Wise Warnings

The party’s over the minute you accept this invitation.

This one targets Facebook fan pages and business profiles tagged inside your posts. It tried to scam one of my Wise ChoicesTM. The twist: only my client could see it.

The latest scams focus on student loan forgiveness. Here’s how to spot them — and how to get help with your student loan.

They’re unsolicited, unverified…you don’t even know if they are who they say they are. So why do you keep clicking?

UPDATE: new information as of Dec. 2023, including a SECOND confirmed breach of Xfinity accounts. Cybersecurity expert Drayton Mayers of TeamLogic IT Memphis explains what happened and what EVERY Xfinity customer should be doing NOW to protect themselves.

Here’s how to avoid them — or get out of them.

The “D” stands for “deposit” — as in your checking or savings account — and that’s where the FDIC’s protection STOPS.

Ask any cybersecurity expert, and the answer will be the same: NEVER send personal information via regular email, especially as recklessly as THIS person did.

The single worst event in our country’s history convinced me to pay closer attention to car ads.

A sure way to spot a scam: how is it asking for your money?

Two fraud cases. Both are cautionary tales about choosing safe and competent caregivers for our senior loved ones. (photo courtesy: Tennessee Bureau of Investigation)

Hope you used your CREDIT card. If not, you may be in trouble.

Low inventory means high prices — and an increase in rental scams.

The telltale signs that review is a fake — and how you can make sure you’re finding the most accurate reviews online.

Never — I mean NEVER — type these into an online job application.

‘Hey, I thought we were already friends!’ You probably are. That familiar friend request is a clone designed to scam you.

Using the clues hiding in plain sight, I’ll show you how to see that’s NOT a real Outlook Office 365 warning.

From shattered smart phones to auto repairs, why the feds want to put the kibosh on manufacturers’ product repair restrictions — and why extended warranties are almost always a bad idea.

With the help of federal investigators, senior advocates and #WiseCharity Forever Young Veterans, I reveal the most aggressive scams targeting our retired service members.

Scammers are swooping in to take advantage of all the confusion over the types of vaccinations, access and availability.

This one looks real. Feels real. It’s not real — and you’re in real trouble if you click on the link.

If someone selling a car online claims it’s protected under the eBay Buyer Protection Program — but it’s NOT being sold through eBay — it is a SCAM. End of story.

I even have a couple of them recorded. Read on and listen…

The person whose nose should be growing here is the person who sent you this text, email or Facebook notification (Photo by Jametlene Reskp on Unsplash).

I’ve investigated this type of fraud in three different decades. It keeps getting worse. (pic courtesy WMCActionNews5.com, my investigation 2013)

One ring and this scam’s got you if you call back. (photo courtesy Niek Verlaan from Pixabay)

They’re already stalking door-to-door. Here’s how to tell the legitimate workers from the fakes. (Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay)

We’re shopping online more than ever, some for the first time. Many of you are doing it wrong. WAY wrong.

First, it was seniors. Now scam artists are using the pandemic to snag college students seeking financial aid.

You knew it would happen, especially when Washington is considering emergency checks for citizens as part of the stimulus package. Here’s how to spot the fakes.

To commemorate National Consumer Protection Week (March 1-7), the National Consumer League’s Fraud.org breaks down the worst offenders.

Embrace mobile payment apps. They’re wonderful. Just let me help you avoid the scams.

Each ties to repairs. Each has several varieties. Each costs us all in higher premiums.

…someone claiming to be calling on behalf of the Social Security Administration. They say your benefits have been suspended for non-payment of payroll taxes, and there’s a warrant out for your arrest. It’s a scam, each and every time, and always has been, yet you keep falling for it.

What just happened to a Dyersburg, TN, woman warrants another #WiseWarning about the use of the global buy, sell & trade site.

When the tech support expires, so do the security updates. It’s time to make some #WiseChoices about your Windows operating system.

Struggling to pay your note? Before you hire the wrong help, let me show you how to spot the four most common mortgage relief scams.

Combining two of identity thieves’ greatest hits, this scam starts at the gas station.

Fake photos. Fake invoices. Fake sellers. Here’s how to ferret them out on CraigsList, eBay and other buy/sell/trade sites.

From bogus listings of real properties to hijacked credit card-access key lockboxes, the Federal Trade Commission and I show you what’s up with these rental scams.

They’re vulnerable. Their intuition’s weakened. Join #WiseChoice Home Instead Senior Care and me in protecting our elderly loved ones on this Elder Abuse Awareness Day, June 15.

Sheila Renee Land’s fall from grace is a lesson in making a #WiseChoice for an in-home caregiver (photo courtesy WLBT).

It’s real. It’s risky…and it’s breaking some pet-owners hearts.

Suspicious software and a big box store’s lack of oversight stuck consumers with millions of dollars in unnecessary services, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Ignore signs and ads for credit repair services. They can’t do what they claim.

Here’s how to make sure you’re buying the REAL tickets to the show.

Here’s why you should only trust service contracts backed by your car’s dealer or manufacturer…or by my #WiseChoices.

The expression “Don’t believe everything you see online” has never been more urgent, especially when you consider this latest web scam (illustration by naishh via Flickr).

The deadline’s Dec. 15. You’re uncertain. You’re stressed…and scammers can smell it.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said scammers are ramping up a combination of two classic phone scams (graphic courtesy of U.S. Navy).