KEEPING YOUR EAGLE EYE!

If you missed Sage Hoffman’s presentation, below you will find a brief recap on spotting red flags and keeping scams at bay. She was very informative and shared great tips! There are thousands of scammers doing this daily - it is their “pay day” to get your information. It was a refreshing wakeup call, to keep us on our toes and be ready. MSFV President, Susanne Rice presented Sage with an Achievement Certificate for her presentation. We are very lucky to have her as a Member.

Here are some of Sage’s Tips for Scam Spotting 101 (*please email MSFriendlyVillagers@gmail.com if you wish to receive her complete outline which includes Texts, Internet Searches, Social Media and the Dos and Don'ts for Preventing Fraud):

The Door to Door Redflags:

1. When gardening or outside for any reason, never leave the doors unlocked. Instead carry your home key in a lanyard and take it with you.

2. You don’t need to answer the door if you don’t recognize someone. Instead, ask the solicitor to leave the literature by the door.

3. Be weary of people trying to "show you something outside".

The Via-email Scam Signs:

1. Look for typos, wrong words capitalized, too good to be true claims, emails requesting sensitive data.

2. Do not click on anything - call the source and confirm.

4. Do not use any of the numbers on said email in question. The email is designed to dupe you into calling. Get the number from your statement.

5. Do not forward any emails you perceive to be a scam - you can potentially expose someone else.

The Random Callers:

1. Let the call go to voicemail. If it is really an emergency, they will leave a message. Do not call back an unknown number.

2. If you happen to answer, do not give any information. If they make a dire claim of any sort of emergency, hang up and call your source to confirm.

3. And finally, your last resort, if the number continues to call, you have the option of blocking the number.

"Do not feel ashamed if you get scammed. The key is to react fast" - Sage Hoffman

Here are a few contacts to keep handy:

For recovery of Identity Theft: Identity Theft Dept 1-877-438-4339 or www.IdentityTheft.gov

To report scams: Federal Trade Commission 1-877-382-4357 or ftc.gov

To report a scam text, forward the text to your service provider AT&T 7726