Clark Howard: Here’s a key warning sign to avoid being scammed
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A small business owner is out almost $2,000 after criminals sold her an insurance policy that did not exist.
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Consumer adviser Clark Howard explains the warning signs she missed and what you need to know to spot fraud.
Criminals are constantly devising new ways to steal our wallets, and it is up to us to spot the scam and avoid being taken.
Fraud victim Mari Gomez is still amazed at how real the paperwork looks.
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Less than a week after acquiring a cleaning business license, she got a call.
“And they were like ‘oh, we got this new contract, this new contract for 110 homes,’” Gomez said.
But first, she would need to purchase liability insurance, which they can help her get.
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“This is why he tells me go to the lady from Coast Insurance. I said, ‘oh, thank you,’” Gomez said.
Nicole Diaz told her she was an agent with the company and was able to get her a policy, but she had to make a down payment at Chase Bank first.
Using her debit card, Gomez made the payment, hours later all communication was cut off and she knew something was wrong.
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Coastal Insurance later confirmed Nicole Diaz is not an employee and they get multiple calls each day from people who’ve been scammed.
There are things you can do to protect yourself.
Don’t answer calls from unknown numbers. Even if the caller ID has a legitimate company name, you must know that it may still be an imposter.
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If someone is offering you a service for your business, check them out and get quotes from others.
Howard said there is a pattern he’s noticing repeatedly with cons targeting small businesses and individual consumers.
It’s an “if-then.” We’ll do this for you, but you’ll have to do this other thing first.
That “if-then” is a key tip-off that you’re about to get taken.
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