June
Political Campaign Donation Scams - It could happen to you
William W. Vaughan Jr. was a senior atmospheric scientist at NASA during the space race and later an accomplished academic, but as with so many aging Americans, time and technology had sapped him of some of his savvy, especially online.
Computers made him feel “like a duck out of water,” his son Steve Vaughan said. So when Steve was sorting through the elder Mr. Vaughan’s papers after his death at 90 in December, he was unsettled by what he found on his father’s final credit card bill.
The first item was familiar: $11.82 at the local Chick-fil-A in Huntsville, Ala. But every other charge on the first page, and there were dozens of them, was to the firm that processes online Republican campaign contributions, WinRed. Over four months last year, Mr. Vaughan had made 400 donations totaling nearly $11,500 — to Donald J. Trump, Mitch McConnell, Tim Scott, Steve Scalise and many others. Read more….
Last month’s AARP magazine will filled with information on how to protect yourself against scams. We’ll share a few of them here, and more in the coming months.
Tip: Audit your wallet frequently. Take out any unnecessary items that could compromise your personal information if lost, or that would be a hassle to replace.
Tip: Create online accounts with each of your financial institutions.
Tip: Don’t respond to unknown texts, voice mails. First, do a google search to see if the company that is supposedly sending text has alerted the public to scams using their company name.
March
Affinity Fraud - White-Collar Criminals Use Bonds of Trust to Prey on Investors
Although this article was written in 2017, it is still relevant today.
“Financial fraudsters are known to be an unscrupulous lot, but it is particularly loathsome when these white-collar criminals exploit trusting members of their own church or social circle to line their pockets.
Financial crimes based on bonds of trust—known as affinity fraud—occur throughout the United States, but are especially prevalent in Utah, where members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints too often are victimized by savvy fraudsters who claim to be just like them.” Read more …
An alleged $500 million Ponzi scheme preyed on Mormons. It ended with FBI gunfire
Another church was targeted proving it can happen to anyone, anywhere. This story is so dramatic, it could be made into a TV movie.
"The Las Vegas attorney, then 49, had been anticipating this visit for months, he would tell an FBI hostage negotiator. He’d already drafted letters to his wife and four children, explaining what he could and describing how much he loved them.
On this Thursday in March, Beasley knew his time was up. He placed the letters — along with a note addressed to the FBI and a zip drive of computer files — upstairs on the desk in his office. Then, alone in the house, he went to the front door. He paused, the left side of his body obscured by the door frame.“ Read on …
February
How to recognize and prevent financial elder abuse
Financial abuse is the most common form of elderly abuse in Canada. Here's how you can protect yourself and your loved ones.