Avoid scams and keep your peace of mind!

I saw in the news yesterday morning that a lady accepted a friend request on Facebook from a long-ago friend, and soon found herself in quite the predicament. This "friend" sent emails, sharing information on how to get free government grants up to $100,000. All this unsuspecting woman had to do was wire $1,500 for application fees and wait for the grant to arrive. 

You can probably guess that the money never came, and this lady was out of $1,500. You can also probably guess that this woman discovered her friend's account had been hacked, and that she was dealing with scammers (or thieves as I prefer to call them).

Situations like this happen way too often. You might ask how someone can be so trusting that they just send funds without confirming the validity of the situation. But, scammers attempt to get to you on a level where your walls are down, you're unguarded, and you're the most vulnerable....through your friends and your emotions.

Don't let your eagerness or curiosity to get "free money" be your downfall.

A few pointers:

• If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is
• Don't accept internet offers without 100% validating the situation - that includes internet giveaways, coupon offers, drawings, charity donations/efforts, job offers, etc. 
• There is no such thing as a free lunch. This is the rule of thumb, and when someone is offering you free money, you end up paying a much bigger price than you could imagine
• Don't give out your personal information!
• Don't accept friend requests from people you don't know or are unsure of
• Don't open emails offering money or warning you about accounts that have your payment information attached to them without FIRST looking at the sender's FULL email address and the source of the email to verify the origins.
• Do stay up-to-date with latest scam efforts and how avoid them.

Scammers are constantly evolving and getting trickier. This is a helpful website for the latest and greatest in the scamming world.