Take-Aways From a Seminar About Fraud

 One of the activities that I pack into my busy schedule is volunteering as a room host for the same non-profit educational foundation, Master the Possibilities, that I am a paid instructor for. In short, I take attendance at other faculty members’ classes and get to learn a lot of interesting things for free.

I recently attended a class about fraud and below are my key take-aways:

 

Multiple Channels of Fraudulent Outreach- There are many ways that fraud victims are contacted including by phone, text, and e-mail. Also, pop-up messages on a computer with fake virus warnings that trick people into taking action that exposes personal information. The pop-ups may tell victims to call a “tech support” number and then panic them into providing remote computer access, personal identification information, or payment for fake fixes.

 

Fraud vs. Scam- The terms fraud and scam are closely related, but they aren’t exactly the same. Fraud, a broader term, refers to intentional deception used to gain something of value (like money, property, or identity) from someone else. Fraud can happen in many settings. Scam is more of an everyday term. It refers to a specific trick or scheme designed to deceive a person directly, often online, over the phone, or in person, to steal money or information. Scams are a type of fraud.

 

Skimming Devices are Passe’- Bluetooth technology is increasingly being used in place of traditional skimming devices to steal credit card information. Criminals discreetly install Bluetooth-enabled skimmers on card readers or gas pumps and retrieve data wirelessly (think laptops in a parking lot) from a 30 foot range away. Bluetooth skimming makes detection harder, allowing thieves to collect card numbers remotely and avoid frequent physical recovery of devices.

 

Tap to Pay- Tapping a credit card (i.e., contactless technology) is the safest and fastest way to pay for purchases. It uses encrypted technology that protects your credit card number. Transactions are completed in seconds, reducing time at checkout and limiting exposure to fraud. Tap-to-pay cards generate a unique, one-time code for each transaction, which helps prevent hackers from reusing stolen data. This feature makes it much more secure than swiping or inserting a chip card.

 

Keep Your Credit Card Close- Follow a personal decision rule that states “nobody ever takes my credit card out of my sight.” While most employees are honest, dishonest waiters or clerks have an opportunity to skim a card or snap a cell phone photo of card numbers and misuse your data. Three alternative payment options at restaurants are 1. pay with cash, 2. request a remote credit card payment device, or 3. follow a waiter to a cash register to oversee the transaction. Granted, the last two can be awkward but they do reduce the risk of fraud.

 

Three More Things- 1. Don’t do Facebook games or quizzes (e.g. “Find a dog that looks like you”) that require answers to questions that could also be security questions, 2. Pull your credit report at least once a year to check for errors and evidence of identity theft, and 3. Freeze (block) your credit to prevent new (fraudulent) credit from being opened in your name and thaw (unlock) your credit for 24-48 hours if you need to borrow money, open a bank account, or get a new utility service.

This post provides general personal finance or consumer decision-making information and does not address all the variables that apply to an individual’s unique situation. It does not endorse specific products or services and should not be construed as legal or financial advice. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

Money Myths and Misperceptions

Last month (Financial Literacy Month), I attended a virtual conference for financial educators sponsored by Next Gen Personal Finance. One of the sessions was about money myths and misperceptions. Below are 12 statements and a brief explanation of why they are false:

“The most common scam contact method is e-mail”  FALSE

The #1 scam contact in 2025 was internet platforms (e.g., social media and What’s App messaging).

 

“Carrying a credit card balance can improve your credit score” FALSE

What’s needed to improve credit is to use a credit card regularly and pay at least the minimum due by the due date.

 

“Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) is not a form of debt like credit cards are” FALSE

When you use BNPL, you are borrowing money to make a purchase and agreeing to repay it later.

 

“There is no reason to save for retirement before age 40” FALSE

This myth ignores one of the most powerful forces in personal finance: compound interest growth.

 

“Buying a home is always better than renting” FALSE

Buying isn’t universally better. It depends on your finances, timeline, and local housing market.

 

“You only have one credit score” FALSE

Different credit scoring models exist and there are also multiple versions of each (e.g., different FICO scores).

 

“You can be too old to invest in stocks” FALSE

There is no age limit on investing in stocks, which historically help protect against inflation.

 

“At age 40 (or 50), it’s too late to start saving for retirement” FALSE

You still have time for growth because time + compound interest can grow meaningful savings.

 

“Making minimum payments on a credit card is fine” FALSE

Making only minimum payments can keep you in debt for years and cost you a lot in interest.

 

“If an item is more expensive, it’s better” FALSE

Being expensive doesn’t guarantee it’s better. It may just be priced higher (e.g., brand names).

 

“Stocks are too risky” FALSE

Risk depends on how you invest, not just what you invest in. Also risk varies widely within stocks.

This post provides general personal finance or consumer decision-making information and does not address all the variables that apply to an individual’s unique situation. It does not endorse specific products or services and should not be construed as legal or financial advice. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

Insights From a Virtual Financial Education Conference

Last month (Financial Literacy Month), I attended a virtual conference for financial educators sponsored by Next Gen Personal Finance. Below are some key take-aways:

The Power of Story-Telling- Personal stories make financial education successful. There were conversations in the meeting chat about teachers sharing their paychecks with students (it is public information anyway!) for transparency and as a “real world” example. Ditto for sharing credit scores.

 

Your Future Self- “Future Me” and “Current Me” are the same exact person. If you are not prioritizing something for “Future Me” today, chances are you are not going to magically change and act on it later. Take action in small steps so you don’t have to make a big change all at once.

 

Binding Contracts- Enter into “binding contracts” that give “Current Me” no choice but to accept better financial decisions that provide for “Future Me.” Examples include automated retirement plan savings and auto-escalation that increases savings contributions when employees receive a raise.

 

Lack of Affordability- Young people, in particular, feel that they are priced out of the economy. As a potential path forward, some try sports betting and prediction markets, where people enter into contracts based on the outcome of future events such as elections and sports.

 

Financial Nihilism- This is the belief that some people hold that traditional investments like stocks are futile and “the system is rigged,” driving them to choose risky strategies in an effort to find a shortcut to prosperity. Think cryptocurrency, sports betting, and online gambling.

 

Public Policy Influences- People make money management decisions as a result of laws passed by legislators and other government policies. Think retirement savings plan contributions, charitable gifting, tax-free investments (including Roth accounts), required minimum distributions, and more.

 

Financial Stressors- Causes of financial stress include increased prices for essentials (food, gas, etc.) and AI taking away jobs. Many Americans also feel that the economy is stacked against them. Financial educators and advisors can help people focus on factors that they can control as an antidote to anxiety.

 

Medicare Advantage Plans- People in Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans who experience problems with covered expenses and participating providers may not be able to purchase a Medigap (supplement) policy if they want to switch back to Original Medicare. Only four guaranteed issue states (CT, MA, NY, ME) allow people to purchase or switch plans without medical underwriting.

 

More About Medicare Advantage- Leading cancer centers like Sloan Kettering and Moffit do not take it. If Medicare Advantage is the only choice for retiree health insurance benefits, people might consider walking away from a flawed earned benefit. Instead, choose a G plan and keep it for the rest of your life. Quote: “Healthy people swear by Medicare Advantage and sick people swear at it.”

This post provides general personal finance or consumer decision-making information and does not address all the variables that apply to an individual’s unique situation. It does not endorse specific products or services and should not be construed as legal or financial advice. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

 

 

Estate Planning Insights From a Webinar

 

I recently attended a webinar about estate planning that was sponsored by Fidelity Investments. Below are nine key takeaways:

Define Your Goals- Think about your values, the legacy you want to leave for your family or society, and the needs of your heirs. Estate planning is about creating a legacy and making end-of-life health and financial decisions easy for loved ones.

 

Prepare Four Key Documents- Confirm that you have a will, power of attorney, health care proxy, and living will. Everyone has an estate plan because, if you don’t make decisions, you state may make them for you (e.g., dying intestate without a will).

 

Identify Surrogates- Key people named in legal documents are the executor and a guardian for minor children in a will, a power of attorney to make financial decisions on your behalf, a health care proxy to make health care decisions on your behalf, and a trustee, if applicable. Also name back-up (Plan B) contingent surrogates.

 

Avoid Conflicting Documents- Make sure that legal documents are in synch with documents that name beneficiaries or survivors. Beneficiary designations and joint tenancy with right of survivorship will override what is stated in a will.

 

Don’t Tamper with Legal Documents- A speaker noted that even something like un-stapling the pages in a will could be taken as an indication that it was tempered with and slow down the process of settling an estate.

 

Decide What Is Fair- There is no law requiring that assets be divided equally among adult children. People who make wills should consider income disparities and beneficiaries’ use of public funds (e.g., SSI), so as not to disqualify them from receiving benefits.

 

Consider Personal Characteristics- Factors to consider in the selection of surrogates are their age, where they live, how responsible they are, their financial knowledge, and their skill set (e.g., using Excel spreadsheets). Also name “Plan B” contingent surrogates for key roles.

 

Communicate With Surrogates- Discuss your feelings about issues such as end-of-life care. A lot of people never have these discussions. An example was given of someone who does not want feeding tubes while their surrogate was thinking “I’ll leave you on feeding tubes forever.”

 

Learn About Probate- Serving as an executor is a job! Key duties are filing court papers, paying taxes, paying debts, and distributing remaining assets via the terms of a will. The average time that probate takes for an estate between $1million and $5 million is 15.9 months.

 

Review Your Documents- Review estate planning documents every 3-5 years or more frequently as a result of life events (e.g., divorce and widowhood), major tax law changes, moving to a new state, or receiving a large sum of money.

This post provides general personal finance or consumer decision-making information and does not address all the variables that apply to an individual’s unique situation. It does not endorse specific products or services and should not be construed as legal or financial advice. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

Investment Basics

I recently taught a basic investing class for an audience of older adults. Below are some of the key take-aways related to investment principles, investment characteristics, and later life investing:

Common Investment Concerns- In later life, investment concerns include income generation from investments, decumulation (spending down assets), sequence of return risk (negative returns early in retirement), inheriting unfamiliar investments from others, market volatility, tax implications such as required minimum distributions, possible cognitive decline, and passing securities on to heirs.

 

Saving and Investing- Savings is money held in cash assets such as online bank accounts, money market funds, and CDs. It is generally used for short-term goals and emergencies and also useful for older adults as a “buffer account” for older adults to hedge sequence of returns risk. Investments are used to increase net worth over time and achieve long-term financial goals (generally 5+ years away).

 

Investment Risk- Risk in investing is uncertainty about future investment returns and whether you will lose investment principal or see it grow over time. There are many sources of investment risk including business failure, inflation rates, jobs reports, politics, interest rate changes, currency value changes (international investments), and a “herd mentality” in response to market trends.

 

Risk Reduction Strategies- Investment risk cannot be eliminated but it can be reduced. Three common strategies are diversification (holding a mix of different types of investments), buy and hold (not panicking and selling investments during market downturns), and dollar-cost averaging (investing regular amounts of money or making withdrawals at regular time intervals (e.g., $500 monthly).

 

Asset Allocation- This is the ratio of stocks, bonds, cash, and other asset types in your portfolio and is a primary determinant of investment success according to numerous research studies. Factors that affect asset allocation include investment goals, time horizon, investment risk tolerance, time and skill to manage investments, taxes, and, for older adults, availability of guaranteed income sources.

 

Investment Categories- There are two types of investments: ownership (where you own a piece of something) and loanership (where you lend money to a government entity or corporation). Ownership assets include stock, stock mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), real estate, and collectibles. Loanership assets include bonds and bond mutual funds and ETFs.

 

Hybrid Investment- ETFs are a cross between stock (where you are part owner of a company through your shares that trade on a stock exchange) and index mutual funds (mutual funds that track a market index like the S&P 500). ETFs are similar in composition to index-tracking mutual funds but trade like stock on a stock exchange.

 

Older Investors’ Mutual Fund Dilemma- Mutual funds are required by law to pass their earnings on to investors. This can cause a big tax problem for older adults with accounts that have grown for decades. If they sell shares, they face capital gains tax and if they stand pat, they face increasingly larger taxable distributions. There is one escape hatch: donate appreciated securities to charity.

This post provides general personal finance or consumer decision-making information and does not address all the variables that apply to an individual’s unique situation. It does not endorse specific products or services and should not be construed as legal or financial advice. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.