It is a new year, and with the 2020 election coming up, I thought this would be a good time to go over some scams you should not fall for in the coming year. Not all of these are political, but some are.
- The No. 1 scam not to fall for is anything Trump, his campaign, or his sycophants say. They are all liars. The biggest con this man ever pulled was to say, “Make America great again.” He is little more than a cult leader with a rabid base of followers who have left reason, logic, critical thinking, and common sense behind. Let’s face it: If Trump had not been born rich, he would either be unemployable or he would be running some boiler room scamming people out of their hard-earned money. No matter who the Democratic nominee is in 2020, vote for them. I don’t care if you are hurt that your candidate did not win the nomination. Pull up your big-kid pants, suck it up, and vote for the Democratic nominee to get this piece of shit out of office.
- The No. 2 scam not to fall for was already pointed out in No. 1. If your Democratic primary candidate loses the nomination, vote for the candidate who won the nomination. Do not whine about it; do not pull that purity bullshit. There is too much at stake—the very soul of this nation is on the line. Be an adult, and do the right thing—which is to do everything you can to get Trump out of office.
- Do not blindly join social media groups supporting one candidate over another. This is how Russia was able to interfere in our election in 2016. Verify the validity of the groups.
- Do not blindly share memes or tweets on social media without verifying that they are factual, and not just something that aligns with your personal bias. Trump is a horrible shitty guy—most of his sycophants are horrible shitty people. We do not need to make stuff up about them. Be careful sharing memes about Democratic candidates: Verify that they are accurate prior to sharing. Again, this is how Russia was able to interfere in the 2016 election. If a meme seems too good to be true, if it confirms your bias, verify that it is true before you share it on social media.
- This is where I will start with the nonpolitical scams. For the love of God, no bank, credit card company, or other entity will ever call you or email you asking for your account number, password, user name, or any other personal information. The Social Security office will not call you about your Social Security number being locked, lost, or anything else, EVER. Do not give these scammers any information.
- Related to No. 5: Spam and phishing emails—do not click on links in unsolicited emails. Do not open attachments in unsolicited emails. If you do, you are opening yourself up to all sorts of bad things—including malware, viruses, and key loggers.
- Social media scams are many. Some seem innocuous: You know those lists that ask things about you and tell you to share them? Like, when did you graduate, your dog’s name, did you ever do X, Y, and Z? That is a scammer’s dream. You are giving them all of the secondary security information you use in questions when you secure your bank and credit card accounts. While they may seem fun, and you may learn something about your friends, you are also putting personal information out there that scammers use to build a profile of you, and it opens you up to being ripped off. How the Nigerian prince scams have survived from email spam to social media posts amazes me—no one is ever going to email you or direct message you on social media saying you have an inheritance or some other garbage coming to you. These people are crooks. Do not fall for it. Facebook is not going to contact you saying that your account is being canceled. Do not click on any links; do not give out your password. If you do, you will lose control of your account.
- When you fill up for gas at your local convenience store, make sure you are not sticking your card into a card skimmer.
A credit card reader that sticks out far past the panel. Skimmers are designed to fit over the existing credit card reader.
If you notice a credit card reader that protrudes outside the face of the rest of the machine, it may be a skimmer.
This is especially the case when an additional part seems to be affixed to the rest of the credit card reader.
At a gas station, you can compare a suspicious credit card reader to the readers at nearby pumps. If something looks out of the ordinary, avoid paying at the pump. Pay inside or go to another gas station.
Parts of the credit card reader are loose or move when jiggled. The credit card reader should be securely in place. Moving parts are a sign the reader has been tampered with or that a skimming device has been affixed to the existing reader.
A security seal that has been voided. Gas stations often place a security label across the gas pump that lets you know if the cabinet panel on the fuel dispenser has been tampered with. When intact, the label has a flat red, blue or black background. However, once the seal has been broken, the words "Void Open" appears in white. If the seal is broken, it's a sign that someone without authorization has accessed the cabinet. Let the gas station attendant know and do not use the credit card machine at that pump.
A pinpad that's thicker than normal. In addition to a skimming device, thieves may place a fake keypad on top of the real one to capture your keystrokes. This way they can capture your pin or billing zip code in addition to your credit or debit card details. If the keys seem hard to push, eject your card and use another ATM. Use a bank-operated ATM, which is less likely to have a skimmer, rather than an ATM at a store or gas station.
Bottom line: There are a lot of con men and grifters out there, starting with the current White House resident. Be smart. If it seems too good to be true, don’t fall for it. If it looks off, don’t trust it.