How nice is it to enjoy a little TV after a delicious dinner and a hard day’s work? Now imagine you receive an unexpected phone call during the commercial break. It’s from a number you don’t recognize, but you answer it anyway. Someone on the other end begins accusing you of reneging on debts, or tells you a sob story about someone in your family needing money immediately, or informs you that they can provide you with just the help you’ve been looking for if you’ll just provide a small processing fee.
Whatever the line may be, the result tends to be the same: You need to send us money right now if you want to be OK.
What would you do? For many unfortunate victims of wire transfer scams, they send the money. It’s difficult to deal with the sudden pressure, and often aggressive manner, of a surprise caller. You end up trying to solve the problem just to get out of trouble…when you should really ask yourself if the phone call itself is what’s wrong.
Wire transfer scams are a constant danger and can result in you losing thousands of dollars and sensitive personal information as well.
The best way to keep yourself safe from this sort of scam? Stay calm. Scammers are trying to pressure you into making hasty decisions; that way you won’t question them, which is exactly what you ought to be doing.
Whenever money or sensitive information is involved, you need to find out as much as possible about whom you are talking to. Also, don’t just take their word for it; do a little fact checking before making a decision.
Find out the name of the party contacting you, what company they represent, the contact information of that company and a physical address. Do not make any decisions until you can verify this information. You should also check with the Better Business Bureau to find the rating of the company and if any complaints have been lodged against them.
Never send anyone money unless you are completely sure they are legit. Once you send that money and they pick it up, it’s gone. Important note, though, if you send the money Western Union and realize the mistake before the money has been picked up, you can claim fraud and have the money refunded.