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A disturbing new scam that is popping up across the nation relates to President Obama’s recent stimulus plan to aid barack-obama-stimulus-packagethe nation’s economy. With the nation hearing each day about bail out money going to big businesses, it is a reasonable assumption for consumers to think they too will get a piece of the action.

The latest scam surrounding the recession involves con men sending mail, email, or placing phone calls to alert people of their “services” to get cut in on the piece of the actual stimulus money. Unfortunately, as with many current scams, the websites and marketing materials of the companies look pretty legitimate. Many even feature the image of President Obama  or Vice President Biden on the site. People will see such images and assume that the service and the company is on the up and up.

What Happens in the Scam?
Since many people are desperate for financial help, they will be likely willing to divulge personal information in an effort to get a bit of that stimulus money. The scammers will send out materials that request personal information, including name, address, social security number and banking information. With just a few bits of your your vital information, these con artists can clean out your bank account, open new lines of credit in your name and virtually destroy your present credit rating in a very short period of time. Often this can occur before you even know what happened to you. Also, because some of these scams involve a “service”, many companies will also require some payment of sorts for the help. If you give out your credit card number, you can be charged for way more than a fake service.

How To Protect Yourself
You should never give out your personal information or financial details to any other individual unless you are absolutely sure of the identity of the receivers. It can be very easy for scammers to create very legitimate-looking websites and emails that will lead you to believe they are trust worthy. If you feel unsure about a company’s authenticity, check with the Better Business Bureau for information.

If you think you have already been scammed out of your money or personal information, contact the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection to report the scam.

Be sure to check out your credit card statements carefully each month and make sure there are no fraudulent charges. If you find something that doesn’t make sense, contact your credit card company immediately and report your findings.

Never consider yourself untouchable. Scammers will not discriminate and will be happy to take money from people of all financial status.



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