It shouldn’t be any secret to you that there are lots of bad people in this world that are trying to scam you. They come up with all sorts of creative ways to convince you to part with your hard earned money. Whether it is on the internet, over the phone or in the mail, we’re constantly being bombarded with these scams. As G.I. Joe always said, “Knowing is half the battle”. By better educating yourself through this article, hopefully you’ll BOLO (be on the lookout) for these 3 types of scams and will have a better shot of turning them down.

Scam #1: The Obvious One.

Ever gotten a letter from a Nigerian Prince who by no fault of his own has had his money trapped and his father deposed and how with a small loan, he’ll gladly repay you once he restores his kingdom? What about the death of a rich uncle that you didn’t know about who left you the sole beneficiary of his inheritance? A simple fee is all it takes to cover court costs and the money will be all yours. Hitting closer to home, what about the phone call that sounds somewhat like a friend you know, they’re overseas in jail and need money for bail.

The old adage, “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” This type of scam is the easiest to spot and hopefully the easiest to avoid. This type of scam continues because some people clearly fall for it. This scam preys on the small part of your brain that holds onto hope. We all dream and hope that we have a dead rich uncle or that we would be invited to hold court with a Nigerian king. When encountered with these scams, our first thought is that it’s clearly a scam. Then a small part of us says, ‘but what if this is true…’ and it’s downhill from there. If encountered with such a scenario, be a little cynical and assume it’s not true.

Emotion it gets us with: Little voice saying it might actually be true.

Scam #2: The not so Obvious One.

I’ve actually gotten a lot of these types of scams recently, having just bought a house. These types of scams prey on our lack of knowledge and therefore we often fall for them out of fear we’d get in trouble. These types of scams are often for services or products we may or more likely, don’t need. I’ve received letters with headers such as, “Mortgage information…please return” or “Local Records Office…return service needed”. These are really just life insurance policies and unnecessary documents gimmicks. I don’t need either of these but had I not read past the first paragraph, I would have assumed it was just another form my mortgage company needed me to sign.

Always have your guard up when getting correspondence. These scams use BIG FANCY WORDS and come in very official looking packages. They are betting that we don’t have the time or the desire to spend time looking into them to see if they are legit. We’re frequently sent official documents (tax, voting, bank statements…) and as such, don’t have the best filter to discern real vs. scam.

Emotion it gets us with: Lack of knowledge and desire to verify (aka tired/laziness)

Scam #3: Sign up and forget it.

These might have actually been legit services at one point, but services that we don’t have as much of a need for anymore. Gym memberships that force us to sign up for an entire year and then auto renew, cable bills, internet services, magazine subscriptions, Netflix, bank fees, fresh veggies service, the list goes on and on. Sales people are good at what they do, and will try their best to encourage you to sign up for the extended package, knowing you’re likely to set it and forget it. Although sometimes these services are great (aka the gym), sometimes they become less useful (you’re running more instead of hitting the gym). Life can change quickly and services we once found helpful aren’t anymore. Don’t let the fact that you’ve been a member for so long or the fact that you might start using it again fool you. If something isn’t necessary, cancel it (unless you’re paying a huge fee to break a contract, at that point don’t break it, just don’t renew it).

Emotion it gets us with: Unwilling to put forth energy to fix it.

Scams are all around and come in various different flavors, ranging from the not so obvious to the obvious. Admitting that they do exist and learning to spot them will help you become better at saying ‘no’ and keeping your hard earned money for yourself!
Thanks for reading! Here’s another you might enjoy: Making a statement with your money

Finally, a link to a pretty good offer. Not a scam, just a young blogger trying to make some money! Plus, it’s a 30-day free trial, so no worries, just don’t set and forget it!