Give me $10!

Have you ever given someone money? If so, you may have been scammed! Or maybe you're a nice person who gave money to a charity... but even then, some of those can get a little dodgy...

But, anyway, this week is the Fraud Awareness Week!

Now, there is a difference between getting defrauded and just dealing with people who screw things up. Definitely interacted with the latter, but have not been defrauded myself (as far as I am aware). Although that's the best kind of scam, the one where you aren't even aware you were scammed.

There are plenty of people who think they can't get hit. Don't click on emails, don't want to get involved with Nigerian princes, don't buy fake doctorates, don't get into get-rich-quick schemes run by people who are very, very friendly... But anyone can get scammed if they aren't thinking properly (eg. check out this insider's look at Ponzi schemes by an expert on human gullibility who not only just wrote a book on the subject, but with considerable irony just lost a good chunk of his retirement savings in the Madoff Ponzi scheme).

The point of the week is one message: Scams Target You – Protect Yourself.

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