02/24/2026
Scams and the scammers that perpetrate them are awful. Nothing frustrates us more than seeing someone lose any amount of their hard earned savings to these people. In most cases, once your funds are out of your hands, it's almost impossible to get it back. All of the scams we've been able to trace originate in other countries- and once that trail leads overseas, it gets very hard to follow. Funds can get transferred into goods and shipped to drop points and pilfered by unknown people, or they can be routed through other victims, only to be deposited into accounts that belong to yet more victims before being siphoned off by untraceable means.
They're good at what they do. And that's a shame.
BE CAREFUL.
Some helpful tips and advice:
* ALWAYS VERIFY. Nothing is ever such an emergency requiring payment that you can't take a few moments to verify that the issue is legitimate. Hang up and contact the person or agency/business by a known contact number if you are unsure.
* NEVER PAY IN GIFT CARDS. Legitimate agencies and businesses will never ask for payment in the form of gift cards, nor will they direct you to go purchase pre-paid cards.
* WATCH WHERE YOU CLICK. Phishing scams try to get you to click or open malicious links to gain your sensitive information. If prompted to re-enter your username and password (social media, banking, etc.) after clicking a link, that could very well be an attempt to steal your credentials.
*CHECK PRIVACY SETTINGS. Don't post sensitive information to public social media accounts. Scammers can use this information along with all the other readily available information on Google and sound very knowledgeable about your affairs.
There are all sorts and variations of scams out there and new ones starting up every day. Protect yourself and your finances. If you have questions about a potential issue, talk it over with a close friend, family member, or call us!
Most people are good. Scammers are in a different category.
***TLDR; Scams are bad, be careful with your information, no gift cards as payment, verify legitimacy***
-GPD
