Googins Advisors
February Newsletter
February 13, 2025
Clients and Friends
Years ago I received a message that a friend of mine could not be located and her grandchild was locked in prison. Well, I wanted to help and I attempted to locate how I could help. Instead I learned how many friends she had as I bumped into others attempting to help. The grandchild was ok. It was a scam with a criminal trying to hold us up for money. I understand grandparents are a target anxious to help.
It was hard to believe; who or what would do such a thing? As it turns out; many people. In Wisconsin, a church elder received money from members for charity. But as money came in, he passed an amount on to another church member, until he was found out. This was a Ponzi scheme. Ponzi schemes continue today.
Some years ago, I thought I was correcting a situation with Pay Pal. No, it was not an employee of Pay Pal I was talking with and some inner bell rang after many minutes of “work” and I lost no money. I got off the phone and checked accounts. I had been tricked into moving some money but, fortunately, it moved from one of my accounts to another.
Requests for payments come to my e mail as the President of Googins Advisors, Inc. and our accountant, Kim Rankin sorts out the payments we owe from the ones we do not. I value her services.
Recently, I received a fine looking letter ostensibly from a bank account manager in Canada. I am the “beneficiary of a Googins who died recently but left money in an account affiliated with his bank and he will help me claim Forty Seven Million Five Hundred dollars and we can share 50/50 the money.” I did not believe the letter, yet many people have been scammed by those letters and proceeded to send money to help in the work of the eventual transfer of the money. No one benefits except the person or group sending the letter and convincing receiver to send money to help with the details in recovering the total amount.
It goes on and on and we must be alert and untrusting in similar events. People are victims or potential victims. People claiming to love you might come into your life and ask for money for many reasons. Perhaps you have only talked on the telephone but if “you pay for this trip, we can meet and all will be well.” Perhaps you receive a call about the huge sum of money you have won and if you just give out certain information, you can be properly thankful. “In fact, we would enjoy interviewing you on the television so others can know about your generosity.” Unfortunately, usually false.
“Seniors” are especially vulnerable. Many of us use the telephone to order and pay and not leave their homes as frequently as they once did. It has become easier to steal from them.
The rules protecting your accounts sometimes protect the thieves too. If we suspect information and we ask questions, you may disassociate yourself from us thinking we have outstepped our role. We respect your privacy and control; if you want to cancel or delay a request and further check your information, we can do that. There are suggestions of what you can do. But if you say nothing and friends or family try to warn us, and you have not given them power of attorney, our hands are tied. We have only few days to use and check with our regulators when we worry that a client is sending money to a thief.
It is known that relatives steal from older family members to a significant degree. Much of that is never reported because the victim is embarrassed. Our intention here is to explain our growing knowledge of the problem and ability to recognize scams or potential scams. Outside people wanting to steal your money are very skillful verbally and emotionally persuasive. We are attaching an addendum describing in an orderly fashion the many scams and schemes known today. Of course there will be more.
We all need to stay alert; please call us and others when you see a potential problem. We will work with you to help and learn. Unfortunately, there is no perfect solution at this time.
We thank you for all that you do to help and potential clients you send us.
Sincerely yours,
Louise Googins, President, Investment Advisor
Richard Martin, Investment Advisor
Michael Googins, Administrator
Kim Rankin, Accountant
Lynne Goldsmith, Investment Advisor
Dayton Hoffmann, Investment Advisor
Katie Gunderman, Intern
List of the top 10 types of fraud perpetrated against seniors as identified by The U.S. Senate Aging Committee, date unknown.
- IRS impersonation scams
- Lottery or sweepstakes scams
- Robocalls/unwanted phone calls
- Computer scams
- Identity theft
- Grandparent scams
- Elder financial abuse
- Grant scams
- Romance scams
- Home improvement scams
Additional scams:
Medicare/health insurance scams, Homeowners/reverse mortgage scams, repair scams, funeral/cemetery scams, and more.
“FraudSpeak – Learn the Lingo to Beat Scammers.” AARP. March 17, 2017
www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2017/fraud-scam-speak-terminology-guide.html
I worry about listing sites on the internet; however, this address seem to come up and appear to be in a number of articles.
How to Spot a Phishing Email
Spotting a phishing email is crucial to protecting yourself from online scams and cyber threats. Phishing emails are designed to deceive you into revealing personal information, passwords, financial data, or clicking on malicious links. Here are some tips to help you identify phishing emails:
Check the Sender’s Email Address carefully: Be cautious of email addresses that appear unusual or have misspellings, extra characters, or domains that look similar to legitimate ones. Hover over the sender’s email address to see the full email address. Legitimate organizations usually have consistent domain names.
Analyze the Salutation: Phishing emails often use generic salutations like “Dear Customer” instead of addressing you by your name. However, some phishing emails might have your name, so don’t solely rely on this as an indicator.
Look for Grammatical Errors and Typos: Phishing emails often contain spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, and awkward phrasing. Legitimate organizations usually have professional communication.
Check for Urgent or Threatening Language: Phishing emails often create a sense of urgency or use threatening language to pressure you into taking immediate action. Be skeptical of emails that demand urgent action.
Inspect the URL: Hover your cursor over any links in the email without clicking on them. The actual URL will be displayed in the bottom corner of your browser. Check if the URL matches the official website of the organization it claims to be from.
Don’t Trust Unsolicited Attachments: Avoid opening attachments in emails from unknown or unexpected sources. Malicious attachments can contain malware. Verify Requests for Personal Information: Legitimate organizations rarely ask for sensitive information like passwords, credit card numbers, or Social Security numbers via