Common Scams And How To Avoid Them.

Common Scams And How To Avoid Them.

Learn to be aware of common scams.

Scams and rip offs may not be a threat to your home security or your personal security, but we cover a selection of the more common ones because they sure are a threat to your financial security.

Money is hard to come by these days there is no doubt about that, we all have to work so much harder to earn what we can and do our best to make it stretch. It can be devastating and even heart-breaking therefor to be fraudulently parted from it by a scam artist.

From face to face meetings to phone calls or email, text, postal mail or online, there is always the danger of someone trying to defraud you.

Any one of us is at risk of getting stung by a scam, some are not at all easy to detect. Always be wary and on your guard.

Here are a few of the more common scams.


Oh Drat! An Accident.

You like to think of yourself as a careful driver, you take pride in the fact that you put safety above everything else and always act courteously and considerately on the road.

Then out of the blue you are involved in a minor traffic accident and it seems that it was in someway your fault.

This puts a dent in your pride and you berate yourself for your carelessness. But things are not always what they seem, your driving may not have been at fault and you could be an innocent victim of a Staged Accident Scam.


Don’t Let A Fraudster Repair Your Drive But Damage Your Wallet!

Your driveway is not looking its best. The blacktop could do with patching in a few places but it is one more job that will have to stay on the back burner for a least a while longer until you are better placed to do it.

No worries, it doesn’t look too shabby, there are worse driveways on the block.

Then a guy who just happens to be passing by your place offers you a bargain deal.

He tells you he has just right now completed an asphalting job a couple of blocks away and has plenty of materials left over.

Your lucky day he says, you can benefit from this surplus material and he can make your driveway the pride of the block at a rock bottom price.

Best pass up on this so-called deal, it has all the hallmarks of one of the most common scams – The Asphalt Repair Rip Off.


The Scam From The Van.

You are walking along the sidewalk when a white van pulls up along side of you and a guy leans out and says pleasantly “Hey Buddy, do you like music?”

You are taken aback by this and wonder where this question will lead, but you answer anyway “Yes, of course I do.”

The guy and his partner leap out of the van. They usher you around the back and tell you they have something you cannot fail to be interested in. They are of course setting you up for a fleecing by the White Van Speaker Scam.


Fly Away From It All. For Free?

An offer of a free flight to a destination of your choice. Surely that can’t be correct can it? But that’s what is says right there in black and white. The letter or email looks genuine too; it has a smart company logo and everything.

Oh just imagine, flying off to somewhere with a kinder climate, somewhere exciting where all the fun happens baby.

You have been specially selected to receive this generous offer; it is not just anyone who gets it.  But you are going to have to act fast, there is a deadline and that deadline is close.

They give you a number to ring or a website to visit, best do that right now if you don’t want to miss out.

Hold your horses! Don’t start packing your beach shorts and your sunscreen, and for heavens sake don’t phone that number or visit that website until you have done a lot of checking around.  That supposed free flight offer is very likely an Airline Ticket Scam.


What Rhymes With Common Scams?

So you amuse yourself by writing a little poetry now and then. Nothing wrong with that, you do it mainly for your own satisfaction.

scam warning sign

You have coyly shown a few close friends a selection of your verses, and to your surprise and delight, your work was met with enthusiasm and encouragement.

Some of your friends urge you to get published.

Next thing you know you’ve chanced upon a free poetry contest.  Well why not? Your friends seemed to think highly of your work and it cost nothing to enter, what’s to lose? So you submit your entry.

A few days latter you receive an official looking letter from the organizers of the contest. To your amazement you read that your entry has been selected for publication in a forthcoming collection!

Holy smokes, your friends were right.  You are on your way to being a published poet. Or are you? Is this a Poetry Scam?


Who Is On The Phone?

The telephone is a great means of communication. Unfortunately it is also a tool widely used by fraudsters to carry out a number of common scams.

Often these calls involve credit card fraud, or the crook on the line may try and wheedle personal information from you and use it to commit identity theft.

You can never be too careful, especially with unsolicited calls, don’t fall victim — learn about Phone Scams.


Fixing A Hole Where The Scam Comes In.

A knock at your door. A guy standing there who tells you he was driving by and spotted something potentially wrong with your roof. 

He says he has an eye for these things as roofing is his trade and it will take no time at all for him to take the ladder from his truck and check whether your roof has a problem.

You don’t know what to say but you let him get on positioning his ladder and climbing up to your roof. It likely would not have done any good to decline the offer; he would have gone ahead anyway.

When he climbs down he has a serious look. He tells you that your roof needs urgent work, but fortunately he has all needed materials to hand and the time to do the job right now. All he needs is a large cash deposit.  Warning! This guy is working a Roofing Scam.


The above list does not cover all common scams of course. New deceptions, and new variations of old deceptions are appearing all the time. The list will be updated, in the meantime be vigilant in all your dealings.  Keep in mind that if it appears too good to be true, usually it is.

How A Phishing Email Scam Works.

A phishing email can be very deceptive. Find out how to guard against being tricked and financially ruined by identity thieves invading your email in-box.



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Common Scams.