The internet has become a sensational tool to communicate with each other, interact, share information, provide content, and so much more. It’s also become a mechanism for scammers to get your identity, access your accounts, steal your money, and so on. How do you know if the other person you’re chatting with is a real person or the person they say they are? Unfortunately, the scammers found ways to turn something good into something they benefit. Don’t fall for the scam!

I’ve heard many stories about accounts getting hacked, money taken out of their account, and people sending money to people who thought they knew. My daughter had her Instagram account locked out because one of her friends asked her to help her out to get their account unlocked by providing a code. What she didn’t realize is that someone hacked her friend’s account to send that message and was able to get into her account, changed her password, and lock her out. And the pattern continues with messages to other friends and so on.

The devastating part is she couldn’t do much about it except text her friends that her account got hacked and to defriend her. Fortunately, she found a way to get back into her Instagram account but the damage was already done. What would happen if this was her Etsy account or any other page she controlled. What if this was her bank account?

A family member of mine received a text which looked like it was from their bank and there was a link in it. After clicking, he was prompted to enter his username and password. Guess what happened after that? Money was transferred out of his account to who knows who.

I recently tried to sell something on Facebook MarketPlace and guess who messaged me? Someone pretending to wanting to buy my item and asking for my phone number to they can verify that I’m a legitimate person and not a scammer.

What would happen if you lost money from a scam? It depends. Some institutions will investigate and possibly help fund your account back. Some institutions won’t. In the example of my family member falling for a scam, his bank funded his account the amount the was taken while the investigation was underway. If you purposely sent money because you thought a friend was trapped in another country and asked for your support, you may not get your money back.

Your financial accounts are your crown jewels. Your bank accounts, retirement accounts, 529 accounts, savings accounts, investment accounts, and any other accounts you may have need to be protected. We all have the potential to fall for a scam and it’s important especially to protect your financial accounts. Don’t fall for the scam. If you are interested in following my journey, email subscribe to get alerts of latest posts or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

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