People are trying to steal your money!
David Christianson, BA, CFP, R.F.P., TEP
Greetings,
I am Sgt. Bryan Stone, a NATO Soldier in peace keeping force in Afghanistan, I am serving in the military of the 1st Armoured Division in Afghanistan.
We managed to move some funds belonging to Al Farouq training camp in the tune of USD $45 Million Dollars in cash. We want to move this Fund out of Afghanistan to your custody and you will keep our share for us until we return to meet with you.
You are to take 30% of the total $45 Million Dollars and keep 70% for me and my colleagues. Please No strings attached, we plan on using private diplomatic courier to dispatch the Fund out of Afghanistan, if you are interested on handling this deal with me, kindly send me an e-mail through sgtbryantone@yahoo.com.hk indicating your interest including your confidential telephone numbers for quick communication.
Respectfully,
Sgt. Bryan Stone
* * *
Have you received any e-mails like that lately? This is a clever and contemporary variation on the old Nigerian cash scam that has been popular for over a decade.
Now I would like to believe that most of you would immediately recognize this is a scam - at least when Sgt. Stone subsequently asks for your bank account information - and you would recognize that they are going to clean out your bank account, rather than make a $45 million deposit and invite you to keep almost $15 million for your trouble.
However, many current attempts to steal your money are much more subtle. These are what the information technology people call “phishing”.
Every week, I receive official looking e-mails purporting to be from one of the major Canadian banks. The logo and return email address all look authentic. If I actually had an account with that particular bank, I would be tempted to follow their instructions.
Often, the email refers to a security problem with my account, or an improvement the bank is making in their logon procedure or something similar. They request that I go to a website and provide my account number, and sometimes my log-in ID and password.
Never, ever do this!
Your real bank will never ask you to reveal your password or other personal information. This is a phishing expedition. No legitimate financial institution contacts clients this way, and they will never ask you to reveal your account information.
My e-mail box is also full of offers for a free credit check. These make me suspicious, as, of course, such an application requires me to reveal all of my personal and banking information.
These criminals may be trying to siphon money from one of your bank accounts or, worse yet, they may be gathering enough information to steal your identity and open up new accounts and lines of credit in your name.
For more information on the current scams, and to report any suspicious activity you see, go to www.phonebusters.com <http://www.phonebusters.com> (1-888-495-850), a government website run in conjunction with the RCMP and the OPP.
Your first line of defence is to be careful and to never reveal your account numbers, social insurance number, passwords or any other identifying information to anyone. If you must write down your instant teller or online banking passwords, keep that well away from your bank card or computer.
For thorough monitoring of your identity safety, you can purchase protection through legitimate credit bureaus like Equifax or TransUnion. For $15 per month or less, they will conduct a thorough initial credit report, then monitor activity related to you and report anything suspicious. This is worth looking into, if you have reason to believe that scammers have had access to your information.
This type of theft is a real threat in the information age, and no different from people phoning you or coming door to door to “help” you with your banking, or to otherwise try to part you from your money.
Don’t fall victim.
* * *
David Christianson is a fee-for-service financial planner and portfolio manager, whose team at Wellington West Total Wealth Management Inc. provides comprehensive financial advice and management. You can e-mail him at dchristianson@wellwest.caor visit his website at www.davidchristianson.com.