Opinion: How to stay safe from financial scams

A good strategy to protect yourself from financial scams is to verify the identity of anyone who contacts you and claims to be your bank by hanging up and placing a call to a confirmed number yourself. — AP

One of the biggest mistakes you can make when it comes to protecting yourself from financial scams is thinking you’re too smart to be duped by one.

“We’re all vulnerable – we can all fall for a scam given the right set of circumstances,” says Eva Velasquez, president and CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center, a nonprofit organisation that provides advice and assistance related to identity theft. Keeping yourself safe starts with accepting that fact, she adds.