Garden State Trust Company

SCAMS ALERT - BE ON THE LOOKOUT!

“Every Time You Turn Around There’s A New Scam” - Maryann Bessette

Although we may know of various scams and how to avoid them, we can’t know them all because they are changing all the time, especially as technology evolves. Technology can really give scammers the upper hand by providing new tools to work with to disguise themselves. Here are two examples:

Romance Scam -

By nature, people are social beings who crave social contact, and many older people become lonely and isolated as they age. Too often scammers use another’s loneliness as their strength in order to manipulate them. It’s not just the old story of the golddigger, but instead anyone that befriends the elderly for the sole purpose of inducing them to help with a sudden financial “emergency”. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), romance scams are on the rise.

Safety Tips -

The FTC suggests never sending money or gift cards to anyone you haven’t met in person and also provides some additional steps you should take should you suspect something is off. Stop communicating with the new romance and pay attention to concerns from family and friends. Search online for any “distress story” with the word scam after it to see if the same story is coming up repeatedly with the exact same language.

The False Authority Figure Scam -

Often perpetrated by two people posing as employees of a local electric or gas company who need to check on a “problem”, while the primary resident is distracted by one “employee”, the other steals from the property. Alternatively, someone might call pretending to be from the IRS or from the police, and demand that tax issues or bail for a loved one need to be paid immediately.

Adding new technology into the mix

A scammer steals your bank’s logo and creates a login website using branding that looks identical to the actual website. They send an email or text asking you to verify information or that your credit card number was stolen and you need to login to request a new one. If you login using your current credentials on the fake website, their website captures your credentials and they can access your accounts to make transfers.

Safety Tips -

Ask for employee identification from anyone coming door to door, even if it seems like you’re forcing an inconvenience on the visitor. It’s also reasonable for you to call your electric or gas company directly prior to allowing them entry to verify that employee’s credentials or that they currently have someone going door to door in your neighborhood.

The IRS will not call and demand immediate payment or request payment via a credit, or gift card, nor threaten to bring in police or other agencies to arrest you for not paying. If you don’t owe taxes or have any reason to believe you do, do not give out any information when called. To report an incident call 800-366-4484.

Should you receive any digital messages telling you to login to an account, never click through a link on the message itself. Instead, enter your bank’s website address directly or search for your bank on a search engine such as Google. Every time your bank or a financial institution tries to initiate contact with you, utilize the same steps of verifying that it is really them by initiating contact back through their website or app directly.

Trust is hard to build and easy to break. At Garden State Trust Company, we take these issues seriously and certain trust services can prevent some scams from occurring by providing a financial gatekeeper for requests for money. For a copy of our Keeping

Our Seniors Safe – Watch Your Wallet booklet call 732-255-5000.

Ira J. Brower, Founder

Lifestyle & Money Management Trustee & Executor Services Investment Services

True independence and understanding are at the core of our unique value proposition. Caring for and thoughtfully guiding our clients has created the strong trusting relationships we have nurtured over many decades. That’s why so many people rely upon our independent company for wealth management and trustee & executor services:

Our focus is where it should be…

On You. On Your Family. On Your Future.

Garden State Trust Company. To learn how we can focus on you and your family, contact Adam Brower or Siobhan Connolly today.

2101 Highway 34 South • Suite A Wall, NJ 07719 732.255.5000 | gstrustco.com