How to Avoid Advance Fee Scams - Money Tip Tuesday

<p style="text-align:left;">Have you ever received an offer that seemed too good to be true? If you’re getting emails or text messages excitedly telling you that you’ve won some sort of prize, think twice before taking on the offer, it’s likely an advance fee scam. </p> <p style="text-align:left;">Links:</p> <ul style="text-align:left;"><li>Visit the <a href='https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/'>Federal Trade Commission</a> website to learn more and report fraudulent activity</li> <li>Follow our <a href='https://www.facebook.com/pg/MakingMoneyPersonalPodcast/posts/?ref=page_internal'>Facebook</a>, <a href='https://www.instagram.com/makingmoneypersonal/'>Instagram</a> and <a href='https://twitter.com/TCUpodcastMMP'>Twitter</a> pages!</li> <li>Learn more about <a href='https://www.trianglecu.org/home/home'>Triangle Credit Union</a></li> </ul> <p style="text-align:left;">Transcript:</p> <p style="text-align:left;">Welcome to Money Tip Tuesday from the Making Money Personal podcast. </p> <p style="text-align:left;">An advance fee scam is a scam that offers you money, a prize, a special discount or other offer in exchange for a fee.  </p> <p style="text-align:left;">Scammers try to do this in specific ways, and especially in ways you’re not likely to notice.  </p> <p style="text-align:left;">They develop well-crafted messages that are designed to entice you to take specific actions to get you to pay them money. Fortunately, we’ve all grown more skeptical of any offers we get through email, but it’s important to remember that scammers are always changing tactics and trying new things to catch people off guard. </p> <p style="text-align:left;">So how can you spot these scams? There’s a wide variety of advance fee scams out there so keep an eye out for some of these different tactics or any that seem similar.  </p> <p style="text-align:left;">Scammers may try to offer you loans without requiring any credit check. If you fall for their offer and apply, they then ask you to pay a fee for processing, insurance or anything else.