How to Avoid Getting Scammed

09/23/21 • 24 min

Social isolation, greater use of technology and the flood of stimulus checks and government aid programs during the COVID-19 pandemic have led to a dramatic increase of people victimized by cybercrime and financial fraud. Fraud reports received by the Federal Trade Commission in 2020 increased by 24% over 2019’s figures, from 1.7 million to 2.1 million. More and more Americans many of them elderly, are increasingly falling for online and phone schemes perpetrated by criminals posing as financial institutions, online retailers, government agencies and charities. These scams fool them into providing their Social Security number or other personal information or convince them to click on links that open the door for hackers to take control of their computers and mobile devices. The best way to protect yourself against these scams is to be ever vigilant. No legitimate company or government agency will ever ask you to provide confidential information in an unsolicited phone call, text, or email message. Get in the habit of immediately deleting any suspect messages or hanging up on any suspicious callers. If you’re uncertain whether the request is legitimate, look for the institution’s or agency’s legitimate phone number online and contact them just to be sure. Or seek advice from a friend or family member. And if you become a victim of financial fraud or identity theft, immediately contact your credit card company, bank and other financial institutions to freeze or close your accounts. Even if you avoid being scammed, you can still report these attempts to federal agencies or your local police department to help others from becoming future victims.

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Mind Over Money: How to Do It Right

Vanguard Funds’ John Bogle once said, “Investing should be boring.” During sustained market rallies, when the S&P 500 seems to hit new record highs every week, this often seems like good advice: Just set it and forget it. The problem comes when the market suddenly hits a period of turbulence. When this occurs, spooked investors often make bad mistakes—like selling stocks and stock funds at a loss. Anyone who bailed out of the stock market in spring of 2020 when the S&P 500 dropped by 30% only to see it fully recover by mid-summer learned a costly lesson about giving in to irrational impulses. So, how can you keep from making bad decisions? Well, just as the best time to get an umbrella is before it rains, the best time to start thinking about making changes to your investment portfolio is during periods of calm before a potential market storm. One good way to do this is to automatically rebalance your portfolio at least once or twice a year at designated times. For example, if the targeted asset allocation in your IRA or 401(k) account is 60% stocks and 40% bonds and rising stock prices have increased the stock allocation to 70%, consider selling 10% of your stocks or stock funds whose price you believe have peaked and use the profits to buy more bonds to restore that 60/40 mix. Or, if you’re close to retiring and realize you will need to withdraw more money from your retirement accounts each year than you originally expected, consider reducing your allocation to stocks when the market is still calm and move the proceeds into cash or money market funds. That way, if an extended bear market happens later on you won’t have to sell as much stock at a loss to generate the cash you need to live on. To make these decisions effectively you need to understand the connection between your investment strategy and your financial goals and have the self-discipline to make these adjustments even during volatile markets. If you don’t feel qualified to do this yourself, consider working with a fee-only fiduciary financial advisor. Entrusting them to keep your investment plan on track through all kinds of market conditions will give you greater peace of mind in knowing that your financial future is in good hands.

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Mental Health and Money Health

There’s a common axiom that most financial decisions are based 1% on facts and 99% on emotions. Fear and stress of any kind, whether they’re job-related, pandemic-related, or financial security related, can impact our spending, saving and investment behaviors. Negative emotions lower our confidence, and the less confident we feel, the more likely we are to give into impulses, whether it’s spending more on alcohol, drugs or unhealthy food or panic-selling stocks when the market is falling. If you recognize the detrimental effects of negative emotions, you can begin to make plans to get your financial life in order. The best time to do this is when your life is relatively stable and the market isn’t going through gyrations. This may also be a good time to seek the services of a trustworthy, fee-only financial planner who can give you greater peace of mind by helping you confront the known and often unknown factors that cause fear and stress. They can offer objective, realistic guidance that lets you know where you are financially today and what you can do to improve your chances of achieving your short and long-term financial goals. But before you hire a financial planner, it’s important for you to set expectations for this relationship. What do you need the most help with: Cashflow analysis? Retirement, estate and tax planning? Investment management? Asset protection? The specific issues, stresses and fears you want to address will help you narrow your search to the kind of advisor who has the requisite skills, experience and resources.