This Mother's Day - and every day- moms should be on the lookout for some common scams that often target mothers and other caregivers, according to the Daily Finance.
Although mothers often go to great lengths to provide and care for their families, so do scammers, and there are some ripoffs out there that moms and caregivers may be more susceptible to.
A work-from-home job may appeal to many moms, as it will allows time to spend with the kids while earning some extra cash. While legitimate work-at-home jobs do exist, moms needs to be careful of any online job that promises easy, quick money, as these are almost always scams.
Some examples of such rip-offs are being asked to pay an upfront fee to begin, as well as, being required to buy equipment specifically from the company. According to Daily Finance, a legitimate work-from-home opportunity will allow you to buy equipment from an independent source, and should never require you to buy it from them as a condition of employment.
Daily Finance also says to look out for online jobs that ask for bank account details, as legitimate companies should be willing to write you a paper check or pay you through a trusted intermediary such as Paypal. Any job that involves transferring money in and out of your account or using it to deposit and send out checks is also a big no-no, as we live in an era of free online bill payments, and you should never have to pay comission to move money forward.
Scammers also prey on the warm-hearted moms who feel compelled to help those in need, using false cries for help like "I'm stranded in a foreign country!" to pull the heartstrings of those they spam.
According to Daily Finance, the scammer first contacts a parent or grandparent via email, telephone, text or social networking site, and then claims to be a relative overseas either stranded in their foreign land or in need of cash. Some scammers may even pretend to be a police officer on the phone to give the conversation a false air of legitimacy.
Moms should remember that regardless of a person's ability to pay, hospitals are required to give emergency care, as if there is a real medical problem payments can be worked out later. If someone is legitimately lost overseas, the state department also has a method for replacing lost or stolen passports, and lost or stolen credit cards can be replaced around the world relatively quickly. If needed, American Express Travelers Cheques can also be refunded in an emergency situation.
Moms who regularly manage the family budget and household spending may be tempted to turn to a credit card settlement company if they're in need of some financial assistance. However, the Daily Finance warns that a lot of shady folks operate these companies, and the worst of them "will charge you an arm and a leg to do what you could do yourself."
Remember that it's generally illegal "for a debt settlement company to require you to pay an up-front fee to negotiate with your lenders on your behalf...[and if] a settlement company makes you pay your money to them to have them pass it on to the credit card company, the "cure" may wind up worse than the disease."
Instead of going deeper into debt by paying someone to make her credit even worse, moms should instead call the lender and ask for a lower interest rate, as they are more likely to be flexible with customers who have had a good payment history. In addition, moms can call the credit card company directly and work out a settlement plan to help avoid any middleman fees.
Even though juggling a family and work can be tough, moms can make their jobs easier by keeping a sharp eye out for telltale signs of scammers, protecting themselves and their families from getting fooled and ripped-off.
