The Rachel Cruze Show - 8 New Money Scams to Watch Out For

Episode Date: April 4, 2025

📈 Are you on track with the Baby Steps? Get a free personalized plan.   Have you noticed money scams just keep getting sneakier? In this episode, find out how to spot eight common money scams so you can protect your wallet.   Next Steps: 🎥 Watch my video How Airlines and Other Retailers Are Robbing You Blind. 💵 Start your free budget today. Download the EveryDollar app!   Connect With Our Sponsors:   🏥 Learn more about Christian Healthcare Ministries. 🔒 Get 20% off when you join DeleteMe.   Explore More From Ramsey Network: 🍸 Smart Money Happy Hour 🎙️ The Ramsey Show   💸 The Ramsey Show Highlights 🧠 The Dr. John Delony Show 💰 George Kamel 🪑 Front Row Seat with Ken Coleman  📈 EntreLeadership   Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I am a firm believer that we should not live in fear. But let me tell you, lately there have been some money scams circulating that I think we should all be aware of. So we're going to talk about eight common financial scams that you need to watch out for. So first, make sure to subscribe to the channel and share this episode with a friend. Number one, your bank contacts you and says there's a fraudulent charge. So this happened to me, actually. They texted me and was like, oh, you have a fraudulent charge from Best Buy in California. And I was like, huh, oh no.

They said, is this your account? And I said, yes. And then I get a call. And when they called me from some number, I was like, hmm, it didn't even say like my bank's name at the top. So I was like, I think this is a scammer. So I called and I said, okay, can I have your name? Because after a while they were like, oh, hi, Ms. Cruz. You know, we're calling from such and such bank.

You know, we saw this fraudulent charge. We need to verify that this is your account. And I said, okay, can I get your name so that I can call the bank back and verify that it's actually the bank calling. and so I asked the young man on the phone to spell his name and he said F you and then proceeded to say the actual word to me. I screamed. I was like, oh my gosh. So I was a scammer that I caught that I caught. So listen, I never ever trust text messages, even emails you guys. So if anything has to do with your bank and your account, always call the bank directly. Even if they send you a

phone number to call, don't do it. Call the bank directly. Like, Google it yourself, find the number. They are so good. They are so good at getting your account information, scaring you that like, oh, no, something's wrong with your account, and you freak out. So verify that it is your bank. So big.

Okay, number two, this one is crazy, but the scam is that the police threatened to arrest you because you didn't pay a fine. So a warrant, quote unquote, is out for your arrest, and there's going to be cops that are going to be coming to your house to arrest you. And this could be everything because you didn't pay something,

you didn't show up for jury duty, but it has something to do with law enforcement. And this is a scary one because people are, oh my gosh, and they're like, if you don't pay the $2,000 right now, like you're going to jail and people freak out and, again, just give them, I guess, their account information. So listen, if that is you, the police, they're not going to just, like, call you and all of this.

So if you are scared, hang up and call the police station back. And if you do, more than likely they're going to say this is a scam. This has happened to two of my friends. They legitimately thought that they were going to be arrested. It's crazy. Number three, if Amazon or USPS texts you. So this one happened to me too. USPS, the Postal Service, texted me and said,

oh, your address was not verified in the account. And so we have to reship your package. So can you please give us your debit card information or credit card information? Because, you know, we have to reship and we have to pay for like inventory, you know, handling or something. and this one I fell for him. So I did give them my debit card information because I was expecting a package.

And then later that night, I was telling Winston, he was like, babe, I think that's a scam. So I went and pulled up the address again because they had texted me and I clicked on the website. And I looked up at the website, the name of it, the actual domain name, and it was like 8, 9, 4-2XS at whatever, whatever.

And it was just not good, not good at all. So they're not going to text you. Just know that. Number four is fake property tax bills in the mail. So if you just bought a house or maybe you refinanced, look out for very suspicious official looking documents when it comes to taxes and insurance. Again, if you get something and it freaks you out,

make sure to snap a picture, you can send it to your broker or your lending agent to see if it's legit, but they will get you that way. Now, for the ultimate protection from scammers and spammers, you have to check out and delete me. So delete me is a wonderful service because it goes in and removes all of your info that is online. And there's so much of our info online, you guys,

from our phone numbers, addresses, names, past employers. Like, it's just crazy what people can find on the internet. And what happens is these data brokers gather your information and they sell your information to other companies. And then that's when a lot of spammers start happening in scammers and all of it. So make sure to use Delete Me because it is a wonderful service that removes your information so it's not being spread all over the internet. So you can get 20% off your DeleteMe plan by going to joindelateme.com slash Rachel.

Number five is fake jury duty registration. So like I was mentioning earlier, that again, people are being threatened with jail time because they didn't show up for jury duty. This one is actually when they digitally contact you, they're saying, hey, we need all of your information. And so put your social security number, put your account information, all of this, because you are signing up for jury duty. So remember, if there's ever anything from the government, it will have a dot-gov, not a dot-org

address. So make sure to look at the specific website that you are filling out. And also, if you are requested for jury duty, it almost always comes through the mail. So you're never going to get an email with it. It is going to be actual mail coming through your mailbox. Number six is spam calls from a familiar area code. So sometimes these spam calls will use your area code and when you pick up, it's just like, oh, some telemarketer or whatever it is. And you're just like, oh, but again, you'll see it. Now, our phones have gotten better where they'll say potential spam. So if you're like me, you know, here in 2025, I think we all will let our phones go to

voicemail or I do if I don't know the number. And if it's important, they'll leave a voicemail. But other than that, I just ignore. Number seven is texts that are personal but vague. So they'll say like, hey, is now a good time or how did it go? Hey, did you figure it out? and so they're trying to get you to answer and be able to respond to that contact. So if you don't have that number saved that's asking all these vague questions, just don't even answer it

because there is a potential if you answer and reply, then they're going to have some of your data and a pinpoint back to you. So just ignore those. It is all spam. All right, number eight is packages with QR codes. So this happened to one of my friends' daughters who randomly got a package delivered to their house with a QR code. and if you scan it, then scammers get access to everything in your phone. Is that a nuts? So don't ever scan a QR code if it shows up in a package.

Just ignore it. So listen, in general, there's a lot of things out there, you guys, from spammers and scammers, but I want you to be able to avoid it. So look for these red flags and just usually ignore, because if something gets very, very urgent, they're going to find another way to contact you. But for more scams to avoid, make sure to check out my episode, how airlines and other retailers are robbing you blind. I will leave that episode right here,

so click it, or if you're listening on podcasts, click the link below. All right, you guys, remember to take control of your money and create a life you love.