1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,559 Speaker 1: Welcome to How the Money. I'm Joel and I'm Matt, 2 00:00:02,640 --> 00:00:26,239 Speaker 1: and today we're discussing sneaky er scams targeting younger folks. So, Joel, 3 00:00:26,280 --> 00:00:28,560 Speaker 1: are you saying that even I even you, that we 4 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:31,080 Speaker 1: could fall prey to some of these different scams? Maybe me, 5 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:33,479 Speaker 1: but you're you're pushing forties. I don't know if you 6 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:35,199 Speaker 1: qualify anymore. I'm a couple of years older than you. 7 00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:37,280 Speaker 1: It's true, that is what we're talking about today. We 8 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:40,600 Speaker 1: are talking about scams and specifically how they're targeting younger 9 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:43,320 Speaker 1: generation because because oftentimes I feel like they're viewed as 10 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:45,839 Speaker 1: this thing. They're like, oh, I would never fall for that, 11 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:47,720 Speaker 1: or that that's something that I heard my dad talk 12 00:00:47,800 --> 00:00:49,960 Speaker 1: about one time, or my mom. You know, my nana 13 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:52,319 Speaker 1: she talked about this guy that she talked to one 14 00:00:52,320 --> 00:00:54,040 Speaker 1: time and he ended up swindling her out of a 15 00:00:54,040 --> 00:00:56,040 Speaker 1: couple hundred bucks, that sort of thing. But no, these 16 00:00:56,040 --> 00:00:58,600 Speaker 1: are scams that are that needs to be on our radar, 17 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:02,160 Speaker 1: which scams from the new generations. That's what we should 18 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:06,000 Speaker 1: have titled this episode. But it maybe wonder have you 19 00:01:06,080 --> 00:01:08,920 Speaker 1: ever been scammed so I fell for that? You're aware 20 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:11,440 Speaker 1: of a very very informal scam. One time when I 21 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:14,400 Speaker 1: was I guess early twenties a girlfriend up in Canada. 22 00:01:15,880 --> 00:01:18,440 Speaker 1: I had like three girlfriends of in Canada. Now, so 23 00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:20,800 Speaker 1: is this young and I was broke. Young fella came 24 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:22,640 Speaker 1: up to my door when I was still living at 25 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:24,160 Speaker 1: my parents house. I don't know, I was probably like 26 00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:27,199 Speaker 1: nineteen and twenty, and he was selling stuff to raise 27 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:30,199 Speaker 1: money for for school. And he was selling Blockbuster gift cards. 28 00:01:30,240 --> 00:01:31,880 Speaker 1: This is how old that scam was. This is when 29 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:35,600 Speaker 1: Blockbuster was. To our gen Z listeners, Blockbuster was the 30 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:39,959 Speaker 1: real life equivalent of Netflix. And so the combination of 31 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 1: Netflix and the library mashed together, right, and my my 32 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:45,040 Speaker 1: penchant to get a deal he you know, he was. 33 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:47,640 Speaker 1: They were discounted, and so I got something like, I 34 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:51,040 Speaker 1: don't even remember twenty five dollars worth of Blockbuster gift 35 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:53,240 Speaker 1: cards for the low low price of fifteen dollars, and 36 00:01:53,240 --> 00:01:55,360 Speaker 1: I got to feel good that I was supporting this. 37 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:58,440 Speaker 1: This his school fundraising efforts at the same time. But 38 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:01,320 Speaker 1: alas I law stout on all the money I gave 39 00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:05,400 Speaker 1: to him because it was a fake gift card, and 40 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:07,840 Speaker 1: I think just enterprising young scam artist had he printed 41 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:09,920 Speaker 1: them out himself, or like, what was the deal. I know, 42 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:13,040 Speaker 1: it's so long ago, I barely remember, but my family 43 00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:16,520 Speaker 1: joke about it. No, maybe they were expired and they 44 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:18,040 Speaker 1: were legitimate, and maybe it could have been in the 45 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:20,320 Speaker 1: best case scenario, give it, give him the benefit of 46 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:23,120 Speaker 1: the doubt. Maybe he didn't even know that they were 47 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:25,200 Speaker 1: expired and was just trying to to make a buck, 48 00:02:25,200 --> 00:02:27,240 Speaker 1: because that's that's the only time I can remember where 49 00:02:27,280 --> 00:02:30,200 Speaker 1: I got scammed. And but it's still just like a 50 00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:32,600 Speaker 1: humorous story to tell when we're hanging out as a family. 51 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:34,120 Speaker 1: Nice man, I don't think you've ever told me that 52 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:37,079 Speaker 1: or or even shared that here on the show. But scams, dude, 53 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:38,760 Speaker 1: they're not going anywhere. And so I am glad that 54 00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:41,840 Speaker 1: we're going to dedicate an entire episode to the subject today. 55 00:02:42,160 --> 00:02:43,760 Speaker 1: But I can ask you a frugal or cheat before 56 00:02:43,760 --> 00:02:46,720 Speaker 1: we get to it. Okay, So we are getting rid 57 00:02:46,760 --> 00:02:49,040 Speaker 1: of a lot of old paint at our house, all right. 58 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:51,560 Speaker 1: I think everybody out there probably does kind of switched 59 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:54,040 Speaker 1: up the interior color of your of the house during 60 00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:56,280 Speaker 1: the renovations, and so we have, you know, a few 61 00:02:56,320 --> 00:02:58,120 Speaker 1: extra cants that we want to keep on hand. But 62 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:00,079 Speaker 1: there's just a bunch of old paint and owning multipl 63 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:02,560 Speaker 1: rental houses over the years, I've just had old old 64 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:05,360 Speaker 1: paint cans stacked up for use of different properties, and 65 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:08,160 Speaker 1: so trying to consolidate my colors to where we're using 66 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:10,519 Speaker 1: one color when I paint anywhere. That's how you do it. Yes, 67 00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:12,960 Speaker 1: And secondly, you keep the paint at the houses, keep 68 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:14,680 Speaker 1: them in like a little tupperware, like either in a 69 00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:16,760 Speaker 1: closet or down in the basement. Man, that's all right, 70 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:18,120 Speaker 1: that's a good call. Maybe I should do that from 71 00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:20,600 Speaker 1: now on. But for anybody who has old paint hands 72 00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:21,720 Speaker 1: that they need to get rid of, you can't just 73 00:03:21,720 --> 00:03:24,240 Speaker 1: toss them in the trash. That is toxic material that 74 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:26,640 Speaker 1: you can't just uh toss in with with all your 75 00:03:26,639 --> 00:03:28,560 Speaker 1: other trash items. So well, you can throw it away 76 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:32,200 Speaker 1: as long as it's dried, yes, if there's not much left. 77 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:34,079 Speaker 1: But lots of times there's a lot of paint left 78 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:36,000 Speaker 1: in some of those here you switch color, so you 79 00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:38,120 Speaker 1: have a lot, you probably have like half gallons left. 80 00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:40,320 Speaker 1: But if it's an older can and you've used maybe 81 00:03:40,360 --> 00:03:41,960 Speaker 1: most of it, you can just like pop that lid off, 82 00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:43,760 Speaker 1: let it dry out. If that's the case, I know, 83 00:03:43,760 --> 00:03:46,440 Speaker 1: at least here in Atlanta, you can throw those away, okay, alright, Well, 84 00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:49,080 Speaker 1: but if you don't, and you've got tons of paint 85 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:50,800 Speaker 1: like Joels paint, as I have, you have to go 86 00:03:51,040 --> 00:03:54,240 Speaker 1: to a place for specifically hard to recycle items. And 87 00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:57,040 Speaker 1: there's a place here in South Atlanta called Charm, and 88 00:03:57,120 --> 00:03:59,440 Speaker 1: that's where you can drop your stuff off. They Here's 89 00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:01,560 Speaker 1: the thing, though, They they accept up to twenty five 90 00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:04,240 Speaker 1: pounds worth of paint every visit for free, but then 91 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:07,680 Speaker 1: you have to pay per per pounds above that pound limit. 92 00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:09,440 Speaker 1: And so I think anywhere this is going and my 93 00:04:09,480 --> 00:04:12,240 Speaker 1: frugal or cheap for making multiple Charm runs in order 94 00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:14,320 Speaker 1: to avoid paying. And I did pay a little bit 95 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:16,080 Speaker 1: the first time because I was at something like forty 96 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:19,520 Speaker 1: forty pounds, but I'm not like weighing it by hand 97 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:21,480 Speaker 1: at home to make sure I don't go above the 98 00:04:21,520 --> 00:04:24,040 Speaker 1: twenty pound limit. But I'm also not taking it all 99 00:04:24,080 --> 00:04:25,640 Speaker 1: in one fell swoop so that I can at least 100 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:28,120 Speaker 1: take advantage of that that free threshold a few times. Well, 101 00:04:28,320 --> 00:04:30,920 Speaker 1: Charm isn't too far not only from where we live, 102 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:32,560 Speaker 1: but some of the other spots that we like to 103 00:04:32,680 --> 00:04:34,320 Speaker 1: hit up and so as long as you're not going 104 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:36,120 Speaker 1: out of your way to have to swing by there, 105 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:37,600 Speaker 1: which I don't think you are, because I know why 106 00:04:37,600 --> 00:04:39,600 Speaker 1: you're hitting down there that I don't think it's that 107 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:42,840 Speaker 1: cheap of a move. If it was across town, uh say, 108 00:04:42,880 --> 00:04:45,680 Speaker 1: it was like, you know, miles away with cash prices 109 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:47,400 Speaker 1: these days, so yeah, like it would I don't even 110 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:49,120 Speaker 1: know if it'd be worth it now actually the time 111 00:04:49,160 --> 00:04:51,480 Speaker 1: now that I think about how much gas costs. But 112 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:53,200 Speaker 1: one of the other things I was gonna mention maybe 113 00:04:53,400 --> 00:04:55,600 Speaker 1: that's worth checking out is just like listening it on Facebook, 114 00:04:56,040 --> 00:04:57,960 Speaker 1: either the you know, like like one of the buy 115 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:01,280 Speaker 1: nothing groups or just listening it locally, uh, you know, 116 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:03,440 Speaker 1: for free. Remember any of the paint that's still in 117 00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:05,760 Speaker 1: good conditions. If it's in good shape and you buy 118 00:05:05,839 --> 00:05:08,120 Speaker 1: good paint. We both like that Sherwin Williams stuff. And 119 00:05:08,440 --> 00:05:10,440 Speaker 1: I feel like getting decent paint is something that we 120 00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:12,400 Speaker 1: learned over the years too. If you go with the 121 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:14,840 Speaker 1: cheaper stuff, it doesn't really stick to the walls all 122 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:16,960 Speaker 1: that well, I thinks as well as like super Paint, 123 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:18,920 Speaker 1: the top rating Consumer Reports paint is like the bare 124 00:05:19,040 --> 00:05:21,880 Speaker 1: Premium plus and it's still pretty cheap, something like twenty 125 00:05:22,040 --> 00:05:23,680 Speaker 1: bucks a gallon, and I don't know with inflation, it's 126 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:25,280 Speaker 1: probably a hundred dollars a gallon out. But so you 127 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:27,920 Speaker 1: don't have to get the really nice menchment more. Yeah, no, 128 00:05:28,160 --> 00:05:29,520 Speaker 1: I don't think you do. I think, yeah, just just 129 00:05:29,839 --> 00:05:31,880 Speaker 1: read those consumer reports. Trainings still help leading in the 130 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:33,640 Speaker 1: right direction. But okay, good to know. I am doing 131 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:35,600 Speaker 1: the multiple runs to get rid of some of those 132 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:37,560 Speaker 1: pain But did I'll post some of the nicer gallons 133 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:39,760 Speaker 1: on by Nothing group. So the reason I mentioned that 134 00:05:39,880 --> 00:05:42,280 Speaker 1: is because one time when we were flipping renovating a 135 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:44,839 Speaker 1: home like this is maybe five six years ago. Did 136 00:05:44,960 --> 00:05:46,840 Speaker 1: ever tell you about the time that I sold a 137 00:05:46,920 --> 00:05:49,960 Speaker 1: five gallon, you know, one of those big drums, like 138 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:51,480 Speaker 1: one of those big buckets of paint. It was a 139 00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:53,320 Speaker 1: custom color that we already had mixed, and you can't 140 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:54,800 Speaker 1: return those. It was It's not like it was a 141 00:05:54,880 --> 00:05:58,200 Speaker 1: base and uh kit and I we didn't like the color. 142 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:00,800 Speaker 1: They started putting it up in side. We're like, oh no, 143 00:06:01,600 --> 00:06:03,760 Speaker 1: we there's a chance we're gonna live there ourselves. And 144 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:05,600 Speaker 1: so we wanted to make sure that we really like 145 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:08,120 Speaker 1: the paint color. And so obviously we couldn't return it, 146 00:06:08,120 --> 00:06:10,920 Speaker 1: but I listed it, and somebody was glad to show 147 00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:12,920 Speaker 1: up and pay a discounted rate for all of that 148 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:14,920 Speaker 1: pain because it was a popular color. It just wasn't 149 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:16,640 Speaker 1: right for us. So I wanted to mention that because 150 00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:19,040 Speaker 1: there is hope for some bring a new paint that 151 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:20,920 Speaker 1: you just can't take back. Okay, good to know. I'll 152 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:22,800 Speaker 1: put that on my list of things to consider. This 153 00:06:22,880 --> 00:06:25,800 Speaker 1: isn't a paint episode, though, No, let's move on. Let's 154 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:27,960 Speaker 1: get onto the actual topic in hand. But first, the 155 00:06:28,040 --> 00:06:30,760 Speaker 1: beer we're having on this episode is called Electric Venom. 156 00:06:30,800 --> 00:06:33,760 Speaker 1: It's by a brewery called Little Cottage, just like like 157 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:35,839 Speaker 1: fifteen minutes away from where we live here in Atlanta. 158 00:06:35,920 --> 00:06:37,800 Speaker 1: But it's worth a drive, one of my favorite breweries. 159 00:06:37,839 --> 00:06:41,600 Speaker 1: All right. So but let's get to scams and scams, Matt, 160 00:06:41,720 --> 00:06:44,080 Speaker 1: I say they're kind of like zombies. Did you ever 161 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:46,920 Speaker 1: watch the TV show The Walking Dead? I watched a 162 00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:49,679 Speaker 1: couple of episodes, Okay, never remember really get into it. Basically, 163 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:51,200 Speaker 1: I only got into the first season. I thought the 164 00:06:51,200 --> 00:06:53,040 Speaker 1: first season was really good. But I think they're in 165 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:54,880 Speaker 1: season like ten or eleven or something like that. I'm 166 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:57,680 Speaker 1: still surprised they have that much zombie content that they 167 00:06:57,680 --> 00:07:01,200 Speaker 1: can cover. But but basically the reason I'm acquainting it 168 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:05,080 Speaker 1: to two zombies, it's in that show there are just 169 00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:08,080 Speaker 1: a few remaining humans and there there are hordes of 170 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:10,400 Speaker 1: zombies that are coming after them, and they've got to 171 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:12,400 Speaker 1: protect themselves, right, They've got to figure out a way 172 00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:15,240 Speaker 1: to not get bit because then they too will turn 173 00:07:15,280 --> 00:07:17,560 Speaker 1: into a zombie. And basically, you know, there's a never 174 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:19,600 Speaker 1: ending litany of scams out there, just like there's a 175 00:07:19,800 --> 00:07:22,560 Speaker 1: never ending amount of zombies coming after you, which is 176 00:07:22,600 --> 00:07:24,720 Speaker 1: why they can create double digit seasons out of such 177 00:07:24,760 --> 00:07:27,360 Speaker 1: a basic premise for a show. But you can never 178 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:29,800 Speaker 1: really get rid of all the scammers. And if these 179 00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:32,000 Speaker 1: scammers spot you, they're gonna come at you. And and 180 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:34,240 Speaker 1: that means that you have to be prepared in order 181 00:07:34,320 --> 00:07:37,640 Speaker 1: to avoid the most clever ones, because there's always a 182 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:39,720 Speaker 1: new scam, there's always a new tactic, and the only 183 00:07:39,760 --> 00:07:42,160 Speaker 1: way that you can outrun them yourself is is really 184 00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:45,040 Speaker 1: through personal preparation. That's rights. Yeah, I feel like I mean, 185 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:47,280 Speaker 1: zombies they're always there, right because like when you're watching 186 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:49,600 Speaker 1: those shows, you know that at any moment, like one 187 00:07:49,640 --> 00:07:51,360 Speaker 1: could just kind of like you know, pocus out through 188 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:53,520 Speaker 1: the window, come out of the shadows. It's it's sort 189 00:07:53,560 --> 00:07:56,200 Speaker 1: of like this low grade stress where it's just kind 190 00:07:56,240 --> 00:07:59,320 Speaker 1: of constant. And I think that's true of these different scams. 191 00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:01,800 Speaker 1: I think they're always to be there, and there's there's 192 00:08:01,800 --> 00:08:04,119 Speaker 1: always gonna be these bad players, right Like there's always 193 00:08:04,120 --> 00:08:06,320 Speaker 1: gonna be criminals who are looking to take advantage of us. 194 00:08:06,360 --> 00:08:07,800 Speaker 1: And so I think this is why we wanted to 195 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:10,320 Speaker 1: talk about this today. And I did say criminals as well, 196 00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:13,000 Speaker 1: because it's not just folks who are oh, you know, 197 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:15,240 Speaker 1: they're they're they're not making the best decisions. It's like, no, 198 00:08:15,440 --> 00:08:17,960 Speaker 1: like they're actually law breaking criminals who are trying to 199 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:19,720 Speaker 1: steal your money. We're not trying to gold with ne 200 00:08:19,800 --> 00:08:21,880 Speaker 1: ferious intent. Yeah, we're not gonna sugarcoat it here. But 201 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:24,280 Speaker 1: another problem here is that these scams they're they're seemingly 202 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:26,760 Speaker 1: everywhere these days as well. They've they've gotten so good 203 00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:31,000 Speaker 1: at targeting folks wherever they hang out. Um, these scams 204 00:08:31,040 --> 00:08:32,680 Speaker 1: they're in your dating app, they're on Twitter, they're they're 205 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:36,160 Speaker 1: on TikTok, and it certainly feels like scams are you know, 206 00:08:36,240 --> 00:08:38,320 Speaker 1: like they used to be easier to spot. But they've 207 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:40,679 Speaker 1: just gotten so much more sophisticated over the years, and 208 00:08:40,880 --> 00:08:42,800 Speaker 1: by the numbers. You know, it used to be the 209 00:08:42,920 --> 00:08:46,480 Speaker 1: elderly who were most commonly susceptible, you know, for these 210 00:08:46,520 --> 00:08:48,559 Speaker 1: scams and who have their money stolen, but that is 211 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:51,920 Speaker 1: not the case these days. People ages twenty nine, they 212 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:54,959 Speaker 1: reported losing money to fraud more often the folks who 213 00:08:54,960 --> 00:08:57,200 Speaker 1: are ages A D and over, And so we're talking 214 00:08:57,200 --> 00:08:59,720 Speaker 1: about young professionals. They're the ones now who are getting 215 00:09:00,320 --> 00:09:03,960 Speaker 1: more often than their grandparents. Although it's worth mentioning when 216 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:05,960 Speaker 1: when older folks do fall prey to a scammer, they 217 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:09,199 Speaker 1: tend to lose more money with each scam attempt that 218 00:09:09,280 --> 00:09:12,160 Speaker 1: they succumbed to. But either way, that's quite the reversal 219 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:15,400 Speaker 1: that's happened in a short time span. So yeah, not 220 00:09:15,520 --> 00:09:18,280 Speaker 1: only are they more ubiquitous, they are going after all 221 00:09:18,360 --> 00:09:20,559 Speaker 1: the different generations. Now, Yeah, that's right. And part of 222 00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:23,480 Speaker 1: our reason really for creating this episode is because the FTC, 223 00:09:23,640 --> 00:09:27,040 Speaker 1: the Federal Trade Commission, they just released their list of 224 00:09:27,120 --> 00:09:30,360 Speaker 1: top scams for one for last year. The heavy hitters 225 00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:34,160 Speaker 1: were identity theft, imposter scams and credit bureau scams. And 226 00:09:34,320 --> 00:09:38,680 Speaker 1: the FTC received five point seven million reports in total. 227 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:41,880 Speaker 1: And let's be honest, when when someone gets scammed, they're 228 00:09:41,920 --> 00:09:45,839 Speaker 1: not always reporting um to to the authorities, whether it 229 00:09:45,920 --> 00:09:47,960 Speaker 1: was successful or not, you know, whether they got taken 230 00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:50,160 Speaker 1: advantage of, whether they ended up giving money to the 231 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:53,560 Speaker 1: scammer or they didn't. Either way, they're often not filing 232 00:09:53,600 --> 00:09:56,520 Speaker 1: a report. And so yeah, reported losses totaled five point 233 00:09:56,600 --> 00:09:58,959 Speaker 1: nine billion dollars and the average person lost something like 234 00:09:59,080 --> 00:10:01,960 Speaker 1: five dollar. But again, since a lot of these scams 235 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:04,200 Speaker 1: don't get reported, the numbers are likely a whole lot 236 00:10:04,280 --> 00:10:07,000 Speaker 1: higher than what the FTC is actually relaying than what 237 00:10:07,280 --> 00:10:09,360 Speaker 1: they have in their reports. So yeah, on that note, 238 00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:11,880 Speaker 1: if you ever are the victim of a fraud or 239 00:10:11,880 --> 00:10:14,120 Speaker 1: a scam, we would say let the FTC no by 240 00:10:14,160 --> 00:10:17,280 Speaker 1: heading to report fraud dot FTC dot gov. That's just 241 00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:18,920 Speaker 1: a good way for us all to kind of know 242 00:10:19,160 --> 00:10:21,760 Speaker 1: what scams are most prevalent, how much money they're taking 243 00:10:21,760 --> 00:10:24,640 Speaker 1: from people. It's just good knowledge that should be made public. 244 00:10:24,920 --> 00:10:26,240 Speaker 1: Even though I know for a lot of people it 245 00:10:26,320 --> 00:10:28,439 Speaker 1: feels like a shame inducing thing that you got caught 246 00:10:28,520 --> 00:10:30,040 Speaker 1: up in a scam. But we we don't think that 247 00:10:30,040 --> 00:10:32,400 Speaker 1: should be the case either because they can really get 248 00:10:32,480 --> 00:10:35,880 Speaker 1: anybody these days, that's right. Yeah, and specifically via social media, 249 00:10:35,920 --> 00:10:39,120 Speaker 1: because that's one of the main avenues for scamming these days, 250 00:10:39,360 --> 00:10:43,160 Speaker 1: accounting for seven hundred and seventy million dollars in just 251 00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:46,280 Speaker 1: last year alone. Fake accounts, they're a dime a dozen. 252 00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:49,240 Speaker 1: They're getting harder to spot. Actually, Morning brew the they 253 00:10:49,280 --> 00:10:51,920 Speaker 1: had this really interesting article about fake accounts pretending to 254 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:55,319 Speaker 1: be real advertisers on TikTok. You know, you think you're 255 00:10:55,320 --> 00:10:58,120 Speaker 1: buying a flannel shirt from l L Bean, or maybe 256 00:10:58,120 --> 00:11:00,840 Speaker 1: you're buying a new side table from Wayfair, but in reality, 257 00:11:00,920 --> 00:11:03,640 Speaker 1: it's actually a scammer offering you a deal that's too 258 00:11:03,679 --> 00:11:06,319 Speaker 1: good to be true. You don't actually get anything, but 259 00:11:06,400 --> 00:11:08,600 Speaker 1: then you still end up losing that money and due 260 00:11:08,640 --> 00:11:10,199 Speaker 1: to be honest, like, I have real questions about the 261 00:11:10,280 --> 00:11:13,640 Speaker 1: viability of the metaverse, given that you know, meta can't 262 00:11:13,679 --> 00:11:17,199 Speaker 1: even curb scam artists and spam comments on Instagram. Just 263 00:11:17,320 --> 00:11:20,920 Speaker 1: imagine an alternative reality where spam artists continue to run 264 00:11:21,080 --> 00:11:24,199 Speaker 1: amuck in the virtual world. Yeah, you know, and we're 265 00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:26,520 Speaker 1: just talking about ads that they can't even ring. Every 266 00:11:26,520 --> 00:11:28,280 Speaker 1: time we make an Instagram post, and look at all 267 00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:31,319 Speaker 1: the scam spam comments that happened to get posted on 268 00:11:31,400 --> 00:11:33,719 Speaker 1: pretty much every post we create. Sometimes it's in the 269 00:11:33,800 --> 00:11:36,520 Speaker 1: double digits, and Instagram can't seem to figure that out. 270 00:11:36,520 --> 00:11:37,920 Speaker 1: I don't think it's a good sign. And yeah, I 271 00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:40,640 Speaker 1: think for me, I'm not terribly bullish on the metaverse too, 272 00:11:40,679 --> 00:11:44,360 Speaker 1: although I think it has some interesting sounding features. But yeah, 273 00:11:44,400 --> 00:11:46,680 Speaker 1: if if spam continues to be a major issue, people 274 00:11:46,679 --> 00:11:48,400 Speaker 1: aren't gonna want to hang out there. But it's also 275 00:11:48,440 --> 00:11:51,680 Speaker 1: important to mention how scammers ask for money. That's changed 276 00:11:51,720 --> 00:11:54,120 Speaker 1: a lot too in recent years. You know, there's Venmo, 277 00:11:54,320 --> 00:11:57,719 Speaker 1: cash app, Zel, PayPal, all of those apps have made 278 00:11:57,720 --> 00:12:00,559 Speaker 1: it just so much easier to steal your mind. And 279 00:12:00,640 --> 00:12:03,360 Speaker 1: so yeah, Medium love Exchange has become something that's as 280 00:12:03,400 --> 00:12:05,760 Speaker 1: easy to send as like a text message, instead of 281 00:12:05,840 --> 00:12:07,920 Speaker 1: like physically having to lift your wallet out of your 282 00:12:07,960 --> 00:12:11,280 Speaker 1: back pocket. There are much easier ways now to check, yeah, 283 00:12:11,440 --> 00:12:13,760 Speaker 1: access those funds, and so it's it's become a lot 284 00:12:13,840 --> 00:12:16,440 Speaker 1: harder to track that criminal down. In the modern day 285 00:12:16,679 --> 00:12:20,320 Speaker 1: of digital payments and then different cryptocurrencies, they're quickly becoming 286 00:12:20,360 --> 00:12:23,480 Speaker 1: a common way to these scammers asked to receive money too, 287 00:12:23,920 --> 00:12:26,120 Speaker 1: and because the way we send and receive money has 288 00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:29,199 Speaker 1: changed just so much in recent years, it means that 289 00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:31,360 Speaker 1: you've got to be on your toes even more before 290 00:12:31,440 --> 00:12:33,920 Speaker 1: you send someone money, before you transfer any funds to 291 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:36,719 Speaker 1: somebody that you don't know. That's right. Yeah, So let's 292 00:12:36,720 --> 00:12:38,440 Speaker 1: talk about some of the most common scams and how 293 00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:42,160 Speaker 1: they work. Scams in the realm of finding love online, 294 00:12:42,559 --> 00:12:44,240 Speaker 1: they've kind of dated back almost, you know, like as 295 00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:47,839 Speaker 1: far as the Internet, but the FTC stats show that 296 00:12:48,080 --> 00:12:52,000 Speaker 1: romance scams rose nearly seventy percent last year. A lot 297 00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:54,720 Speaker 1: of times you're already in a particularly vulnerable position already, 298 00:12:54,760 --> 00:12:57,160 Speaker 1: you know, like if you've created an online profile, you're 299 00:12:57,320 --> 00:13:01,040 Speaker 1: entering into these sensitive conversations with strangers. Well, scammers there, 300 00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:03,400 Speaker 1: you know, they continue to flock to every iteration of 301 00:13:03,600 --> 00:13:05,880 Speaker 1: dating apps to try to take advantage of folks there. 302 00:13:06,320 --> 00:13:08,000 Speaker 1: The New York Times they just read the story about 303 00:13:08,240 --> 00:13:11,560 Speaker 1: crypto scams on apps like Hinge. As more people seek 304 00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:14,440 Speaker 1: to find love online, the possibility to get taking advantage 305 00:13:14,440 --> 00:13:17,400 Speaker 1: of his grown exponentially. One telltale sign that you might 306 00:13:17,440 --> 00:13:19,400 Speaker 1: be getting scammed, as if the person you're talking to 307 00:13:19,559 --> 00:13:23,199 Speaker 1: tries to move the conversation to what's app, which encrypts 308 00:13:23,280 --> 00:13:25,800 Speaker 1: every message that gets sent. And another sign is if 309 00:13:25,840 --> 00:13:28,800 Speaker 1: you get asked for money in any way, any form, 310 00:13:28,880 --> 00:13:32,640 Speaker 1: any fashion. But oftentimes these folks are looking for cryptocurrencies. Uh. 311 00:13:32,880 --> 00:13:35,560 Speaker 1: The scammer will often make it sound like they're they're 312 00:13:35,559 --> 00:13:37,400 Speaker 1: trying to help you to invest your money, but in 313 00:13:37,480 --> 00:13:40,080 Speaker 1: reality they are they're really just taking your money. Let 314 00:13:40,120 --> 00:13:42,360 Speaker 1: me teach you how to invest in bitcoin, and then 315 00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:44,040 Speaker 1: you send some over and then they show you a 316 00:13:44,080 --> 00:13:46,400 Speaker 1: website where it looks like, look, look at your money 317 00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:48,280 Speaker 1: going up in value. This is incredible, You should send more. 318 00:13:48,520 --> 00:13:50,439 Speaker 1: And then it turns out that that money is in 319 00:13:50,480 --> 00:13:52,400 Speaker 1: their hands in the website they're pointing you to is 320 00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:54,040 Speaker 1: actually fake. And it just makes me think of the 321 00:13:54,080 --> 00:13:57,160 Speaker 1: old saying Matt Love is blind, and in the case 322 00:13:57,280 --> 00:14:00,599 Speaker 1: some of these, like romance scams, love is blind, and 323 00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:03,240 Speaker 1: it just causes you to not see what's actually in 324 00:14:03,320 --> 00:14:05,400 Speaker 1: front of your face. When people are asking you for 325 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:08,079 Speaker 1: in particular for for you to transfer money their way, 326 00:14:08,320 --> 00:14:09,880 Speaker 1: you start thinking the best of this person because you've 327 00:14:10,160 --> 00:14:13,080 Speaker 1: been chatting back and forth for weeks or months on end, 328 00:14:13,480 --> 00:14:16,480 Speaker 1: and you trust them, But the reality is you've never 329 00:14:16,520 --> 00:14:18,959 Speaker 1: seen their face and you have to continue to proceed 330 00:14:19,040 --> 00:14:20,840 Speaker 1: with more caution. Yeah, well I do. I think this 331 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:22,400 Speaker 1: is like, first of all, this is just such a 332 00:14:22,440 --> 00:14:24,440 Speaker 1: sad thing, right, because first of all, not only are 333 00:14:24,640 --> 00:14:27,280 Speaker 1: you not having your money grow in ways that you 334 00:14:27,400 --> 00:14:29,280 Speaker 1: think it should be growing, but you're actually having your 335 00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:31,880 Speaker 1: money taken away. Right. The second strike is the fact 336 00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:35,200 Speaker 1: that not only are you uh not finding someone who 337 00:14:35,360 --> 00:14:37,240 Speaker 1: is like your soul mate, like you found somebody that 338 00:14:37,240 --> 00:14:39,400 Speaker 1: who's trying to like damage you, you know, like they're 339 00:14:39,400 --> 00:14:41,720 Speaker 1: trying to harm you in in a financial way at 340 00:14:41,760 --> 00:14:44,760 Speaker 1: the very least, it's like this double wiming. And because 341 00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:47,560 Speaker 1: of the pandemic, it's like this perfect storm. Because obviously 342 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:50,440 Speaker 1: cryptocurrencies have been crazy hot over the past few years, 343 00:14:50,440 --> 00:14:52,320 Speaker 1: there's been a lot of interest in those. It's hard 344 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:54,440 Speaker 1: to meet somebody I r L and exactly. And then 345 00:14:54,480 --> 00:14:56,400 Speaker 1: on top of that, folks are dealing with just huge 346 00:14:56,440 --> 00:14:58,520 Speaker 1: amounts of loneliness, and so you combine those two things 347 00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:01,040 Speaker 1: together and you have a very vulnerab population. Yeah no, 348 00:15:01,160 --> 00:15:03,920 Speaker 1: that's exactly right. And and because it's someone that you've 349 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:06,960 Speaker 1: gotten to know and trust over over that period of time, 350 00:15:07,320 --> 00:15:09,520 Speaker 1: you're susceptible to lose even more money in these scamps. 351 00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:11,400 Speaker 1: I think some of the people who fall baketot to 352 00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:14,440 Speaker 1: a romance scam can lose, you know, up to their 353 00:15:14,680 --> 00:15:17,600 Speaker 1: entire fortune something sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars. It's 354 00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:19,840 Speaker 1: all because they've developed this relationship built on trust that 355 00:15:19,880 --> 00:15:21,880 Speaker 1: the stakes are high. So be warned. We would say, 356 00:15:22,160 --> 00:15:24,800 Speaker 1: don't send money to someone you truly don't know. This is, 357 00:15:24,840 --> 00:15:27,240 Speaker 1: of course, one of the massive downsides to online dating. 358 00:15:27,640 --> 00:15:29,560 Speaker 1: But yeah, after the break, we're going to get to 359 00:15:29,640 --> 00:15:32,640 Speaker 1: a really common scam that almost anyone with a kind 360 00:15:32,680 --> 00:15:35,800 Speaker 1: heart could fall prey to. It's basically digital pickpocketing, and 361 00:15:35,840 --> 00:15:47,880 Speaker 1: we'll discuss that and more right after this break, we're back. 362 00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:50,880 Speaker 1: We were talking about the proliferation of scams, and Jil, 363 00:15:50,960 --> 00:15:52,800 Speaker 1: let's get to the one that you just mentioned before 364 00:15:52,840 --> 00:15:55,200 Speaker 1: the break, digital pickpocketing. Let's do it. Let's do it, man. 365 00:15:55,440 --> 00:15:57,840 Speaker 1: This one's been around for a minute here listener, Gary, 366 00:15:57,840 --> 00:15:59,960 Speaker 1: he actually sent us this article from his local TV 367 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:04,040 Speaker 1: station in Savannah, and this one involves the different digital 368 00:16:04,080 --> 00:16:06,480 Speaker 1: payment apps. Basically, someone comes up to you. This one 369 00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:09,040 Speaker 1: uh takes place in real life. They come up to you, 370 00:16:09,120 --> 00:16:11,560 Speaker 1: they ask you to borrow your phone, maybe to make 371 00:16:11,560 --> 00:16:14,320 Speaker 1: an important phone call, maybe their phone has died, or 372 00:16:14,320 --> 00:16:16,400 Speaker 1: maybe they don't have their phone at all. Sometimes. Uh, 373 00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:18,920 Speaker 1: In this this specific story, it was a kid, which 374 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:20,560 Speaker 1: is something you can identify with. We've all had our 375 00:16:20,560 --> 00:16:22,880 Speaker 1: phone right out of battery exactly, and you, being a 376 00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:24,800 Speaker 1: nice person, you hand them your phone to make that 377 00:16:24,880 --> 00:16:27,160 Speaker 1: quick call. I think a lot of decent human beings 378 00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:29,720 Speaker 1: would probably do that. But then, you know, what do 379 00:16:29,800 --> 00:16:32,280 Speaker 1: they do while your phone is in their brief possession? 380 00:16:32,520 --> 00:16:35,760 Speaker 1: Will they open your PayPal or like venmo zel cash app. 381 00:16:35,840 --> 00:16:37,800 Speaker 1: That's another one too, where they make a quick transfer 382 00:16:37,880 --> 00:16:40,440 Speaker 1: to their own account. They hange your phone right back 383 00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:42,480 Speaker 1: to you, They say thanks and walk away, and it's 384 00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:44,640 Speaker 1: not until later that you find out, you know, like 385 00:16:44,880 --> 00:16:47,040 Speaker 1: via email or when you check your statements, that you 386 00:16:47,160 --> 00:16:50,160 Speaker 1: have lost money. The lady that they had interviewed for 387 00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:52,480 Speaker 1: the story was standing right there. She was talking about 388 00:16:52,480 --> 00:16:54,680 Speaker 1: how she was just feet away and the kid even 389 00:16:54,720 --> 00:16:56,840 Speaker 1: had it on speaker phone, and she she was watching him. 390 00:16:56,880 --> 00:16:58,520 Speaker 1: But then he had asked her if he could pull 391 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:00,080 Speaker 1: up maps, and so he was kind of mess one 392 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:02,000 Speaker 1: with the phone. She saw him actually messing with it 393 00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:03,880 Speaker 1: and with some quick fingers he got away with a 394 00:17:03,920 --> 00:17:06,040 Speaker 1: few thousand dollars. Yeah, yeah, I mean I think what 395 00:17:06,160 --> 00:17:09,879 Speaker 1: the lady in that article lost right in just a 396 00:17:09,920 --> 00:17:12,000 Speaker 1: minute or two to this to this young kid, and 397 00:17:12,080 --> 00:17:14,040 Speaker 1: then she didn't find out till later when checking her 398 00:17:14,080 --> 00:17:16,359 Speaker 1: bank statement. And so yeah, if this happens to you, 399 00:17:16,359 --> 00:17:17,920 Speaker 1: if someone comes up to you and ask to borrow 400 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:21,000 Speaker 1: your phone, we would say, uh, it sounds unkind, but 401 00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:23,320 Speaker 1: just to say no, to not give your phone over 402 00:17:23,400 --> 00:17:25,840 Speaker 1: to anybody, um, and so yeah, offered to dial the 403 00:17:25,920 --> 00:17:28,000 Speaker 1: number yourself and to put it on speaker phone for them. 404 00:17:28,359 --> 00:17:31,000 Speaker 1: Also enable stuff like touch idea, there's technology to help 405 00:17:31,040 --> 00:17:33,240 Speaker 1: us with this stuff, right or face I D for 406 00:17:33,320 --> 00:17:35,000 Speaker 1: these apps to make it harder for someone to get 407 00:17:35,040 --> 00:17:37,560 Speaker 1: in there to mess with your money. Face I D. Yeah. 408 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:40,159 Speaker 1: Dual factor authentication is another one. I have fingerprint I 409 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:43,000 Speaker 1: D on my Google pixel for a for for all 410 00:17:43,040 --> 00:17:45,200 Speaker 1: those apps. But yeah, that's one of those things where 411 00:17:45,520 --> 00:17:47,320 Speaker 1: even if you just left your phone sitting around and 412 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:49,560 Speaker 1: the screen was unlocked or something like that, someone could 413 00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:52,840 Speaker 1: get in and easily steal money from you. So yeah, 414 00:17:52,880 --> 00:17:54,720 Speaker 1: you want to make sure you have the technology set 415 00:17:54,800 --> 00:17:57,080 Speaker 1: up and you just don't like give your phone to 416 00:17:57,200 --> 00:17:59,960 Speaker 1: random people who who asked to borrow it, totally dude. 417 00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:01,600 Speaker 1: And I will say this is when when I read 418 00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:03,440 Speaker 1: this story, I was just like, a good thing, I've 419 00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:05,359 Speaker 1: got face I D already turned on on my phone, 420 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:07,600 Speaker 1: which I do, you know, as far as unlocking the phone, 421 00:18:07,600 --> 00:18:09,720 Speaker 1: but I would have sworn that I also had it 422 00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:12,400 Speaker 1: set up on some of those different apps I checked 423 00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:14,960 Speaker 1: earlier today as we were getting ready for this episode. Nope. 424 00:18:15,680 --> 00:18:20,760 Speaker 1: I went to PayPal, cash App, and Venmo, all three 425 00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:23,040 Speaker 1: of them they weren't locked down, which is crazy kind 426 00:18:23,080 --> 00:18:25,320 Speaker 1: of your phone for a second, Oh my god, you 427 00:18:25,440 --> 00:18:28,399 Speaker 1: know you can't, but it's just crazy to think that, Like, 428 00:18:28,480 --> 00:18:30,960 Speaker 1: I'm not somebody who goes in and customizes all my 429 00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:33,200 Speaker 1: different settings right normally. And so I guess, like what 430 00:18:33,240 --> 00:18:34,800 Speaker 1: I'm saying is that what that tells me is that 431 00:18:34,960 --> 00:18:37,639 Speaker 1: is the default option. When I know that there are 432 00:18:37,720 --> 00:18:39,719 Speaker 1: some other apps, like, for instance, I know my Ally 433 00:18:40,280 --> 00:18:42,360 Speaker 1: bank app, which I know I've been with ally for years, 434 00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:44,760 Speaker 1: they have always had the face I D like. I 435 00:18:44,840 --> 00:18:46,800 Speaker 1: distinctly remember that one. I think it may have been 436 00:18:46,800 --> 00:18:49,320 Speaker 1: the first app ever that required me to you know, 437 00:18:49,400 --> 00:18:51,680 Speaker 1: acknowledge the face I D thing. But I wanted to 438 00:18:51,720 --> 00:18:53,600 Speaker 1: mention that because it is super easy to turn that 439 00:18:53,680 --> 00:18:55,320 Speaker 1: on once you go into the actual app, you go 440 00:18:55,400 --> 00:18:58,119 Speaker 1: to your account, uh, your or your profile, and then 441 00:18:58,119 --> 00:18:59,920 Speaker 1: you just go down to the security settings and turn 442 00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:02,920 Speaker 1: on you know, at least on the iPhones face. I 443 00:19:03,080 --> 00:19:05,480 Speaker 1: d uh. Sometimes they'll prompt you to enter in a 444 00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:08,119 Speaker 1: little pin, but now I know that I'm totally secure. 445 00:19:08,520 --> 00:19:10,120 Speaker 1: There you go. I love that. Yeah, and and that's 446 00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:13,000 Speaker 1: just a good warning to everyone else who thinks, maybe, oh, yeah, 447 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:14,960 Speaker 1: I believe I do, but go in there and check 448 00:19:15,040 --> 00:19:17,879 Speaker 1: because probably not. Yeah, you want to make sure it's 449 00:19:17,920 --> 00:19:20,520 Speaker 1: on UM and and yeah, so that's definitely one of 450 00:19:20,600 --> 00:19:22,280 Speaker 1: the one of the scams that's been kind of making 451 00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:25,080 Speaker 1: the rounds, and that can affect especially young people. It's like, oh, hey, 452 00:19:25,119 --> 00:19:27,320 Speaker 1: I gotta call my mom or a friend and my 453 00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:29,120 Speaker 1: phone died like that. That seems like one of those 454 00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:32,440 Speaker 1: innocuous asks, but in reality it leads to you losing 455 00:19:32,640 --> 00:19:35,600 Speaker 1: potentially thousands of dollars. Um. Okay, let's talk about another 456 00:19:35,640 --> 00:19:38,680 Speaker 1: scheme out. We talked about multi level marketing UH schemes 457 00:19:38,760 --> 00:19:41,639 Speaker 1: back in episode too. We didn't we didn't have very 458 00:19:41,720 --> 00:19:43,720 Speaker 1: much good to say about them back then. And yeah, 459 00:19:43,720 --> 00:19:45,880 Speaker 1: we talked a lot of trash about Lulu Row. Yeah 460 00:19:46,040 --> 00:19:48,560 Speaker 1: we did, we did, and that that documentary came out 461 00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:51,520 Speaker 1: on Amazon and documented even more of the oddities happening 462 00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:56,000 Speaker 1: in that organization and how many people just just thousands 463 00:19:56,119 --> 00:19:58,359 Speaker 1: and thousands and tens of thousands of women who got 464 00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:00,200 Speaker 1: who got ripped off. We lost a lot of money 465 00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:03,400 Speaker 1: in that organization. And um, and most of these MLMs 466 00:20:03,400 --> 00:20:05,600 Speaker 1: are actually pyramid schemes, which we put in the same 467 00:20:05,680 --> 00:20:08,840 Speaker 1: camp as scams, and they are in actuality too good 468 00:20:08,880 --> 00:20:10,840 Speaker 1: to be true, and and really only a handful of 469 00:20:10,920 --> 00:20:13,439 Speaker 1: people make any money. The only real way to make 470 00:20:13,480 --> 00:20:15,840 Speaker 1: money in a pyramid scheme is to recruit other people 471 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:18,800 Speaker 1: to to sell things underneath of you and the item 472 00:20:18,840 --> 00:20:20,639 Speaker 1: that's being sold. It makes it seem like there's this 473 00:20:20,800 --> 00:20:24,320 Speaker 1: legitimate business opportunity, but nobody really makes money that way 474 00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:27,960 Speaker 1: in these organizations. And so, in fact, the FTC says 475 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:30,800 Speaker 1: that less than one percent of m LM participants actually 476 00:20:31,119 --> 00:20:33,879 Speaker 1: end up making money. And so, yeah, the vast majority 477 00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:36,040 Speaker 1: of folks that participate, they end up wasting a lot 478 00:20:36,080 --> 00:20:38,600 Speaker 1: of time, They put forth a lot of efforts, and 479 00:20:38,680 --> 00:20:41,040 Speaker 1: then they lose a good bit of money. Um, and 480 00:20:41,080 --> 00:20:43,280 Speaker 1: they often end up hurting some of their friends along 481 00:20:43,359 --> 00:20:46,119 Speaker 1: the way too, because yeah, that you're you're being told 482 00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:48,679 Speaker 1: to recruit more people, um and and then you can 483 00:20:48,800 --> 00:20:51,399 Speaker 1: just you can damage relationships in the process of trying 484 00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:54,119 Speaker 1: to yeah, pursue being in an MLM. Two. Yeah, not 485 00:20:54,240 --> 00:20:57,120 Speaker 1: only have you written them hard to actually buy that product, 486 00:20:57,160 --> 00:21:00,320 Speaker 1: but now you've roped them in to the scheme that 487 00:21:00,359 --> 00:21:03,280 Speaker 1: they can't escape. Uh, we we've got to bring up 488 00:21:03,320 --> 00:21:06,320 Speaker 1: imposter scams as well. These types of scams are on 489 00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:09,960 Speaker 1: the top three on the Federal Trade Commission list. It's 490 00:21:09,960 --> 00:21:11,399 Speaker 1: where you know someone they call you to tell you 491 00:21:11,440 --> 00:21:13,600 Speaker 1: that you owe the money, and if they do it well, 492 00:21:13,680 --> 00:21:16,200 Speaker 1: it's easy to think that maybe, like maybe I actually 493 00:21:16,240 --> 00:21:18,520 Speaker 1: did just forget to pay a bill. Well, an impostor 494 00:21:18,680 --> 00:21:21,000 Speaker 1: can call you, you know, they might email you posing 495 00:21:21,040 --> 00:21:23,959 Speaker 1: as a representative from either the government or from a company. 496 00:21:24,240 --> 00:21:26,520 Speaker 1: But the thing is, first of all, government employees they 497 00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:28,680 Speaker 1: don't do this. You'll never get a call from the 498 00:21:28,720 --> 00:21:31,639 Speaker 1: Social Security Administration or from a local government agency demanding 499 00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:35,200 Speaker 1: payment of fees or taxes. You also won't get a 500 00:21:35,240 --> 00:21:38,640 Speaker 1: call from a government agency requesting any personal information because 501 00:21:38,640 --> 00:21:41,760 Speaker 1: guess what there to have that information? Uh, they're not 502 00:21:41,920 --> 00:21:44,000 Speaker 1: asking you for it because like, I'm from the Social 503 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:46,120 Speaker 1: Security Administration, but I'm gonna need your Social Security number. 504 00:21:46,480 --> 00:21:48,639 Speaker 1: It's like, wait, wait, aren't you supposed to have that? 505 00:21:48,880 --> 00:21:50,880 Speaker 1: It's like, what kind of incompetence are we dealing with here? 506 00:21:51,960 --> 00:21:53,960 Speaker 1: But but scammers like they're going to assume the role 507 00:21:54,320 --> 00:21:57,200 Speaker 1: of a government agent, you know, whether via email, text, 508 00:21:57,320 --> 00:21:59,920 Speaker 1: or phone call, and they're going to attempt to free 509 00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:03,399 Speaker 1: you out in order to make some quick money. Oftentimes 510 00:22:03,520 --> 00:22:05,399 Speaker 1: it is done over the phone because when they have 511 00:22:05,560 --> 00:22:07,159 Speaker 1: you on the line like that, they can create that 512 00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:09,199 Speaker 1: sense of urgency and that's a lot of times when 513 00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:11,280 Speaker 1: we can make some poor decisions. Yeah, okay, so let's 514 00:22:11,320 --> 00:22:13,159 Speaker 1: talk about I R S games because that that is 515 00:22:13,160 --> 00:22:15,359 Speaker 1: an imposter scam. That's a form of imposter scam. And 516 00:22:15,440 --> 00:22:17,840 Speaker 1: particularly since we're we're in the middle of tax season 517 00:22:17,960 --> 00:22:19,879 Speaker 1: right now, we'd be remiss not to mention this one 518 00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:22,240 Speaker 1: because it's it's going around in a big way, and 519 00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:24,639 Speaker 1: there are a number of different I R S related 520 00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:27,080 Speaker 1: scams out there, and and the pandemic actually seems to 521 00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:31,440 Speaker 1: have created an even larger variety of these scams, largely 522 00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:34,800 Speaker 1: because of like stimulus payments and extra unemployment benefits. A 523 00:22:34,840 --> 00:22:37,240 Speaker 1: lot of people have been targeted because maybe they were 524 00:22:37,280 --> 00:22:40,000 Speaker 1: a recipient of one of these things, or they thought 525 00:22:40,040 --> 00:22:42,720 Speaker 1: they should be and so oh, low, low, behold. A 526 00:22:42,800 --> 00:22:45,600 Speaker 1: scammer comes in, sends an email and tells you there's 527 00:22:45,600 --> 00:22:48,600 Speaker 1: a stimulus payment waiting, or there's additional unemployment compensation, and 528 00:22:48,720 --> 00:22:51,760 Speaker 1: you click the link and you fall prey. But Matt, 529 00:22:51,800 --> 00:22:53,720 Speaker 1: like you just said, it's important to know that the 530 00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:56,440 Speaker 1: only way the I r S legitimately contacts people is 531 00:22:56,560 --> 00:23:00,560 Speaker 1: via snail mail, like through a traditional letter in your mailbox. 532 00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:02,320 Speaker 1: And so yeah, if someone from the I R S 533 00:23:02,359 --> 00:23:04,480 Speaker 1: tries to get in touch with you via some other method, 534 00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:07,560 Speaker 1: we just encourage you not to respond because it's fake. 535 00:23:08,040 --> 00:23:11,959 Speaker 1: That's right. The utility scam. That's another popular imposter scam. Uh. 536 00:23:12,040 --> 00:23:14,560 Speaker 1: This is when your water, your gas, your electric company. 537 00:23:14,840 --> 00:23:17,000 Speaker 1: They might call you to tell you that your months 538 00:23:17,080 --> 00:23:19,280 Speaker 1: behind and your bill. You better pay up, and you 539 00:23:19,359 --> 00:23:21,720 Speaker 1: better do it quick, otherwise your power is gonna be 540 00:23:21,720 --> 00:23:24,080 Speaker 1: cut off. It sounds like such a hassle, and so 541 00:23:24,240 --> 00:23:26,280 Speaker 1: because of that, so many people go ahead and decide 542 00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:29,240 Speaker 1: to pay there on the spot. Sometimes the fake utility 543 00:23:29,280 --> 00:23:30,920 Speaker 1: company will tell you to go buy a gift card. 544 00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:33,320 Speaker 1: And the reason is because if you pay them with 545 00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:36,480 Speaker 1: a gift card, those funds can't be traced. It's like 546 00:23:36,680 --> 00:23:39,359 Speaker 1: paying with cash basically. And some might even go the 547 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:42,400 Speaker 1: opposite approach, saying that you have overpaid, which sounds nice. 548 00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:44,359 Speaker 1: And so when that's the case, just give them your 549 00:23:44,359 --> 00:23:46,080 Speaker 1: bank account number and then they can send you that 550 00:23:46,119 --> 00:23:48,840 Speaker 1: money back your way. You didn't overpay and you don't 551 00:23:48,880 --> 00:23:51,680 Speaker 1: get your money back. So be warned of the utility 552 00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:53,760 Speaker 1: scam that sounds like that block poster scam I fell 553 00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:55,840 Speaker 1: prey to. It's like, hey, it's you know, you feel 554 00:23:55,840 --> 00:23:57,680 Speaker 1: like you're coming out ahead and you're doing something good 555 00:23:57,800 --> 00:24:00,399 Speaker 1: or whatever, and um, ultimately in the end it comes 556 00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:02,159 Speaker 1: back to bite you. Right. But and I actually had 557 00:24:02,160 --> 00:24:04,639 Speaker 1: a friend Matt, who fell victim to the utility schame 558 00:24:04,920 --> 00:24:06,960 Speaker 1: or the electric company called him at his place of 559 00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:10,080 Speaker 1: business and then they said, like, your power is classic 560 00:24:10,280 --> 00:24:12,080 Speaker 1: just about to be shut off. Stay on the phone 561 00:24:12,119 --> 00:24:14,240 Speaker 1: with us, go get a gift card, send us that 562 00:24:14,280 --> 00:24:17,520 Speaker 1: information and you're gonna be embarrassed. Yeah, and then the customers. 563 00:24:17,560 --> 00:24:19,080 Speaker 1: The thing is when a scam artists gets you once, 564 00:24:19,119 --> 00:24:20,800 Speaker 1: which they got him once, they try to get you again, 565 00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:23,800 Speaker 1: but by then hopefully not always, but you know, and 566 00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:26,080 Speaker 1: he wised up the second time around, he realized he 567 00:24:26,160 --> 00:24:28,560 Speaker 1: had been had. But that is one of those nefarious things, 568 00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:32,040 Speaker 1: especially for someone who has their own business, because they 569 00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:34,000 Speaker 1: can't afford to be shut down, They can't afford for 570 00:24:34,080 --> 00:24:36,320 Speaker 1: the power to be shut off. Their livelihood is at stake. 571 00:24:36,560 --> 00:24:38,920 Speaker 1: If you own a restaurant or just any place where 572 00:24:38,960 --> 00:24:41,440 Speaker 1: people come in to to do business like that could 573 00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:43,880 Speaker 1: throw a whole wrench in your day or week. And so, yeah, 574 00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:45,879 Speaker 1: that is something in particular for business owners to be 575 00:24:45,880 --> 00:24:47,920 Speaker 1: aware of as well. Yeah, and that that's another reason 576 00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:49,960 Speaker 1: too why we'd always recommend for you to go straight 577 00:24:50,040 --> 00:24:52,280 Speaker 1: to that company's website, don't do it over the phone, 578 00:24:52,400 --> 00:24:54,760 Speaker 1: don't click any links in your email, go directly to 579 00:24:54,840 --> 00:24:57,200 Speaker 1: the website that you know to be legit, or go 580 00:24:57,320 --> 00:24:59,480 Speaker 1: straight to the government website that straight to the dot 581 00:24:59,600 --> 00:25:02,320 Speaker 1: gov website. Don't click the links in your email. Yeah, totally. 582 00:25:02,359 --> 00:25:04,280 Speaker 1: All right, let's talk about something else. Let's move on 583 00:25:04,359 --> 00:25:08,280 Speaker 1: from imposter scams. There's charity scams happening all all over 584 00:25:08,320 --> 00:25:11,400 Speaker 1: the place too, and so yeah, fake nonprofit donations are 585 00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:14,400 Speaker 1: just it's just a terrible version of a scam. Really 586 00:25:14,480 --> 00:25:17,760 Speaker 1: frustrating to see these. These often happen after a natural 587 00:25:17,840 --> 00:25:20,200 Speaker 1: disaster or it's like support the victims of this in 588 00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:23,760 Speaker 1: such tornado or hurricane um and and you know, but 589 00:25:23,880 --> 00:25:27,080 Speaker 1: not just that, like scams have already happened invoking their 590 00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:30,160 Speaker 1: Ukrainians and supporting their cause. They're a bunch of websites 591 00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:34,320 Speaker 1: that have already gone online, uh, generically promising to funnel 592 00:25:34,320 --> 00:25:36,840 Speaker 1: your funds to support the efforts over there and support 593 00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:39,359 Speaker 1: the individuals. The Ukraine coin like that's one of the 594 00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:42,800 Speaker 1: like it was a crypto scam and basically the purporting 595 00:25:42,880 --> 00:25:45,560 Speaker 1: to support the people of Ukraine. I mean, yeah, it's 596 00:25:45,640 --> 00:25:48,520 Speaker 1: just heinous that people will take advantage of something like 597 00:25:48,640 --> 00:25:52,359 Speaker 1: that happening internationally or or locally in an effort to 598 00:25:52,560 --> 00:25:54,560 Speaker 1: steal your money. But it happens, right, and it happens 599 00:25:54,680 --> 00:25:56,760 Speaker 1: all the time, and they just want to take advantage 600 00:25:56,800 --> 00:25:59,239 Speaker 1: of your generosity. But really it's just terrible people who 601 00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:02,080 Speaker 1: are trying to, you know, make use this conflict for 602 00:26:02,200 --> 00:26:04,520 Speaker 1: their own gain. And so yeah, if a cause that 603 00:26:04,600 --> 00:26:06,480 Speaker 1: you would like to donate two comes on your radar 604 00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:09,600 Speaker 1: from a plea you've read online, that's okay, but we 605 00:26:09,600 --> 00:26:12,320 Speaker 1: would say, don't click that link to give, and instead 606 00:26:12,800 --> 00:26:15,439 Speaker 1: let that lead you to research different organizations who are 607 00:26:15,480 --> 00:26:18,760 Speaker 1: doing great work in that area. Only give to organizations 608 00:26:18,840 --> 00:26:21,119 Speaker 1: that you know, that you've vetted, that you trust. And 609 00:26:21,320 --> 00:26:24,600 Speaker 1: Charity Navigator and charity watch are just both excellent sites 610 00:26:24,680 --> 00:26:27,840 Speaker 1: that rate charities and they show you how those charities 611 00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:30,160 Speaker 1: used the dollars that you donate. So we would say 612 00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:32,200 Speaker 1: go there, type in the name of the charity doesn't 613 00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:34,560 Speaker 1: even come up. If not, that's a huge red flag. 614 00:26:34,720 --> 00:26:36,320 Speaker 1: And if it does, you can find out more about 615 00:26:36,359 --> 00:26:38,800 Speaker 1: how they actually use the funds that they receive, and 616 00:26:39,160 --> 00:26:40,760 Speaker 1: you can give you a greater peace of mind before 617 00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:43,080 Speaker 1: you actually, you know, click the button to donate. That's right, 618 00:26:43,119 --> 00:26:44,560 Speaker 1: And I think I just said Ukraine coin. It's actually 619 00:26:44,640 --> 00:26:49,880 Speaker 1: Ukraine token. Yeah, so you're probably both either way point 620 00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:51,920 Speaker 1: of those. But we're gonna get to a couple more scams. 621 00:26:51,920 --> 00:26:55,320 Speaker 1: We're gonna talk about some some sound general advice regardless 622 00:26:55,440 --> 00:26:57,159 Speaker 1: of the scam that you might come across, and we're 623 00:26:57,160 --> 00:26:59,240 Speaker 1: gonna get to all of that right after this break. 624 00:27:08,760 --> 00:27:10,600 Speaker 1: All right, now we're back. Let's keep talking about scams 625 00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:12,720 Speaker 1: and yeah, and just a little bit we're gonna get 626 00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:14,840 Speaker 1: to some general advice, just kind of a few takeaways 627 00:27:15,160 --> 00:27:18,240 Speaker 1: that will help protect you and your assets from the 628 00:27:18,320 --> 00:27:21,399 Speaker 1: vast majority of scams out there. But let's detail just 629 00:27:21,640 --> 00:27:24,320 Speaker 1: a couple others first. One of them, and especially right 630 00:27:24,359 --> 00:27:27,080 Speaker 1: now in a hot job market that is making the rounds, 631 00:27:27,200 --> 00:27:30,880 Speaker 1: are employment scams. Yeah, and a lot of how money 632 00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:33,400 Speaker 1: listeners have benefited from this hot job market. Some people 633 00:27:33,480 --> 00:27:36,919 Speaker 1: have uh told us that they have doubled their income 634 00:27:37,200 --> 00:27:39,400 Speaker 1: in in just the last few months, which is incredible 635 00:27:39,440 --> 00:27:42,600 Speaker 1: to see. You know, don't let this scam uh cause 636 00:27:42,640 --> 00:27:45,800 Speaker 1: you to apply avoid applying for jobs, because there are 637 00:27:45,800 --> 00:27:47,960 Speaker 1: a lot of legitimate opportunities for you to make a 638 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:50,680 Speaker 1: whole lot more money out there. Um. But yeah, employment 639 00:27:50,680 --> 00:27:53,360 Speaker 1: scams have been around for for years, and the listings 640 00:27:53,480 --> 00:27:56,800 Speaker 1: on these jobs can appear on legitimate job hunting websites. 641 00:27:57,160 --> 00:27:59,440 Speaker 1: And in fact, a report from the Better Business Bureau 642 00:27:59,680 --> 00:28:02,080 Speaker 1: review that indeed dot com, which is a place where 643 00:28:02,080 --> 00:28:04,639 Speaker 1: people go to find legitimate jobs all the time, was plagued, 644 00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:08,960 Speaker 1: which is a huge number of job scammers. And so 645 00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:12,000 Speaker 1: the application that you're being asked to submit it often 646 00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:15,119 Speaker 1: asked for personal information that shouldn't be required for a 647 00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:17,600 Speaker 1: first phase interview, stuff like your social Security number or 648 00:28:17,680 --> 00:28:21,239 Speaker 1: your bank account information, we would say never ever your 649 00:28:21,400 --> 00:28:25,040 Speaker 1: mother's maiden name, yes, exactly, what's your password to Gmail? 650 00:28:25,040 --> 00:28:26,320 Speaker 1: I mean those are the kind of things your first 651 00:28:26,359 --> 00:28:28,840 Speaker 1: pets name while we're at it. Yeah, yeah, what's what's 652 00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:32,280 Speaker 1: your vanguard logging information? We say never never give what 653 00:28:32,359 --> 00:28:34,280 Speaker 1: are your first four favorite numbers? That just pop in 654 00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:38,000 Speaker 1: your mind that that sensitive information is stuff that you 655 00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:40,360 Speaker 1: definitely do not want to bring to the table to 656 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:43,120 Speaker 1: someone that you just met through a job interview website. 657 00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:45,000 Speaker 1: That's a massive red flag. When they're saying, like, you know, 658 00:28:45,080 --> 00:28:46,720 Speaker 1: you seem like you'd be a good candidate. Tell me 659 00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:48,680 Speaker 1: everything about you. I feel like we would. It sounds 660 00:28:48,680 --> 00:28:51,600 Speaker 1: like we would make good scammers. Well, now we know 661 00:28:51,720 --> 00:28:53,400 Speaker 1: all the tools of the trade. I guess that's true. 662 00:28:53,440 --> 00:28:56,000 Speaker 1: We know how it works. Uh. The thing is too, 663 00:28:56,040 --> 00:28:57,960 Speaker 1: with the different employment scams, they can kind of shake 664 00:28:57,960 --> 00:29:00,840 Speaker 1: out in different ways. Right, Some scammers they'll they'll use 665 00:29:01,280 --> 00:29:05,640 Speaker 1: job positions like mystery shoppers. They'll use these vague positions 666 00:29:05,680 --> 00:29:08,600 Speaker 1: like work from home opportunities to find their victims because 667 00:29:08,680 --> 00:29:11,080 Speaker 1: guess what, anybody can do that, And so they're casting 668 00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:14,200 Speaker 1: their net really wide in that case. Yes, like jobs 669 00:29:14,640 --> 00:29:17,959 Speaker 1: doing with shipping or drop shipping. That's another common uh 670 00:29:18,080 --> 00:29:21,360 Speaker 1: you know job description term that often has some sort 671 00:29:21,400 --> 00:29:23,960 Speaker 1: of scam element taking place. Totally yeah, But one of 672 00:29:24,040 --> 00:29:27,560 Speaker 1: the common forms, uh that these scams play out is 673 00:29:27,640 --> 00:29:30,240 Speaker 1: that you will receive what looks like a legit paycheck 674 00:29:30,320 --> 00:29:34,120 Speaker 1: in the mail after accepting one of these completely bogus positions, 675 00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:36,440 Speaker 1: and then your your quote unquote boss, they say that 676 00:29:36,520 --> 00:29:38,959 Speaker 1: you were overpaid. Hey, sorry, uh, could you send back 677 00:29:38,960 --> 00:29:41,000 Speaker 1: a portion of that check? And then the problem is, 678 00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:43,120 Speaker 1: even though that check cleared your bank, it looks like 679 00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:45,840 Speaker 1: that money is in your account, but it actually isn't. 680 00:29:45,920 --> 00:29:48,920 Speaker 1: The paycheck it bounces and then guess what, You've already 681 00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:52,479 Speaker 1: sent your real money back to that scammer and then 682 00:29:52,520 --> 00:29:54,320 Speaker 1: you're out all of that money. And so make sure 683 00:29:54,400 --> 00:29:56,200 Speaker 1: to do your own diligence here, make sure that you 684 00:29:56,360 --> 00:29:59,200 Speaker 1: research any supposed company that is offering you a job. 685 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:01,360 Speaker 1: Another way that this plays out as well. It's not 686 00:30:01,440 --> 00:30:04,240 Speaker 1: just that first paycheck, but sometimes uh, you know you've 687 00:30:04,280 --> 00:30:06,120 Speaker 1: signed the line, they're like, you're hired. You're gonna be 688 00:30:06,160 --> 00:30:10,560 Speaker 1: making six figures. However, there is a pretty lengthy training process, 689 00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:12,560 Speaker 1: and you're gonna need some supplies. You're gonna need this 690 00:30:12,840 --> 00:30:15,560 Speaker 1: a new company laptop because you're not allowed to do 691 00:30:15,800 --> 00:30:18,320 Speaker 1: business on your personal laptop. They send you a link 692 00:30:18,360 --> 00:30:20,200 Speaker 1: to a portal where you pay for all of these 693 00:30:20,240 --> 00:30:22,600 Speaker 1: expenses yourself. But you know it's gonna be worth it 694 00:30:22,720 --> 00:30:24,520 Speaker 1: because of those six figures you're gonna be raking in. 695 00:30:24,880 --> 00:30:27,360 Speaker 1: This is just another way that they get legitimate dollars 696 00:30:27,400 --> 00:30:30,080 Speaker 1: out of your bank account without offering you anything. Seems 697 00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:32,320 Speaker 1: like a drop in the bucket compared to the just 698 00:30:32,440 --> 00:30:34,560 Speaker 1: sick paychecks you're gonna be pulling home in the near future. 699 00:30:34,880 --> 00:30:38,320 Speaker 1: And uh yeah, it turns out paycheck, it turns out 700 00:30:38,320 --> 00:30:40,640 Speaker 1: those you know that thousand dollars or more, it's just 701 00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:44,840 Speaker 1: gone immediately. Yes, let's talk about like scam adjacent sort 702 00:30:44,880 --> 00:30:48,160 Speaker 1: of rip offs to Matt, because sometimes I think you know, 703 00:30:48,320 --> 00:30:49,840 Speaker 1: there there are clear cut scams. A lot of the 704 00:30:49,880 --> 00:30:51,760 Speaker 1: ones we've covered so far are just these clear cut, 705 00:30:52,040 --> 00:30:54,040 Speaker 1: tried and true scams that have been happening for a 706 00:30:54,160 --> 00:30:58,160 Speaker 1: long period of time. But sometimes it's it's not necessarily 707 00:30:58,240 --> 00:31:00,680 Speaker 1: a full fledged scam that's happening that you get taken with. 708 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:04,000 Speaker 1: It's just an inferior product or service, And so yeah, 709 00:31:04,040 --> 00:31:06,520 Speaker 1: the ways that people lose money these days don't always 710 00:31:06,560 --> 00:31:09,480 Speaker 1: involve someone actively trying to steal money from you while 711 00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:12,200 Speaker 1: not giving you anything in return. And then they're just 712 00:31:12,240 --> 00:31:14,400 Speaker 1: completely pulling the wool over your eyes trying to trick you. 713 00:31:14,800 --> 00:31:18,920 Speaker 1: Sometimes people are selling a somewhat legitimate product or online course, 714 00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:21,520 Speaker 1: and you know, they're not trying to completely rip you off, 715 00:31:21,600 --> 00:31:23,480 Speaker 1: they just don't really have your best interest in mind, 716 00:31:23,520 --> 00:31:26,040 Speaker 1: and they're over selling something that is actually kind of 717 00:31:26,080 --> 00:31:27,680 Speaker 1: a piece of crap. It's it's a turret on the 718 00:31:27,720 --> 00:31:30,520 Speaker 1: back end, and so uh, they're they're looking to make 719 00:31:30,560 --> 00:31:34,000 Speaker 1: a living in the shady corners of the internet. Basically, 720 00:31:34,520 --> 00:31:36,719 Speaker 1: it could be advice that you're getting on YouTube or TikTok. 721 00:31:36,760 --> 00:31:39,120 Speaker 1: As we mentioned earlier, there are a lot of scams 722 00:31:39,160 --> 00:31:41,560 Speaker 1: on those platforms, a lot of people pitching something that 723 00:31:41,640 --> 00:31:44,200 Speaker 1: actually isn't good for you. You know, online courses are 724 00:31:44,320 --> 00:31:46,360 Speaker 1: a dime a dozen, and Matt, you and I know 725 00:31:46,480 --> 00:31:48,960 Speaker 1: friends in the personal finance community who have really good 726 00:31:49,080 --> 00:31:52,760 Speaker 1: online courses that cost a pretty penny. But those people 727 00:31:52,840 --> 00:31:55,000 Speaker 1: get almost like a mini college course in how to 728 00:31:55,080 --> 00:31:57,200 Speaker 1: invest in real estate or something like that. High end 729 00:31:57,320 --> 00:32:00,400 Speaker 1: videos with a lot of accompanying material that is actually 730 00:32:00,520 --> 00:32:03,280 Speaker 1: really helpful. But then there are a lot of other 731 00:32:03,320 --> 00:32:06,360 Speaker 1: people who are selling courses that are complete trash where 732 00:32:06,360 --> 00:32:09,680 Speaker 1: you can get that information for free really easily, and 733 00:32:09,920 --> 00:32:12,000 Speaker 1: they're not giving you anything special, and depending on the 734 00:32:12,080 --> 00:32:14,000 Speaker 1: method of payment, there's no way to get your money back. 735 00:32:14,040 --> 00:32:15,760 Speaker 1: And so yeah, you just have to be careful, you 736 00:32:15,840 --> 00:32:17,960 Speaker 1: have to tread lightly. Even when we're not talking about 737 00:32:18,040 --> 00:32:20,200 Speaker 1: full fledged scams, there's still a lot of ways to 738 00:32:20,520 --> 00:32:22,600 Speaker 1: to lose your money or to spend it in effectively, 739 00:32:22,720 --> 00:32:24,640 Speaker 1: you know, on the internet. That's right, And sometimes too, 740 00:32:24,680 --> 00:32:26,440 Speaker 1: it's not even inferior products because like you kind of 741 00:32:26,480 --> 00:32:28,880 Speaker 1: we're targeting just courses that are kind of crappy. It's 742 00:32:28,920 --> 00:32:30,960 Speaker 1: just I think it's first time we've ever said turn 743 00:32:31,080 --> 00:32:35,720 Speaker 1: on the back end. But sometimes they are legitimate products, right, 744 00:32:35,760 --> 00:32:38,960 Speaker 1: Like I'm specifically thinking about cut cod knives. Those are 745 00:32:39,160 --> 00:32:41,200 Speaker 1: legitimate knives like that. You know, they've got like these 746 00:32:41,280 --> 00:32:43,480 Speaker 1: lifetime warranties you can send them in to get sharpened. 747 00:32:43,960 --> 00:32:46,000 Speaker 1: But so much like it just makes me think of 748 00:32:46,120 --> 00:32:49,440 Speaker 1: sales just more broadly speaking, and anytime you're dealing with 749 00:32:49,600 --> 00:32:52,560 Speaker 1: a salesperson, you need to sort of look at things 750 00:32:52,640 --> 00:32:55,200 Speaker 1: through a slightly different lens because in that case, in 751 00:32:55,240 --> 00:32:57,040 Speaker 1: this case, like when we're talking about knives, it's not 752 00:32:57,200 --> 00:33:01,040 Speaker 1: that those aren't good knives, but if you're somebody who 753 00:33:01,040 --> 00:33:05,840 Speaker 1: already has twenty four knives in your drawer at home, 754 00:33:06,200 --> 00:33:08,800 Speaker 1: you don't need another butcher's block full of you know, 755 00:33:08,880 --> 00:33:10,680 Speaker 1: like a knife set or whatever. Uh. And so it 756 00:33:10,760 --> 00:33:12,920 Speaker 1: comes down to whether or not you need that as 757 00:33:12,920 --> 00:33:14,840 Speaker 1: an individual. And that's where where it takes a little 758 00:33:14,840 --> 00:33:17,560 Speaker 1: bit of wisdom to determine. You know, am I just 759 00:33:17,760 --> 00:33:20,760 Speaker 1: being swayed by this persuasive conversation that you know, do 760 00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:22,880 Speaker 1: I like this person that do I want to help them? 761 00:33:23,680 --> 00:33:25,760 Speaker 1: Or is this something that I actually need? That's something 762 00:33:25,800 --> 00:33:27,680 Speaker 1: that we all just need away in our minds when 763 00:33:27,720 --> 00:33:30,240 Speaker 1: we're having these conversations with people. Man, that's true. And 764 00:33:30,360 --> 00:33:33,000 Speaker 1: I think that they talk about whole life insurance as 765 00:33:33,040 --> 00:33:35,920 Speaker 1: being an item that is sold, not bought, and it's 766 00:33:35,960 --> 00:33:38,040 Speaker 1: one of those things where it's like it's high pressured 767 00:33:38,080 --> 00:33:41,120 Speaker 1: sales tactics. Often times that leads people to get that 768 00:33:41,160 --> 00:33:43,280 Speaker 1: product when they would be much better served by having 769 00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:45,400 Speaker 1: term life insurance. Matter, how to kind of listener reach 770 00:33:45,440 --> 00:33:49,120 Speaker 1: out recently and and she is very young, with no dependence, 771 00:33:49,160 --> 00:33:51,480 Speaker 1: no kids, she's not married. And she said, hey, I've 772 00:33:51,480 --> 00:33:54,120 Speaker 1: got this whole life insurance product. I'm starting to get 773 00:33:54,120 --> 00:33:56,400 Speaker 1: concerned after listening to some of your episodes. And I 774 00:33:56,480 --> 00:33:58,720 Speaker 1: was like, yeah, you're you're right to be concerned, and 775 00:33:58,840 --> 00:34:00,920 Speaker 1: she started to to push back, and so she's thinking 776 00:34:00,960 --> 00:34:03,200 Speaker 1: about ditching it. And she doesn't even need term life 777 00:34:03,200 --> 00:34:06,120 Speaker 1: insurance yet. Maybe in the near future she will, we'll see. 778 00:34:06,400 --> 00:34:08,279 Speaker 1: But yeah, those are the kind of things where there 779 00:34:08,320 --> 00:34:10,160 Speaker 1: are a lot of things out there that are are 780 00:34:10,239 --> 00:34:11,920 Speaker 1: sold not bought. If it's something you didn't go out 781 00:34:11,960 --> 00:34:14,239 Speaker 1: searching for and someone pitched it to you, give to 782 00:34:14,280 --> 00:34:16,120 Speaker 1: do some extra thinking to see about whether it makes 783 00:34:16,160 --> 00:34:19,080 Speaker 1: sense or not. So let's give some general advice, because yeah, 784 00:34:19,120 --> 00:34:21,000 Speaker 1: we've listed a lot of popular scams, but there are 785 00:34:21,040 --> 00:34:22,879 Speaker 1: just a few things where if you were to implement these, 786 00:34:23,080 --> 00:34:25,680 Speaker 1: they would make you not necessarily like scam proof, but 787 00:34:25,880 --> 00:34:28,719 Speaker 1: scam resistant. Right. Like uh, like what I'm thinking about, 788 00:34:28,719 --> 00:34:32,520 Speaker 1: like a rainproof jacket. If if it's water resistant, it's 789 00:34:32,600 --> 00:34:34,799 Speaker 1: it's gonna hold up pretty well. Right, Um, it's gonna 790 00:34:34,840 --> 00:34:38,040 Speaker 1: be much better than like that fleece you're exactly that's 791 00:34:38,040 --> 00:34:40,160 Speaker 1: gonna get drenched in a heartbeat. But um yeah, the 792 00:34:40,400 --> 00:34:43,000 Speaker 1: first thing, right, the general way to protect yourself is 793 00:34:43,080 --> 00:34:44,479 Speaker 1: to know that if it's too good to be true, 794 00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:47,200 Speaker 1: it probably is. And so yeah, a scam artist is 795 00:34:47,239 --> 00:34:49,560 Speaker 1: often going to make a guarantee. You know, that's it's 796 00:34:49,600 --> 00:34:51,799 Speaker 1: meant to give you some assurance that the money you're 797 00:34:51,800 --> 00:34:54,799 Speaker 1: about the handover will be taken care of. But really 798 00:34:54,880 --> 00:34:57,480 Speaker 1: that guarantee is fake. Peace of mind, we would say 799 00:34:57,560 --> 00:34:59,960 Speaker 1: to trust your instincts and to not give someone your 800 00:35:00,040 --> 00:35:03,040 Speaker 1: hard earned money just because they offer verbal assurances and 801 00:35:03,280 --> 00:35:04,759 Speaker 1: and really lots of times, man, this is just like 802 00:35:04,800 --> 00:35:08,480 Speaker 1: a gut check, like it sounds really nice, like obviously 803 00:35:08,480 --> 00:35:10,400 Speaker 1: I want this to be true, but if you had 804 00:35:10,440 --> 00:35:13,080 Speaker 1: another friend that that happened too, and it was actually real, 805 00:35:13,200 --> 00:35:14,880 Speaker 1: Like have you ever heard of this happening in the 806 00:35:14,960 --> 00:35:16,799 Speaker 1: real world? Those are the kind of filters you need 807 00:35:16,840 --> 00:35:18,880 Speaker 1: to run this pitch through before you sign on the 808 00:35:18,960 --> 00:35:21,719 Speaker 1: dotted line totally. We want to recommend for folks also 809 00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:24,480 Speaker 1: to freeze the credit. This is something that we've advised 810 00:35:24,600 --> 00:35:27,919 Speaker 1: for years now, but freezing your credit with all three 811 00:35:28,120 --> 00:35:30,440 Speaker 1: of the major credit bureaus is worth doing even if 812 00:35:30,520 --> 00:35:32,880 Speaker 1: you think that you couldn't possibly fall for one of 813 00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:35,040 Speaker 1: the scams that we've talked about today. By the way, 814 00:35:35,040 --> 00:35:36,879 Speaker 1: I hope we've actually made it clear that you can 815 00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:39,200 Speaker 1: actually potentially fall for one of these. But we've got 816 00:35:39,280 --> 00:35:40,800 Speaker 1: an article up on the site that will link to 817 00:35:41,120 --> 00:35:44,040 Speaker 1: about doing a credit freeze, really freezing your credit. It's 818 00:35:44,040 --> 00:35:45,840 Speaker 1: sort of like using a bike lock. That is the 819 00:35:45,920 --> 00:35:48,080 Speaker 1: most deaf, the cheapest and smartest way to make sure 820 00:35:48,120 --> 00:35:50,839 Speaker 1: that your bike doesn't get stolen. You know, not using 821 00:35:50,920 --> 00:35:53,840 Speaker 1: that simple tool is putting yourself at unnecessary risk, And 822 00:35:53,880 --> 00:35:55,400 Speaker 1: the same thing is true with the credit freeze. Right. 823 00:35:55,400 --> 00:35:57,520 Speaker 1: It just takes a few minutes, it costs nothing, and 824 00:35:57,600 --> 00:36:01,680 Speaker 1: it provides a lot of protections, so someone doesn't open 825 00:36:01,800 --> 00:36:04,000 Speaker 1: up credit in your name without your knowledge or without 826 00:36:04,040 --> 00:36:07,520 Speaker 1: your consent. You don't want to become an identity theft victim. Uh. 827 00:36:07,600 --> 00:36:10,160 Speaker 1: This is one of those instances where you're not being 828 00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:12,560 Speaker 1: parted with your current dollars. You're just being parted with 829 00:36:13,040 --> 00:36:16,279 Speaker 1: your future dollars. And that's basically what debt is. You 830 00:36:16,320 --> 00:36:20,280 Speaker 1: don't want to owe I owe use either, right, Yeah, exactly, 831 00:36:20,400 --> 00:36:22,640 Speaker 1: I owe us that somebody else had the fun of 832 00:36:22,719 --> 00:36:25,000 Speaker 1: spending that money, but you're on the hook to pay 833 00:36:25,200 --> 00:36:27,520 Speaker 1: the bill and so yeah, like you said, Matt, it's 834 00:36:27,560 --> 00:36:30,640 Speaker 1: just so ridiculously easy, Like why would you not do it? 835 00:36:31,000 --> 00:36:33,840 Speaker 1: And Uh, I think another thing that we need to know. 836 00:36:33,920 --> 00:36:36,560 Speaker 1: Another way to protect yourself is to realize that scams 837 00:36:36,960 --> 00:36:39,880 Speaker 1: can often come from someone who you're somewhat close to. 838 00:36:40,160 --> 00:36:42,840 Speaker 1: This is called affinity fraud. It's kind of tough to 839 00:36:42,880 --> 00:36:44,840 Speaker 1: come to grips with because you don't want to be 840 00:36:44,880 --> 00:36:47,200 Speaker 1: suspicious of everyone who's close to you, like, oh, my 841 00:36:47,239 --> 00:36:49,600 Speaker 1: best friend trying to scamy or my grandma, Like what's 842 00:36:49,600 --> 00:36:51,960 Speaker 1: her problem? Uh, why is she trying to get my money? 843 00:36:52,239 --> 00:36:56,520 Speaker 1: Like usually uh, yeah, yeah, I don't wanna talk to 844 00:36:56,520 --> 00:36:59,040 Speaker 1: you anymore. Um, but it's it's so it is important 845 00:36:59,040 --> 00:37:02,080 Speaker 1: to note though that it's not criminals stalking strangers on 846 00:37:02,160 --> 00:37:05,320 Speaker 1: the internet, and many people have uh and continue to 847 00:37:05,400 --> 00:37:08,800 Speaker 1: use race, religion, and age as a tool to connect 848 00:37:08,840 --> 00:37:11,279 Speaker 1: with you and to part you from your money or 849 00:37:11,320 --> 00:37:13,960 Speaker 1: in the case of MLMs, it's often friendship that gets 850 00:37:13,960 --> 00:37:15,239 Speaker 1: you in the door, right, It's like kind of joined 851 00:37:15,239 --> 00:37:17,800 Speaker 1: me in this opportunity. It'll be fun. Uh, And you know, 852 00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:20,640 Speaker 1: you just trust your friend instinctively, and so you decide 853 00:37:20,840 --> 00:37:23,120 Speaker 1: to jump on board. But we would say, don't just 854 00:37:23,200 --> 00:37:25,719 Speaker 1: assume that because you know someone or you share the 855 00:37:25,800 --> 00:37:28,719 Speaker 1: same faith with that person, that their pitch is infallible. 856 00:37:29,080 --> 00:37:31,120 Speaker 1: And here's the thing too, Matt. I think sometimes people 857 00:37:31,160 --> 00:37:34,480 Speaker 1: feel the need to respond antagonistically if they feel like 858 00:37:34,520 --> 00:37:37,200 Speaker 1: that pitch is not appropriate for them and they want 859 00:37:37,239 --> 00:37:40,040 Speaker 1: to tell their friend all of the reasons that this 860 00:37:40,280 --> 00:37:43,360 Speaker 1: is actually made up gobbledygook. But I don't think you 861 00:37:43,440 --> 00:37:45,319 Speaker 1: necessarily have to write. You don't have to right all 862 00:37:45,360 --> 00:37:47,640 Speaker 1: the wrongs of this world necessarily. You can just use 863 00:37:47,680 --> 00:37:49,920 Speaker 1: a simple response like, uh, hey, I'm glad it's been 864 00:37:49,920 --> 00:37:51,440 Speaker 1: good for you, but I've already got too much on 865 00:37:51,520 --> 00:37:54,319 Speaker 1: my plate. And that simple response might be like, okay, cool, 866 00:37:54,320 --> 00:37:56,480 Speaker 1: I guess they're not interested. There's there's just no need 867 00:37:56,520 --> 00:37:59,080 Speaker 1: to argue the merits with someone who has drunk the 868 00:37:59,120 --> 00:38:02,040 Speaker 1: kool aid, because as that doesn't always work out. It's 869 00:38:02,120 --> 00:38:05,240 Speaker 1: like a protracted conversation where maybe you create some bitterness 870 00:38:05,280 --> 00:38:07,880 Speaker 1: in that friendship. That's true. Something else that we'd recommend 871 00:38:07,880 --> 00:38:10,799 Speaker 1: for folks as well is to take your time when 872 00:38:10,880 --> 00:38:14,440 Speaker 1: you are considering uh financial opportunity and also make sure 873 00:38:14,440 --> 00:38:16,640 Speaker 1: that you're doing your research as well. But scam waters, 874 00:38:16,719 --> 00:38:19,759 Speaker 1: they will almost always use time to their advantage, sort 875 00:38:19,760 --> 00:38:21,520 Speaker 1: of like what we're talking about earlier about being you know, 876 00:38:21,680 --> 00:38:23,479 Speaker 1: once you're on the line, whence you're on the phone, 877 00:38:23,960 --> 00:38:26,480 Speaker 1: they are not going to want to hang up. They're 878 00:38:26,480 --> 00:38:28,680 Speaker 1: gonna want to get you to head to the store, 879 00:38:29,040 --> 00:38:31,400 Speaker 1: buy those gift cards. That sort of thing. Same thing 880 00:38:31,440 --> 00:38:33,560 Speaker 1: with a utility scam that we talked about earlier, that 881 00:38:33,600 --> 00:38:36,680 Speaker 1: involves you having to give them money immediately. It's just 882 00:38:36,840 --> 00:38:39,080 Speaker 1: this shrewd tactic because it's harder to make a smart 883 00:38:39,160 --> 00:38:42,120 Speaker 1: decision when you're under the gun, when you're in a 884 00:38:42,160 --> 00:38:45,040 Speaker 1: pressure cooker. Right, So do your research, take your time, 885 00:38:45,560 --> 00:38:47,880 Speaker 1: and don't let any claim that you need to make 886 00:38:47,920 --> 00:38:50,960 Speaker 1: a decision now or being told that the opportunity it 887 00:38:51,000 --> 00:38:53,920 Speaker 1: will be gone forever. Don't let those tactics lead you 888 00:38:54,080 --> 00:38:57,440 Speaker 1: to act impulsively. What's so difficult, you know, like you're 889 00:38:57,480 --> 00:38:59,520 Speaker 1: you're talking about how like you don't want to be 890 00:38:59,520 --> 00:39:02,239 Speaker 1: suspicious of every relationship in your mind, Like that's what's 891 00:39:02,280 --> 00:39:04,080 Speaker 1: so crazy about a lot of these schames is that 892 00:39:04,200 --> 00:39:06,560 Speaker 1: it does involve some sort of relationship, right, whether that's 893 00:39:06,880 --> 00:39:09,520 Speaker 1: the trust you have with a certain company, or whether 894 00:39:09,600 --> 00:39:11,920 Speaker 1: it's because oh yeah, I'm acquaintances with this person, I 895 00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:13,680 Speaker 1: kind of know them, or even if it's somebody that 896 00:39:13,760 --> 00:39:15,359 Speaker 1: you think you love right go, kind of going back 897 00:39:15,360 --> 00:39:18,520 Speaker 1: to the different dating apps. Scammers target all those different 898 00:39:18,560 --> 00:39:20,920 Speaker 1: kinds of relationships, whether it be with a brand or 899 00:39:21,000 --> 00:39:23,520 Speaker 1: with someone who's closer to you, to take advantage of you, 900 00:39:23,600 --> 00:39:26,320 Speaker 1: to part you with your money. And so it's difficult 901 00:39:26,360 --> 00:39:27,920 Speaker 1: because what we're saying is like, you got to be 902 00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:30,560 Speaker 1: on alert, but don't be so un alert that you're 903 00:39:30,600 --> 00:39:32,879 Speaker 1: just this crazy person, right Like, like you don't want 904 00:39:32,920 --> 00:39:34,680 Speaker 1: to live in the equivalent of a bunker when it 905 00:39:34,760 --> 00:39:38,120 Speaker 1: comes to your relationships where you're just hunkering down. But 906 00:39:38,280 --> 00:39:40,680 Speaker 1: we do want you to think twice anytime you are 907 00:39:40,760 --> 00:39:43,120 Speaker 1: faced with some of these decisions. Just give pause and 908 00:39:43,200 --> 00:39:45,400 Speaker 1: think twice before you take any actions. Yeah, I think, 909 00:39:45,480 --> 00:39:47,840 Speaker 1: I mean, I think what you're saying is that you 910 00:39:47,880 --> 00:39:50,000 Speaker 1: don't have to be paranoid. But but I feel like 911 00:39:50,040 --> 00:39:51,840 Speaker 1: someone could listen to most of the episode and be like, 912 00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:54,480 Speaker 1: I should probably be paranoid because is there a zombie 913 00:39:54,560 --> 00:39:56,480 Speaker 1: behind me right now? Everyone's out to get me? And 914 00:39:56,600 --> 00:39:58,560 Speaker 1: so yeah, I should get my shot. I can kill 915 00:39:58,560 --> 00:40:01,359 Speaker 1: all those zombies. But you know I will say I don't. 916 00:40:01,440 --> 00:40:04,240 Speaker 1: I don't personally live in fear of internet con artists 917 00:40:04,360 --> 00:40:05,880 Speaker 1: or or that someone close to me is going to 918 00:40:05,960 --> 00:40:07,800 Speaker 1: try to steal my money from me. Right, I'm not 919 00:40:07,880 --> 00:40:11,080 Speaker 1: like line up awake at night when I opened watching 920 00:40:11,120 --> 00:40:12,840 Speaker 1: my wife's sleeps just in case she's gonna try to 921 00:40:12,880 --> 00:40:14,960 Speaker 1: scam me out of something. Right, Um, she's gonna try 922 00:40:15,000 --> 00:40:18,400 Speaker 1: to sell me some lie or some whole life insurance. 923 00:40:18,640 --> 00:40:20,640 Speaker 1: What's her problem? But I think the goal of this 924 00:40:20,719 --> 00:40:23,840 Speaker 1: episode it really is to raise awareness and to highlight 925 00:40:23,920 --> 00:40:27,120 Speaker 1: the fact that even intelligent people like our listeners, because 926 00:40:27,360 --> 00:40:29,160 Speaker 1: if you've been listening to the show for any amount 927 00:40:29,160 --> 00:40:32,839 Speaker 1: of time, you are a smart person, and anybody, even 928 00:40:32,920 --> 00:40:36,160 Speaker 1: you can fall victim for a scam. And at the 929 00:40:36,200 --> 00:40:38,200 Speaker 1: same time, scammers are getting savvy er, you know, they're 930 00:40:38,239 --> 00:40:40,880 Speaker 1: they're making those scams more difficult to identify. There's just 931 00:40:41,000 --> 00:40:44,640 Speaker 1: no foolproof way to avoid getting scammed completely and to 932 00:40:44,680 --> 00:40:46,640 Speaker 1: assure that you'll never get scammed for the rest of 933 00:40:46,719 --> 00:40:49,080 Speaker 1: your life. But you know, if scams are like zombies 934 00:40:49,120 --> 00:40:51,040 Speaker 1: in the Walking Dead math, then I think we'd all 935 00:40:51,080 --> 00:40:52,800 Speaker 1: be remissed to not carry a shotgun and take some 936 00:40:52,840 --> 00:40:54,759 Speaker 1: of the steps that we just outlined. Like you, you 937 00:40:54,800 --> 00:40:56,959 Speaker 1: want to make sure that you're prepared do those simple 938 00:40:57,000 --> 00:40:59,239 Speaker 1: tasks that we just outlined, and hopefully it will make 939 00:40:59,280 --> 00:41:03,279 Speaker 1: you scam resistant. That's that's our goal. That is right. Man. 940 00:41:03,360 --> 00:41:04,800 Speaker 1: Let's go ahead and get back to the beer that 941 00:41:04,960 --> 00:41:07,680 Speaker 1: we enjoyed during this episode. You and I we shared 942 00:41:07,760 --> 00:41:11,240 Speaker 1: a crawler of electric Venom. This is from Little Cottage Brewery, 943 00:41:11,760 --> 00:41:13,120 Speaker 1: and I will say with it being in a crawler, 944 00:41:13,200 --> 00:41:16,040 Speaker 1: you and I we both got a full sixteen ounces. 945 00:41:16,239 --> 00:41:18,200 Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure John filled this thing like up to 946 00:41:18,280 --> 00:41:20,600 Speaker 1: the brim before and before he gave it to you. 947 00:41:20,920 --> 00:41:23,000 Speaker 1: But man, how much pineapple juice do you think is 948 00:41:23,000 --> 00:41:25,480 Speaker 1: actually in this thing? Because there's more pineapple juice than 949 00:41:25,520 --> 00:41:28,200 Speaker 1: beer almost, like uh like, I mean that was the 950 00:41:28,280 --> 00:41:31,080 Speaker 1: first thing I could smell. We could crack the first 951 00:41:31,080 --> 00:41:32,600 Speaker 1: of all, it's a crawler, so when you crack the top, 952 00:41:32,640 --> 00:41:35,160 Speaker 1: it's like you're opening a drum of oil or something 953 00:41:35,239 --> 00:41:37,600 Speaker 1: like that. But yeah, as we poured this, I was like, 954 00:41:37,680 --> 00:41:41,400 Speaker 1: holy cow, Like the the amount of pineapple fragrance was 955 00:41:41,560 --> 00:41:44,279 Speaker 1: definitely noticeable. And as you're drinking it too. It's I mean, 956 00:41:44,320 --> 00:41:45,920 Speaker 1: that's the first thing I noticed. But it wasn't like 957 00:41:46,320 --> 00:41:48,600 Speaker 1: over over the top. It wasn't so much that it 958 00:41:48,760 --> 00:41:51,239 Speaker 1: was like that it overwhelmed the senses, right. It wasn't 959 00:41:51,239 --> 00:41:53,040 Speaker 1: too perfume me, I guess, is what I'm saying, because 960 00:41:53,040 --> 00:41:55,480 Speaker 1: there was a lot of actual fruit flavor within the beer. 961 00:41:55,960 --> 00:41:57,680 Speaker 1: Because a lot of times I get turned off if 962 00:41:57,920 --> 00:42:00,799 Speaker 1: like the smell doesn't match up with the eiver, then 963 00:42:00,880 --> 00:42:03,600 Speaker 1: something's wrong. And we've had beers like that before where 964 00:42:03,760 --> 00:42:06,160 Speaker 1: the fruit flavor it almost felt artificial, But this I 965 00:42:06,200 --> 00:42:08,480 Speaker 1: feel like there's nothing artificial about this pineapple. I feel 966 00:42:08,480 --> 00:42:11,520 Speaker 1: like I'm like biting into a giant pineapple, like it's 967 00:42:11,520 --> 00:42:14,719 Speaker 1: an apple pineapple. If nobody does that kind of like 968 00:42:15,120 --> 00:42:17,600 Speaker 1: cut the exterior. If you do that, you're like bleeding 969 00:42:17,640 --> 00:42:20,319 Speaker 1: cut it into cubes. Does does your mouth get tore 970 00:42:20,440 --> 00:42:22,600 Speaker 1: up if you eat fresh pineapple? Like, because it's kind 971 00:42:22,600 --> 00:42:24,279 Speaker 1: of like I don't know if it's what it is 972 00:42:24,320 --> 00:42:25,920 Speaker 1: about it, but like the actual fiber is kind of 973 00:42:26,200 --> 00:42:28,320 Speaker 1: stuff on the mouth. Don't you try to remember the 974 00:42:28,400 --> 00:42:29,960 Speaker 1: last time I had a fresh pineapple? I don't think so. 975 00:42:30,160 --> 00:42:31,920 Speaker 1: But you know, you don't even know what I'm talking 976 00:42:31,920 --> 00:42:34,880 Speaker 1: about how crazy. Yeah, Okay, if you're listening and if 977 00:42:34,960 --> 00:42:37,040 Speaker 1: you have to moderate the amount of pineapple that you 978 00:42:37,239 --> 00:42:40,000 Speaker 1: eat because it blisters up the inside of your mouth, 979 00:42:40,239 --> 00:42:41,880 Speaker 1: let me know, because that happens to me. I think 980 00:42:41,880 --> 00:42:43,640 Speaker 1: pineapple juice is one of the best ways to consume 981 00:42:43,760 --> 00:42:47,280 Speaker 1: finepple's delicious. And this should think like you gotta pinnick 982 00:42:47,320 --> 00:42:49,120 Speaker 1: a lotter or something, right, Yeah, And this beer had 983 00:42:49,160 --> 00:42:52,160 Speaker 1: a ton of just distinct pineapple vibes going on. It's 984 00:42:52,200 --> 00:42:54,319 Speaker 1: definitely the most pineapple beer I've ever had in my life. 985 00:42:54,600 --> 00:42:57,279 Speaker 1: But our friend John who who's the brewer over there. 986 00:42:57,560 --> 00:43:00,080 Speaker 1: He and an owner of Little Cottage Brewing. He as 987 00:43:00,080 --> 00:43:03,160 Speaker 1: a knack for making just ridiculously interesting beers that are 988 00:43:03,160 --> 00:43:06,000 Speaker 1: a little off the beaten path, but that anybody can enjoy, 989 00:43:06,120 --> 00:43:08,480 Speaker 1: I think. And so yeah, this, I think this beer 990 00:43:08,520 --> 00:43:10,680 Speaker 1: in particular is like one of the best representations of 991 00:43:11,080 --> 00:43:13,640 Speaker 1: how far in a particular direction he can go. He 992 00:43:13,680 --> 00:43:15,799 Speaker 1: can get crazy with it but still make it an 993 00:43:15,840 --> 00:43:18,920 Speaker 1: excellent final problem. Absolutely, Yeah, anybody who's in Atlanta and 994 00:43:18,960 --> 00:43:21,759 Speaker 1: hasn't been a Little Cottage you gotta go. Absolutely, it's 995 00:43:21,800 --> 00:43:24,000 Speaker 1: it's I mean, we've got a couple of favorite breweries 996 00:43:24,040 --> 00:43:27,319 Speaker 1: in here in Atlanta, but he he's tied for first. Also, yeah, 997 00:43:27,800 --> 00:43:29,520 Speaker 1: but it's the perfect amount of sweetness. There's like a 998 00:43:29,560 --> 00:43:31,640 Speaker 1: touch of tartness with this being a sour ale. But 999 00:43:32,160 --> 00:43:34,080 Speaker 1: I was curious if you're gonna note how sweet it was, 1000 00:43:34,160 --> 00:43:35,680 Speaker 1: because I felt like it was kind of pushing the 1001 00:43:35,800 --> 00:43:38,040 Speaker 1: envelope as far as how sweet you like your beers. 1002 00:43:38,080 --> 00:43:40,360 Speaker 1: I thought it was perfect, nice amount of sweetness with 1003 00:43:40,400 --> 00:43:42,600 Speaker 1: a touch of tartness, going yeah, yeah, I know, I agree, 1004 00:43:42,719 --> 00:43:44,920 Speaker 1: And yeah, it's definitely on, you know, higher on the 1005 00:43:44,960 --> 00:43:47,480 Speaker 1: sweet scale. But because it was like had a depth 1006 00:43:47,520 --> 00:43:49,839 Speaker 1: of juiciness to it, it kind of I was cool 1007 00:43:49,880 --> 00:43:51,560 Speaker 1: with it. It had the fruit to back it. Yes, 1008 00:43:52,160 --> 00:43:54,719 Speaker 1: for sure. Well, dude, cool. I'm glad you and I 1009 00:43:54,840 --> 00:43:56,640 Speaker 1: got to share this beer on the episode. Yeah, like 1010 00:43:56,719 --> 00:43:59,680 Speaker 1: Joel mentioned, everyone check out Little Cottage Brewery if you 1011 00:44:00,040 --> 00:44:02,640 Speaker 1: are going through Atlanta or if you live here, And 1012 00:44:02,800 --> 00:44:04,200 Speaker 1: we will make sure to have our show notes up 1013 00:44:04,200 --> 00:44:05,800 Speaker 1: on the website at how the Money dot com and 1014 00:44:05,840 --> 00:44:08,200 Speaker 1: we'll link to any of the resources that we mentioned 1015 00:44:08,400 --> 00:44:10,520 Speaker 1: during this episode. No doubt. By the way, if you 1016 00:44:10,560 --> 00:44:13,520 Speaker 1: haven't joined our Facebook group, it is a pleasant place 1017 00:44:13,600 --> 00:44:16,200 Speaker 1: where people help each other with their money questions. We've 1018 00:44:16,239 --> 00:44:18,439 Speaker 1: encourage you to go over to Facebook dot com type 1019 00:44:18,480 --> 00:44:20,840 Speaker 1: in how the money in the search line. I promise 1020 00:44:20,920 --> 00:44:23,040 Speaker 1: this is not a scam. It's just a truly good 1021 00:44:23,120 --> 00:44:25,960 Speaker 1: online resources where people can ask each other questions and 1022 00:44:26,160 --> 00:44:28,239 Speaker 1: receive help. So um, yeah, I feel free to check 1023 00:44:28,280 --> 00:44:30,600 Speaker 1: that out. But that's gonna do it for this episode. 1024 00:44:30,840 --> 00:44:33,960 Speaker 1: Until next time, Best Friends Out, Best Friends Out,