Do you know how to avoid common banking scams? Here are a few to avoid as you wrap up your holiday shopping.
• Impersonation scams. Be suspicious of calls and emails pretending to be your financial institution. This is especially true if the person contacting you immediately sends an attachment, a hyperlink to an unfamiliar web page, or asks for your social security number or account number so they can “investigate” or “for verification” purposes. If you get a call or email which claims to be from your financial institution, call a number such as the one on the back of your credit or debit card to verify if there’s a problem.
• Overpayment scams. If you’re selling anything online, beware this common scam. The scammer will try to buy your item with a check made out for more than the price. They will ask you to wire them the difference. Their check is fake. When your bank catches on you’ll be out the item you sent, the selling price, plus whatever “overpayment” you sent them and a returned check fee. Don’t cash suspicious checks or send money to people you don’t know. If you receive a check, check your concerns with your bank.
• Password stealing. Don’t use an online banking account password that you use for other things or once used. Your password may have been compromised or stolen in a breach. Don’t re-use passwords and use special characters, capital letters, and numbers to make passwords harder to guess.