| Quiz: Don't be a sucker for a scam |
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Andrew
Admin
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| Quiz: Don't be a sucker for a scam |
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A Scam-Awareness Quiz:
1. A guaranteed triple-digit return on an investment is possible if you ...
- Bet on the No. 3 horse in the 3rd race on the 3rd day of the 3rd week of racing at Churchill Downs.
- Mirror your portfolio after the investment portfolios of the world's elite banks.
- Get a verbal guarantee from the seller.
- Please, don't make me laugh. There's no such guarantee.
2. The best way to prevent buying a used-car with a rolled-back odometer is ...
- Buy from a retail dealer.
- Buy from a friend.
- Buy a car with a digital odometer.
- Bring the car to a mechanic.
3. An e-mail arrives offering you a portion of a fortune if you'll help a Nigerian banker get some money out of his country. What do you do?
- You help the poor fellow out ... and help yourself to some badly needed cash in the process.
- Delete, delete, delete.
4. You should not return a telephone call from a stranger with area code:
- 888
- 903
- 809
- 877
5. You read in a stock message board that an anonymous insider at IBM says the company is about to announce a huge deal with Microsoft, so you ...
- Invest all of your available cash in IBM immediately.
- Ignore the message.
- Ask for the name of the insider.
6. It's word association time. When you hear ''Ponzi,'' you think of:
- That cute guy from the '70s TV show, ''Happy Days.''
- That pizza place on the corner.
- Scheme.
7. To avoid falling victim to a living trust scam, you should:
- Buy a trust that is endorsed by AARP.
- Involve an attorney.
- Buy a do-it-yourself kit.
8. A ''Bank Examiner'' asks you to withdraw your money and hand it over to the examiner to help with an "official" investigation of corrupt tellers. What do you do?
- As a solid, upstanding citizen, you're honored to be asked to help fight crime, so you do as you are asked.
- You hesitate at the unusual request, but the examiner persuades you to - take part for the sake of your fellow bank customers.
- You tell authorities as soon as the examiner is out of earshot.
9. Which of these is a common method used by con artists?
- Telephone service fraud
- Internet/e-mail fraud.
- Identity theft (e.g. Social Security numbers)
- Scholarship scams
- All of the above
10. Your credit is not so hot, so the telephone sales person's offer sounds good. They guarantee they'll repair your credit. You:
- Give the nice sales person your credit card number so you can get your credit cleaned up.
- Write a check to the company. What can you lose?
- Hang up. Being foolish with your money is a thing of the past.
Answers:
1. A guaranteed triple-digit return on an investment is possible ...
Please, don't make me laugh. There's no such guarantee.
No one can guarantee a triple-digit return on an investment. Be especially wary of scammers who promise investors triple-digit returns through access to the investment portfolios of the world's elite banks! If it sounds too good to be true, you can bet that it is.
The best way to prevent buying a used-car with a rolled-back odometer is ...
2. Bring the car to a mechanic.
The golden rule when shopping for a used car is: ''Don't believe the odometer.'' You can check a car’s history by its vehicle identification number (VIN) to find out if the odometer is accurate. Plus a reliable mechanic can see if the odometer reading is consistent with the wear and tear on the car.
An e-mail arrives offering you a portion of a fortune if you'll help a Nigerian banker get some money out of his country. What do you do?
3. When you get the Nigerian scam email...
Delete, delete, delete.
This scam, popular in the '80s, has made a comeback thanks to the Internet. (You don't have to put fake Nigerian stamps on an e-mail.) The come-on varies, but the bottom line is the same -- someone with some slightly shady money has chosen you to help extract it from their country. The suckers who are lured in are tapped eventually for a big fee to pay bribes or other "costs" involved. Of course, that money vanishes.
You should not return a telephone call from a stranger with area code:
4. Don't return call to area code...
809
The area code to watch out for is 809. Con artists use the 809 pay-per-call area code to skirt 900 blocking -- and U.S. authorities -- scamming people for long distance charges, often in excess of $100.
You read in a stock message board that an anonymous insider at IBM says the company is about to announce a huge deal with Microsoft, so you ...
5. Anonymous hot stock tip...
Ignore the message.
Your instinct will keep you financially safe. You have no way to verify the truth of this posting. Ignore anonymous financial advice on stock message boards and in chat rooms. These areas are hunting grounds for ''pump-and-dump'' scammers.
6. It's word association time. When you hear ''Ponzi,'' you should think of ...
Scheme.
And a common scam it is. In a Ponzi scheme, some early investors are paid off with money put up by later ones in order to encourage more people to invest. Eventually, the scheme collapses when it runs out of suckers. Ponzi was a real person, by the way. Charles Ponzi pulled in an estimated $15 million from Bostonians convinced he had discovered a sure-fire way to profit on something called international reply postal coupons. He hadn't.
7. To avoid falling victim to a living trust scam, you should:
Involve an attorney.
The safest track when shopping for a living trust is to explore all your options with an experienced and licensed estate planning attorney or financial adviser. Generally, state law requires that an attorney draft the trust.
8. A ''Bank Examiner'' asks you to withdraw your money and hand it over to the examiner to help with an "official" investigation of corrupt tellers. What do you do?
You tell authorities as soon as the examiner is out of earshot.
This well-known fraud goes by the name of the ''bank examiner scheme'' and if you fall for it, you'll never see your money again.
Which of these is a common method used by con artists?
9. Scammers use...
All of the above
Scams come in all shapes and sizes. Be sure to do your homework about protecting yourself against all forms of fraud.
Your credit is not so hot, so the telephone sales person's offer sounds good. They guarantee they'll repair your credit. You:
10. Repair your credit callers...
Hang up.
Being foolish with your money is a thing of the past.
You can correct mistakes on your credit report, but you can't ''repair'' an accurate one -- even if it does say unflattering things about you. A series of on-time payments will do more for your credit than these services can.
(Courtesy BankRate.com)
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Thu Nov 04, 2004 9:25 pm |
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BlankenshipFP
Money Talk Advisor
Cash: $ 79.56
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Joined: 05 Oct 2004
Location: Illinois
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Great list! I'm surprised it hasn't honked some people off though...
Jim Blankenship, CFP�, EA
Blankenship Financial Planning, Ltd.
www.BlankenshipFinancial.com
Standard IRS Circular 230 Notice Applies
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Tue Nov 16, 2004 7:11 pm |
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xboxundone
Senior Member
Cash: $ 67.83
Posts: 795
Joined: 19 Sep 2004
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quote:
Originally posted by BlankenshipFP
Great list! I'm surprised it hasn't honked some people off though...
I agree It is a great list it makes me chuckle 
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Wed Nov 17, 2004 12:53 am |
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Capitalist
New Member
Cash: $ 1.10
Posts: 5
Joined: 18 Nov 2004
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Great list...It made me laugh though... 
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Tue Nov 23, 2004 6:04 am |
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