Scams Archives - Judith Heft & Associates

The Scam Is Coming From Inside Your Pocket

by Judy Heft | Sep 21, 2022 | Scams

The scam artists never rest, colonizing new habitats with the tenacity of Life itself. The next frontier of fraud is coming from inside…your pocket. SMS, or just “text,” messaging is turning out to be a promising alternative to scam artists who have been banned from...

Debt Relief Scams

by Judy Heft | Jul 22, 2022 | Scams

The sheer amount of brainstorming taking place among the country’s scam artists is itself a climate emergency. There’s one variety of scam that I find particularly cynical: debt relief companies that have a whole playbook full of ways to separate desperate people from...

Create A Cybersecurity Plan Of Action

by Judy Heft | Jan 14, 2022 | Empowerment, End of Year, Fraud, Scams

Now is the time for a cybersecurity check. Don’t wait! There is a lot riding on a laptop as it accumulates information as someone goes about their life. It would be a very valuable asset for fraudsters and scammers. So, how can someone protect themselves from...

Stop Elder Financial Abuse Before It Can Start

by Judy Heft | Dec 23, 2021 | Finance, Scams, Seniors, The Elderly

Elder financial abuse has many faces. It might come in the form of strangers pushing a “confidence game” where they earn the victim’s trust, a caregiver charging an exorbitant rate for her services, or a family member who has a sense of entitlement to the victim’s...

Summertime Cybersecurity Check

by Judy Heft | Jun 9, 2021 | Scams

Now is the time for a cybersecurity check. Do not wait! There’s a lot riding on your laptop. It’s probably the only hard drive you save things to, and it just accumulates information as you go about your life. It would be a very valuable asset for fraudsters and...

Like Coronavirus, Tax Crooks Are Always Evolving

by Judy Heft | Feb 26, 2020 | Scams, Taxes

Every year, scam artists innovate and the IRS plays catch-up. Don’t get me wrong, the IRS has a diligent fraud unit and they communicate to the public in a clear and concise way. That said, crooks can be frighteningly resourceful and creative — and every tax season...