{"id":952,"date":"2020-03-04T10:41:47","date_gmt":"2020-03-04T15:41:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/?p=952"},"modified":"2024-09-24T13:08:11","modified_gmt":"2024-09-24T17:08:11","slug":"smarter-than-the-scammer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/smarter-than-the-scammer\/","title":{"rendered":"Smarter Than The Scammer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This week, during National Consumer Protection week, our staff members are opening up and sharing stories of when they were scammed. Because no one is invincible to being #scammed. Let\u2019s keep the dialogue moving, share this post and your own scam stories and lessons learned.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Entangling yourself in a scam to see where it goes, or generally thinking you are smarter than the scammer will lead to loss. I know, because I\u2019ve been there. When I was living on my own far from friends and family, a magazine salesperson arrived at my door. After giving him a glass of water and listening to his dream of winning a contest affiliated with his magazine sales, I reviewed his long list of magazines and I agreed to subscribe. He instructed me to pay with a check or credit card. I knew doing this would give him all my account information and enable him to steal it. Or, I could pay cash. I grinned inside as I realized I had enough cash on hand to complete the transaction, $80. I gave it to him and signed up for four five-year subscriptions.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the transaction was complete, he ran out the door waving the pile of cash and barreled into his friend\u2019s car, as if leaving the scene of a bank robbery. I gave him exactly what he wanted\u2014my money without a trace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though at the time I was much less savvy than I am now, I, like you, considered myself to be smart and in the know. I was college educated and self-sufficient. Before I was scammed, I had no reason to question the honesty or validity of the seller I engaged with. Thinking back to the incident now, I am awash with shame. I regret my gullibility and naivet\u00e9 in thinking that a perfect stranger had no ill intent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are my scam lessons learned:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Practice safety first.\u00a0 Always check to see who is knocking on your
    door by looking through the peephole or out a window before opening the door. I
    was disarmed, because I expected a guest. Had I taken this step; I would not
    have opened the door to a stranger.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. If you open the door, it\u2019s fine to
    be kind to solicitors, but hospitality is not necessary. Keep solicitors
    outside and in view of neighbors.\u00a0 <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. If interested, get all the
    information and details in writing so you have time to consider and look into
    the offer.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Never pay on the spot.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Never pay for door-to-door purchases
    with cash, money order, bank check, personal check, wire transfer, gift cards
    (outside the merchant\u2019s website), peer-to-peer payment, bitcoin, and any other
    option that is not a credit card or known transmitter.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Once I was scammed, there are more things I\ncould have done to identify the scammer to authorities and prevent others from\nbeing victimized:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. I could have documented the license
      plate, make and model of the vehicle and reported the incident to the police.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. I could have gotten copies of materials
      related to the solicitation, and if he refused, written down the information.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. I could have filed a complaint
      with the Consumer Assistance Program so they could alert the public of such
      scams.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Magazine and door-to-door scammers are still\npresent today. At CAP, we most often hear about itinerant pavers that claim to\nbe in the area with extra materials and request payment from you to secure a\nsteep discount. Door-to-door meat sellers, chimney sweeps, and alarm installers\nhave also cold called Vermonters and have taken money without fulfilling\norders. The best way to avoid door-to-door scams is to wait before buying.\nAllowing yourself a waiting period gives you time to check into the company and\nthe offer and to talk it over with others. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The scam artist hopes that the instilled shame that we \u201cshould have known better\u201d will prevent us from sharing our story. Why? Because the best scam prevention tactic that we can all partake in is awareness. <\/a>This week, I shared my stories of being scammed because I know I am not alone, and I don\u2019t want others to experience what I have. The best thing we can do is band together as a strong Vermont community and fight the scammers by sharing our stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Have you ever been scammed? Tell us about it. Share this post and your own scam stories and lessons learned. The best form of prevention is awareness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Contributing Writer: Crystal Baldwin<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      This week, during National Consumer Protection week, our staff members are opening up and sharing stories of when they were scammed. Because no one is invincible to being #scammed. Let\u2019s keep the dialogue moving, share this post and your own scam stories and lessons learned. Entangling yourself in a scam to see where it goes,… Continue reading Smarter Than The Scammer<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4480,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[505556],"tags":[626561,481474,505505,520683,482450],"class_list":["post-952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-consumer-protection-week","tag-scammed","tag-consumer","tag-door-to-door","tag-magazine-scams","tag-scams","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4480"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=952"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/952\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1836,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/952\/revisions\/1836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}