SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii -- I recently received a voicemail from my bank's fraud department asking me to confirm a $2,200 pending transaction.
Knowing I had no such pending transaction, my ears perked up at the thought of someone hacking into my account.
I continued to listen to the message and soon became amused when the very serious computerized voice told me to use my access number 0030, so the fraud representative could locate my report and so my credit card number would be ready to provide to the representative.
As a financial counselor and Army Emergency Relief officer, I became excited at the thought of catching a thief in action. However, no one answered the phone when I called back, so I immediately called the number on my credit card to alert it of the scam.
That phone call served as a reminder that financial scams continue to abound in our society today.
The scams come in many forms and use the names of well-known financial institutions for criminal cover. For example, Navy Federal Credit Union was recently used in an email scam, telling the customer to "click on the link" if you did not authorize the transaction. Doing that allowed the customer's account to be hacked. It was only when the credit union alerted the customer did he realize his account had been hacked.
•Not just bank/credit union names are used to perpetrate scams. Western Union was used by a company called Mart and Wholesale Corp in a money making scam. It offered to pay people to go undercover by posing as a customer to find out about certain business practices at Western Union.
All you had to do was deposit the check in your bank account, get the cash and send it by Western Union to some person out of country. Of course, the check bounces and the cash you withdraw to use while waiting for the check to clear is now on its way to some unknown person overseas.
•USA Discounters was recently in the news for taking advantage of service members by violating the Service Members' Civil Relief Act regarding legal actions. Then there are car title companies that operate, legally, and are able to charge outrageous interest rates that can equal 350 percent annual.
And there are so many more scams out there to cheat you out of your hard-earned money. Remember the one with the aunt in Switzerland who died and left you millions? All you had to do was pay the lawyer to get the inheritance for you.
•Holiday season is just around the corner. Scams and fraudulent activity are on the rise during the holidays. Consumers must always be vigilant to the many scams and schemes criminals concoct to rip them off.
Beware, and if fraud is suspected, immediately contact your credit card company or banking institution and report it.
-- Did You Know
•AER provided more than $1.5 billion in assistance to Soldiers and families since 1942.
•Assistance was provided to more than 3.5 million Soldiers and families in the form of no-interest loans and grants, as well as scholarships to children and spouses of Soldiers.
•Each case is evaluated on its own merits, and there is no boilerplate answer. AER should be the first stop when a Soldier is confronted with a financial emergency.
Let AER know how it can be of assistance. Call Schofield Barracks AER at 655-4ACS (4227).
-- Where to Report Fraud
Contact the Consumer Finance Protection Board and/or the Federal Trade Commission.
Call the Financial Resilience Center at (808) 655-1866.
Don't forget, the best scam you'll ever come across is the one you don't fall for!
Social Sharing