Watch Out for These 5 Tricky Tricks in 2024!

It's a new year, and guess what? The people trying to trick you out of your money or personal info are back with some new schemes. Even though the details might change a bit, these tricksters are using some old tricks in a new way. Let's take a look at the top 5 things I think they might try in 2024:

Bad guys are still pretending to be important people like your boss, someone you buy stuff from, or even a co-worker. They send emails asking you to send them money or change something. Now, they're using fancy computer stuff to make it seem real. So, if you get an email or text asking for money or changes, STOP! Call the person using a phone number you know (not the one in the email or text) and check if it's real.

Crooks are messing with checks – changing them or making fake ones. It's a big headache for both businesses and regular folks. To stop this, businesses can use services to catch fake checks or switch to digital payments. Also, businesses should use extra controls like having two people check large expenditures and limiting who can access bank accounts and write checks.

Some bad folks are attacking important places like schools and hospitals and locking up their computer systems until they get paid. But it's not just about money – they want sensitive info too. Protect yourself by not clicking on weird websites or opening strange emails from people you don’t know or just plain weird emails. And make sure no one sneaky gets into your computer. If it looks weird, error on the side of caution and delete.

These tricksters pretend to be your bank or someone you trust, using phones, texts, emails, or fake websites. They want your private info like passwords. But remember, your real bank will never ask for your secret info or login credentials. The IRS will NEVER call or email you. They do everything in writing. Never give private banking information over the phone or email. If it feels fishy, hang up and call your bank from a known phone number.

Tricksters are always coming up with new ways to fool us – like pretending to be family, fake charities, or offering too-good-to-be-true deals. Be smart and double-check before doing anything. If it seems too good, it's probably a trick.

The scammers are more clever than ever and the world of Artificial Intelligence is making them more and more hard to detect. You just have to always error on the side of caution. Never give out any personal information to anyone who calls, emails or texts you. If someone else is initiating the request, it is likely a scam.