Mature Life Features

. . . his neighbor took her dog

to a veterinarian for some tests

and now

she’s waiting for a lab report.

No Vaccine for Scam Season

There’s no serum developed yet to shield you from crooks and con artists. The best protection is a healthy dose of anti-greed. The following premise is a pretty powerful antidote: if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Some slick scams never go away. Ponzi schemes are by far the most notorious. They’ve been around so long that most people think they’d recognize one if it came their way. That’s rubbish. Gullible — and greedy — investors are pouring their money into these confidence schemes somewhere right now. All on the promise, by someone they trust, admire, respect or like, of above-average returns on their investments.

Think of the current headline-grabbing FTX crypto currency Ponzi scheme that funneled billions of dollars through the hands of 30-year-old Sam Bankman-Fried.

Offerings of viatical settlements persists. If you don’t know what that or any other investment proposal means, run away from it. Viatical oversimplified means that you buy a life insurance policy from a terminally ill patient for less than the policy payout. These transactions, whether you’re the buyer or seller, are fraught with perils.

The same applies to promissory notes often sold by independent insurance agents, according to the AARP Bulletin. These are often offered by little-known or non-existent companies with the promise of returns as high as 15 percent with supposedly little risk. Better to turn your back on such a can’t-miss sure-fire opportunity than fall flat on your fiscal face when you’ve been fooled out of your money.