CFT Finance

Scams are all around us. It’s an unfortunate truth about life, and it looks like the trend isn’t going to slow down at any point. In fact, thanks to the internet, many people have started to experiment with new and even more “creative” ways to take others’ money. You have to stay vigilant and pay attention to various factors if you want to stay safe.

Avoiding most types of scams comes down to common sense and attentiveness. Scammers often rely on making you feel like you have to do something very quickly, in order to trick you into paying less attention to what’s going on. They might also pose as someone you know and trust, in order to extract information from you that they will use later.

If It’s Too Good to Be True, It Probably Is

The most important motto to live by is the old saying “if it’s too good to be true, it probably is”. Many scams rely on making an attractive offer that you’ll find it hard to refuse. But take some time to evaluate the situation and find out what exactly you stand to get. In most cases, you’ll start seeing holes in the premise very quickly by just paying attention to some minor details.

If it’s about a special, exclusive deal, try to research it online to see if it’s happened before. If this is the first time that deal is up, this is a sign that something might not be right with what you’re being offered.

The Internet Is Full of Scammers

While many people expected the internet to be the bastion of information and a place where everyone can get educated on all sorts of topics easily, it turned out to be a bit different from that. Many scammers realized that it’s a great place to seek out new targets, mostly due to the easy way they can connect to other people, talk to them, and find out more information about them behind their backs.

Many of these scammers will approach you through some online form of communication, sometimes finding your details somewhere you’ve posted them publicly. They might even pretend to know you, for example by studying your profile and finding out details that you might think are concealed.

Preying on a Sense of Urgency

The most common red flag to watch out for is when a scammer is trying to rush you into making a decision. This is the way most scams work, and it usually boils down to creating a strong sense of urgency in the victim, in order to prevent them from thinking straight. Think about it – when you have a debt collector yelling in your ear that they’re going to send people to collect stuff from your home, this can immediately put you in a different mindset, one that prevents you from making the right decisions.

The bottom line is, if someone is trying to get you to hurry up with something, that’s a good sign that they’re trying to scam you.

Don’t Trust the Sender

Sometimes scammers might pose as people you know and trust. They can obtain this information online in a variety of ways, especially if you have public social media profiles. Talking to some of your friends and relatives to obtain information from them and then using it against you is a common tactic. And unfortunately, it can be difficult to defend against.

The way it generally goes is that you’ll be contacted by someone you know telling you that they have a huge problem and need money urgently. For example, they’re stuck in another country and need to catch a plane back. This combines the sense of trust with creating a sense of urgency like we described above, and can be a very powerful tactic when used right.

Protecting Your Electronic Devices

Many attackers will attempt to break into your electronic devices in order to obtain more information about you, or even to get direct access to your financial accounts and start transferring money from them. Protecting yourself against these problems is not very easy if you’re not a tech savvy person. But it’s important to take the time to study how digital security works whenever you can. It’s going to have a huge impact on your future, and this will only get more true as time goes by.

Even some more experienced people might occasionally fall victim to some of these scams. When an attacker has control over your computer, they can do a lot to mess with you and misrepresent the situation. You have to stay vigilant though, and remember to look for holes in their story that could potentially be used to expose them.

Having a bad credit score can be a problematic factor in many ways. It closes many doors in life, and puts you in a disadvantageous situation with regards to your personal finances. And yet, it’s not the end of the world – there’s usually a way out of that mess, as long as you’re willing to work hard for it.

If you can’t get a loan from your bank, you can try some alternative options. Not all of them will be ideal for you, and not all of them will be available either – but you’re not completely out of luck just because you can’t get a loan from your bank.

Secured Loan

Collateral can change a lot. It can completely transform the attitude of lenders in some cases, making them much more open to working with you. As long as you’re willing to put up something valuable enough as collateral on that loan, it can give you access to some great deals. Sometimes, lenders might also accept unique types of collateral that you might not even consider in the first place. Even digital assets are starting to get recognized in this regard – a valuable domain name is a good example.

Make sure that you’re ready to part with whatever you’re putting up though, unless you can guarantee that you’ll be able to pay off that loan on time. If it’s your car, this can seriously impair your ability to work and live in general, which can in turn make it more difficult to get back on your feet financially.

Pawn Shop

Many people look down on pawn shops, but for no good reason. They’re a pretty good way of getting your hands on extra cash when you need it the most, and most pawn shops can actually be quite reasonable when working with you. You’d be surprised how great some of those deals can be, as long as you have something worth putting up in the first place.

As long as you pay off the loan in time, there’s nothing to worry about. Or, on the other hand, you can also take the opportunity to get rid of something that you didn’t need in the first place. While a pawn shop might not give you the best price for your second-hand items, it’s at least a viable option that will take pretty much anything.

Payday Loan

Payday loans are another financial tool with an undeserved negative reputation. The main difference between them and other loan types is the repayment duration. A payday loan, as the name implies, is designed to be paid off roughly in the period of one paycheck. This also means that you’ll have a relatively low borrowing ceiling, depending on how much you earn at your job.

But on the bright side, they’re easily available and very easy to get approved for, making them a good deal for people who need urgent money. Just make sure that you can actually pay off the loan in time, and it’s not a bad option to consider.

Private Loan

Private loans from other people are also something you should not ignore. They often come with some strings attached – such as revealing that you have problems to someone else. But in the end, it’s the best option with regards to the potential impact on your finances in the long run. Defaulting on a regular loan is quite bad, but in this case, it won’t hurt your credit score.

On the other hand, it will hurt your relationship with someone, and that’s often more important down the road. With that in mind, if you decide to take out a private loan, make absolutely sure that you’re able to repay it.

Selling Old Assets

Last but not least, something we already touched on above briefly. Now might be a good time to take a long, hard look around your home and figure out if there’s anything that you should throw away. There are often lots of opportunities for that in the home of the average person, but most of us tend to have a somewhat unhealthy attachment to our possessions.

But you can see this as an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. You’ll not only improve your financial situation and prevent yourself from running into more problems, but you’ll also free up some space from all that clutter. This can be a surprisingly refreshing change in your lifestyle, and it’s often exactly what you need to do to “reset” your mind state and get back to business. You would be surprised how much clutter can affect our lives, and this is especially true for some people out there.