that it should happen while we were away from home and unlikely to discover the charges for a few days.
I do very little on-line banking….I don’t trust my computer (or the bank’s) to be that virus-free.
Glad those credit card scams were caught early, Deb. Like you, I don’t trust online banking. It’s not just the viruses, but also the lack of privacy on the Internet.
Retired too early, Rick? Bite thy tongue. I got out just in time. And a few more years wouldn’t have added much more to the modest stipend I receive. My big mistake was listening to the bums in personnel, who said I wouldn’t lose anything by opting into the new system. What a bunch of liars.
Retirement advice from the Personnel Department is notoriously bad, Bob.