scams

Know the Best Ways to Protect Your Money? Find Out at Money Smart Week

Posted on 04/22/2013 by | All the news that matters for Illinoisans over 50. | Comments

Your LifeLooking to boost your financial know-how?  Join AARP Illinois and more than 40 area organizations hosting free, educational events throughout the Chicago area and across the state during the 2013 Money Smart Week  (April 20-27). AARP Illinois members are invited to join volunteer Nathan Fuchs, a former trial attorney for the Securities and Exchange Commission and an Assistant District Attorney in New York in the senior fraud prevention unit, along with experts from the National Futures Association, the Commodity Futures Trading …

Foreign Lottery Scams Target Older Americans

Posted on 04/15/2013 by | AARP Blog Author | Comments

Money & SavingsThe following is a guest post by Beau Ballinger, sr. program specialist for AARP ElderWatch in Colorado Recently I learned the story of an Idaho man who was visiting his 81-year-old widowed mother when he noticed large amounts of cash being withdrawn from her bank account, totaling $26,000. His mother admitted that she had been sending money to Jamaica. She’d been told she had won a $2 million lottery, and all she had to do to collect the prize was …

Computer Geeks Make Money. Literally. What You Need to Know

Posted on 04/11/2013 by | News, Culture, Sights and Sounds | Comments

Bulletin Today | Money & Savings | TechnologyNobody knows exactly who they are. But a group of computer geeks have created a virtual currency called “Bitcoins” that’s got everybody from the FBI to international bankers to the news media talking. Bitcoins are money that flows on the Internet — money that’s not backed by gold or governments. But it does buy things — like cars, pizza and guns. Starting from zero about four years ago, the Bitcoin economy was said to be worth about $2 billion earlier …

Staggering Stories of Jamaican Lottery Scams

Posted on 03/11/2013 by | AARP Blog Author | Comments

Home & Family | Money & Savings    UPDATED March 13 with link to view episode | Who falls for something that appears too good to be true, like winning a Jamaican lottery? More people than you think. Advocacy groups, government officials and the media – most recently, venerable newsman Dan Rather – are shining a light on this despicable form of fraud and the devastating consequences on elderly victims and their families. These criminals tend to prey on seniors with fixed incomes – people who can least …

Fighting Foreign Lottery Fraud – and More

Posted on 03/4/2013 by | AARP Blog Author | Comments

Money & SavingsThink no one falls for it? Think again. The news could come in the form of a letter, a phone call, or an e-mail – perhaps from a Jamaican lottery official: Congratulations! You’ve won a huge prize in our lottery! To claim your winnings, all you need to do is pay the taxes on your prize and wire the funds or provide a credit card. The bad news: Scammers are getting better at targeting the people who actually will believe …

Think You’re Too Smart to Fall for a Scam? That’s Just What the Con Artists are Counting On!

Posted on 02/18/2013 by | AARP Blog Author | Comments

Money & SavingsThe following is a guest post from Sarah Jennings – State Director, AARP South Dakota While I don’t claim to be a genius, I’ve always felt that I’m too smart to fall for a scam.  Not so, says my colleague Doug Shadel. You may be familiar with Doug – he’s the AARP State Director for the Washington State Office and a nationally recognized fraud expert. He’s also the author of Outsmarting the Scam Artists: How to Protect Yourself from the …

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