Don’t be Fooled…

We are constantly hearing warnings about fraud.  It is rampant across the country in all businesses.  We are bombarded with fraudulent texts, emails, and calls.  There are schemes to notify us that we have a toll violation or an urgent issue with a delivery. The goal of these urgent messages is to scare us – to jolt us into a knee-jerk reaction without investigating the sender.

Some scenarios I have heard:

• An attorney’s email was hacked. A home buyer client received an email with wiring instructions and a phone number to call the attorney’s office.  The client called the office and confirmed the wiring instructions.  The phone number and email were managed by the hacker.  This buyer client wired their money and the hacker collected it.  This is a true story that happened in my industry.

• A Ivy League college student was contacted by a professor with an offer of a paid research position. However, the student was told they needed to buy a specific Ipad and the department would reimburse him.  After the student paid for the Ipad, the university notified all students their email system had been hacked.  The student lost their money.

Why am I telling you this?  Be careful with all interactions.  Be smart and check the source – is the email address strange? Is the phone number texting you a verifiable number?  Verify by contacting a verified number and speaking with a representative. Now, attorneys are even recommending that clients physically go to the bank and get certified checks.  We have to protect ourselves from becoming a victim of scams.  Time spent in verification is worth every penny NOT drained from your bank account.