While most people want to keep their money from con artists, there are always contrarians out there who jump at the chance to lose their money. If you’re one of them, then follow these easy steps, and you too can be a victim to online fraudsters.

1. You Won a Prize, Now Pay Up – One of the best ways to lose money is to fall for one of the many prize-based scams out there.  An example of this scam is where you get a letter or email out of the blue saying you won a trip to the Bahamas or a $1,000,000. These are fairly easy to figure out since you never entered the “contest” to begin with. The maxim “if it’s too good to be true” applies here because the scammers inevitably will require you to pay them to collect your “prize”.
2. You’re Hired, But Not Really – Another common scam to fall for (if you’re into that sort of thing) is where the fraudster posts a Craigslist ad in the jobs section offering a commission for people to purchase products and ship them out of state or even the country. In this scam the fraudster will “front” the money to purchase the goods by fraudulently transferring money into your account. Unbeknownst to you the money is stolen, and surprise! You’re not getting a commission.
3. The Prince of Nigeria is Your New BFF (Best Friend Forever)…But Not Really – Unless you’re Nigerian, if you get a letter or email having anything to do with Nigeria and receiving or sending money, you can rest assured it’s a scam. Sure that fake check you were sent looks legit (it’s not), but the money you send them to claim your “inheritance” is totally real.

As you can see if you really want to throw your money away to scams there are lots of people out there who will gladly take it. In all seriousness though, none of these scams are made up and all of them have caused actual credit union members to lose money.

If you have questions about the scams referenced above or run across something you’re unsure of, call us or stop by one of our branches and we will be happy to take a look at it for you. It’s all a part of our goal to be Your Financial Partner for Life.