S3 E7: Scamming people out of their money is a billion-dollar global industry. Ignoring this fact in hopes it will never impact you is not only naïve, but in many ways irresponsible. Putting basic safeguards in place before you are the target of a financial scam is not very difficult, but does require a time commitment.

Host Jeff Harrell is stepping a little outside his comfort zone to address a topic that may not seem directly investment-related, but is crucial to your financial well-being, He outlines a few of the fundamental ways to minimize your risk of becoming a victim, with details about freezing your credit, using a password manager (properly), monitoring your account activity, and much more. He also tells the tale of the most memorable identity fraud incident he witnessed.

Failure to take security measures now because of the necessary time commitment could lead to countless more hours of stress, frustration—and potentially financial loss—later. After listening, you can decide for yourself if you would rather be proactive and prevent someone violating your privacy, or reactive and clean up the mess after you’ve been scammed.

(Season 3 Episode 7)

Resources Mentioned in Episode:

• ChooseFI podcast episode, “Cyber Security Update: Social Engineering & Pig Butchering”
• Credit Reporting Agencies (Credit Freeze page of their site): Equifax, Experian, Transunion
• Do Not Call Registry
• Data Removal Services: Deleteme, Incogni

Additional Resources:

• Charles Schwab article, “10 Tips for Keeping Your Accounts Secure”
• More Fraud Prevention articles from Schwab
• Scams – FTC Consumer Advice
• Have I Been Pwned?
• Are password managers safe in 2025?

Podcast produced by Ted Cragg of QuickEditPodcasts.com
Music Credit: Dream Cave / Adventure Awaits / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com