{"id":13977,"date":"2023-11-01T14:07:52","date_gmt":"2023-11-01T21:07:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arrivity.com\/?p=13977"},"modified":"2023-11-01T14:09:09","modified_gmt":"2023-11-01T21:09:09","slug":"phone-a-friend-2-2-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arrivity.com\/phone-a-friend-2-2-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Winning Big and Scamming Big"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"13977\" class=\"elementor elementor-13977\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-6a82f5d8 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"6a82f5d8\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-37b24cd7\" data-id=\"37b24cd7\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7c112b82 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7c112b82\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.20.0 - 26-03-2024 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<p>My 85-year-old Mom got a call from Publisher\u2019s Clearing House. The caller told her she\u2019d won $3.7 million and a new Mercedes Benz. The car was going to be delivered to her house that afternoon. All she needed to do was go to the store right away and get a $500 cash gift card for the delivery fee. Then the car and the prize money would be hers. Everyone knows Publishers Clearing House. I\u2019m sure Mom started to imagine getting her picture taken with a giant check.<\/p><p>Mom called to tell me all about the big news even though the man on the phone had told her it was a secret. Meanwhile, she got two more calls urging her to get that gift card because the car was on its way. They also sent Mom a lengthy email with pictures of cars and stacks of money and, inexplicably, a pixelated FBI logo.<\/p><p>I asked my Mom, \u201cDid you enter any sweepstakes?\u201d No, she hadn\u2019t. But they\u2019d told her that she was automatically entered somehow. I had to break it to her; I was certain she was being scammed. Rule number one: You\u2019re unlikely to win something you never entered. Later, I showed Mom the page on the Publishers Clearing House website that warns people about scams. It turns out that if you win the big prize, they don\u2019t call. They actually show up at your doorstep in the Prize Patrol van.<\/p><p>Keep your wits about you<\/p><p>I told my Mom how glad I was that she had called me. I didn\u2019t want her to be embarrassed that she might have been duped. Often people who fall for scams are afraid to admit it to family members. Not doing so can cause them to get into more trouble when they try to unwind the mess. Mom had taken a moment to think about what was going on. She was just suspicious enough.<\/p><p>Mom and I talked about the techniques fraudsters use to manipulate unsuspecting people. Asking for money in exchange for a prize is on page one of the scammer playbook, along with telling people they need to take immediate action without talking to anyone else. The idea is to overwhelm a victim with emotions\u2014surprise, excitement, fear, confusion, and even greed\u2014making it difficult for them to think clearly.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p><p>A healthy dose of skepticism<\/p><p>Mom stopped answering the fraudster\u2019s calls. Not surprisingly, a new Mercedes never showed up in her driveway. The scammers moved on to their next mark. I looked at the email they had sent her. It was riddled with grammatical errors and came from a regular Gmail account. The document that was pretending to be a prize announcement was obviously cut and pasted from multiple sources, with stretched images and fuzzy logos. This kind of crudely assembled communication has long been a hallmark of fraud. Unfortunately, artificial intelligence (AI) is going to make it harder to spot fake communications. Sophisticated fraudsters will be able to create extremely realistic-looking text and images. There are already documented scams that lead people to exact-copy websites.<\/p><p>After the Publishers Clearing House experience, Mom has been extremely cautious about odd calls, texts, and emails. She and her friends share information about the latest fraud news. And they occasionally get a laugh out of \u201cscamming the scammer\u201d by playing along with someone pretending to be their non-existent grandson.<\/p><p>Fraudsters are like vampires. They can\u2019t come into your house unless you invite them. But some vampires are manipulative and good at disguises. If you become the victim of fraud, there\u2019s no reason to feel ashamed. You\u2019re hardly alone. Work with your financial advisors and financial institutions to make sure your money is protected. And share your experience so other people know what to look out for.\u00a0<\/p><p>Questions to think about:<\/p><ul><li>Are you fearful of having online financial accounts? Checking your accounts online is actually a good way to spot unusual activity.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li><li>Have you been a victim of fraud? Consider reporting it to the FBI.\u00a0<\/li><li>Do you get a lot of unwanted calls? Give yourself permission to block them or simply not answer.\u00a0<\/li><\/ul><p>Action steps:<\/p><ul><li>Young people and elders are prime targets of scammers. Share information with them about how they can protect themselves.<\/li><li>If you get a text or email that seems suspicious, you don\u2019t have to act on it immediately. Financial institutions will never call to ask for information like an account number or password\u2014they already have it.<\/li><li>Set up a financial buddy (family member, friend, trusted person) who you can contact as a second set of ears if you think someone might be scamming you.<\/li><li>Talk to your financial planner about good ways to protect your accounts, including password managers.<\/li><\/ul><p>\u00a0<\/p><p style=\"margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;\">Please contact us at 206.217.2583 or <\/span><a style=\"font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;\" title=\"mailto:info@arrivity.com\" href=\"mailto:info@arrivity.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">info@arrivity.com<\/a><span style=\"color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif;\"> if we can assist you or someone you know with financial planning.<\/span><\/p><div class=\"blocks_popover_popover-container\"><div role=\"button\" aria-haspopup=\"true\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\u00a0<\/div><div class=\"blocks_popover_button\" role=\"button\" aria-haspopup=\"true\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><em>Liz is a Late Boomer in the sandwich generation who started an independent writing and brand consulting practice after years as a senior marketing executive. She lives in Seattle, Washington. Her mother lives nearby and her daughter comes home during college breaks.<\/em><\/div><\/div><p><small><em>The foregoing content reflects the opinions of Liz Behlke and is subject to change at any time without notice. Content provided herein is for informational purposes only and should not be used or construed as investment advice or a recommendation regarding the purchase or sale of any security. There is no guarantee that the statements, opinions or forecasts provided herein will prove to be correct. Past performance may not be indicative of future results. Indices are not available for direct investment. Any investor who attempts to mimic the performance of an index would incur fees and expenses which would reduce returns Securities investing involves risk, including the potential for loss of principal. There is no assurance that any investment plan or strategy will be successful.<\/em><\/small><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My 85-year-old Mom got a call from Publisher\u2019s Clearing House. The caller told her she\u2019d won $3.7 million and a new Mercedes Benz. The car was going to be delivered to her house that afternoon. All she needed to do was go to the store right away and get a $500 cash gift card for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":13979,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arrivity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13977"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arrivity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arrivity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arrivity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arrivity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13977"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/arrivity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13977\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13986,"href":"https:\/\/arrivity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13977\/revisions\/13986"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arrivity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arrivity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arrivity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arrivity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}