Watch out for the Pay Yourself scam

Heloise

Today’s Sound Off is about bank fraud commit- ted by scammers. Beware!

Dear Readers: There is a new scam going around called the “Pay Yourse lf ” scam, and it’s tricking peo- ple into handing over thousands of dollars that they’ll never get back.

First, you might receive an email or phone call (some- times a letter) that appears to be a legitimate form of con- tact from your bank. If you engage the scammer by call- ing the phone number they provide, they’ll ask for your help to uncover fraud in your account or fraud somewhere else in the bank.

If you receive any request from something that appears to come from your bank asking you to help uncover fraud, don’t get involved. It could be a scam. Call your bank directly and let them know what has happened. Under no circumstances should you send money to anyone or anyplace. (And the scammer will ask you to send money.) This is an attempt to drain your bank account.

A real bank would never ask you to get involved in fraud cases because they have better resources that keep them highly skilled in handling fraud. Nor would your bank ask you for per- sonal information or passwords.

So protect yourself. Ignore this sc am, and don’t get involved. —

Household Hints

Donation doldrums

Dear Heloise: Every day, we get six to eight letters in the mail from different organizations wanting donations. Most of them I’ve never heard of, but they come from all over the country. I live on a fixed income and can’t afford to send money to all of these charities and other worthy causes. I need an address I can write in to so that I can stop all these requests for money. — Dorothy H., Woodstock, Virginia

Dorothy, there isn’t just one address you can write in to. In order to stop these donation requests, you’ll need to contact each one individually. However, if someone calls, simply say, “I do not take solicitations by phone,” and then hang up. After all, you have no idea who is at the other end of the line. If it’s written mate- rial, dump it in your recy- cling basket. If it’s an email, you can reply to the requests with, “I do not care to make a donation now or in the future. Please do not con- tact me again.” It’s polite and to the point.

I have the same prob- lem as you do, and I hate all the requests for money from places I’ve never heard of. When someone calls, remind them that, by law, they must stop calling me once I’ve told them not to contact me again. Once you make a donation, your name gets put on a list, and a number of organizations will sell that list to increase their sources of revenue. —

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