1) Imposters are everywhere! Calls, texts, emails, physical mail, and online ads are all​​ used by scammers who are not what they seem. Never provide personal information, banking information, or credit card information in response to an unsolicited call, text, email, letter, etc. If the communication if actually from a company with whom you have an account, they will already have your information.

2) If a person asks you to cash a check and transfer a portion of the money to them or another party, it is a scam. The check will undoubtedly turn out to be fraudulent. If you cash a fake check and transfer a portion to another party, you will be on the hook when the bank discovers the forgery. Scammers may ask you to send money through Western Union, Bitcoin, gift cards, or some other way. Once the money is sent, you cannot get it back. 

3) If someone contacts you by phone, email, text, etc., and states they are the police, the IRS, a bank, an investment company, or some other official authority, and asks you to make any sort of financial transaction, it is a scam. Scammers use scare tactics, such as threat of arrest or loss of financial assets, to keep the victim from contacting actual authorities to verify what they are being told. Scammers keep a victim on the phone while the scammer provides instructions on how to transfer the money (Bitcoin, gift cards, money wire, etc.). Any unsolicited request/demand to make a financial transaction is a scam.

4) Never send money to someone you have never met. Scammers use romance scams to target individuals who may be looking for companionship. Scammers are very good at establishing “relationships” with victims over the course of months or even years. They gain the trust of the victim. The scammer will come up with elaborate stories as to why they need money before they are able to meet the victim in person. Please know, if you send money to someone you have never met (in person) under the guise of it being a romantic relationship, it is a scam. 

5) If you find someone offering you an investment opportunity that sounds too good to be true, it is a scam. Scammers are very good at robbing Peter to pay Paul to establish the trust of a victim. You may see small returns on your investment initially, but there is always a request for more and larger investments. Once they have taken enough money from you, the scammer disappears never to be heard from again. If someone tells you that you have to pay more money, in order for money you have already invested to be returned, it is a scam. Our best advice is to never invest with someone you have not met in person, and only use reputable investment companies. Anyone who promises extraordinary returns on your investment should be treated with a lot of skepticism.