Last month, we cautioned you about Internet scams aimed at tricking you into divulging information that will compromise your identity. That article described how Internet crooks disguise themselves as the IRS in an attempt to steal your identity.
The IRS is not the only disguise these scammers use. They pretend to be attorneys representing estates, lottery payouts, and other such subterfuge to draw you into their web.
Here are some good rules to follow:
- 1. If it’s too good to be true, it probably isn’t true.
- 2. If you receive a request for financial information via the Internet, it is probably a scam.
- 3. Never give your financial information over the Internet except when you are absolutely sure with whom you are dealing.
Take this example of how clever scammers can be. The latest scam is an e-mail requesting individuals to update their Intuit accounts. The e-mails claiming to be from Intuit ask recipients go to what is supposed to be an Intuit web site and update their tax return information. The e-mail includes an Intuit logo in the header. The scammer selected Intuit as the bait because so many individuals and small businesses use their Quicken and Quickbooks products.
So do not be fooled by this scam or any others that do not make sense. Do not be hasty; stop and carefully consider what you are doing before you click on a link to a potentially dangerous web site. These people are clever and can disguise their scams well.
If you ever have questions related to suspect e-mails, please call this office before responding to them.