Financial Cents

When you think of St. Patrick’s Day, you might picture four-leaf clovers and pots of gold. But here’s a little secret — luck has very little to do with building money.

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How often do you see signs for free wifi access and charging stations for your mobile devices? These amenities are available for your convenience in many public spaces like coffee shops and airports. Unfortunately, cybercriminals love free wifi and charging stations, too. Cybercriminals can hack into public wifi networks and charging stations to steal your sensitive information.
 

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In this week's scam, you post on LinkedIn and then receive what appears to be an official reply from LinkedIn's website. The reply appears as a comment on your post and warns that your account has been temporarily restricted because you've violated the platform's policies.

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A digital footprint is the trail of data you leave behind when using the internet. Every time you use the internet, you contribute to your digital footprint, whether it's through posting on social media, subscribing to newsletters, leaving online reviews, or shopping online.
 

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Personal loans, sometimes called unsecured loans, offer flexibility, convenient access to funds, and short- to moderate-term repayment options. Because they can be used for a wide range of needs, personal loans are a popular choice for borrowers at many different financial stages.

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In this week’s scam, you receive a frightening phone call from someone claiming to be a law enforcement officer. They tell you there is a warrant for your arrest because you missed jury duty, failed to appear in court, or owe unpaid taxes. 

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Valentine’s Day is often about cards, candy, and small gifts, but it’s also a great opportunity to learn how to make thoughtful money choices. For youth and teens, Valentine’s Day can be a fun way to practice budgeting, saving, and planning ahead.

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Over the past couple of decades, online dating has grown in popularity to become the widely-accepted norm. This shift in society’s way of meeting people leads us to be less cautious about meeting strangers online. This newfound comfort in talking to strangers leaves room for professional scammers and social engineers to make their way into your life, and eventually into your bank account.
 

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In this week’s scam, you receive a text message from your phone’s cloud storage provider. The message says your cloud storage is full and warns you that all your photographs and videos will be deleted if you don’t upgrade your storage immediately. The message prompts you to select a link to upgrade your plan.

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In this week’s scam, you receive an unexpected package that has no return address. It contains a low-cost item, along with a QR code that you can scan with your phone’s camera. You may be tempted to scan the code to see if you can find additional information about the package, since you don’t know who sent it.
 

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