More About Being Gullible

                     By: Jackie De Haan, Guardian Finance and Advocacy Services

I guess we are gullible.  Why else would they send us this stuff, except they think some of us will take the bait?

Here is some more mail to illustrate the point.

A $4500 check in hand, a friend contacted me to ask for advice.  The letter was from an organization that she did not recognize.  It said that she must call a telephone number and speak to “Judith” for an authorization to deposit the check into her account.  Her question was: is this for real? 

Another lady contacted me about a “final notice” she received in the mail.  It said: “Guaranteed U.S. Government Grant in your name in the amount of $25,167.28”.  The grant may be used to

•   Get out of debt

•   Purchase a new automobile
•   Make down payment on real estate

•   Pay for children’s education
•   Start a business”

In the bottom right corner the postcard read “*Official Form Number: GOV/Grant-0015-2010”.  Notice they didn’t actually say it was a government form, just that it was “official” and implied that it was government produced.

Should she call them?  A toll free number was provided and a deadline by which she must call.  Some research on the web revealed others also received this postcard and when you call they want you to send money to get the necessary application forms (which never arrive).

Another friend received an email that appeared to be from a well known bank.  It read: “Dear customer, Please note that your online banking account is about to expire. It is strongly recommended to (sic) update it immediately.  Update form is located here.  Sincerely, Bank Administration.”  A link to another web site was provided.

He never had an account with this bank, should he go to their web site and input personal information?  He was tech savvy enough to research the link and quickly learned that it was phony.  No doubt someone hijacked this bank’s good name and logo and planned to harvest some personal information which they could exploit.

By the way, the answer to my last three questions was “no”, but, as a reader of this column you already knew that.

“Safeguarding At-Risk Adults,” Guardian Finance and Advocacy Services is a nonprofit organization with forty-four years of trusted service to the people of Kalamazoo and Calhoun Counties.  Their services range from helping people balance their checkbook to serving in court appointed roles. 

Jackie can be reached at jdehaan@yourguardian.org. More information is available at www.yourguardian.org or toll free (866) 344-0688 ext. 434.  Guardian is a United Way organization.