Back a few years ago I was asked by insurance agent from another company, “what is the most affordable life insurance for elderly people?”  I thought for a second and replied, “it all depends on the person’s situation.”

I could tell when I made this remark the other insurance agent did not agree with me at all.  In fact he proceeded to lecture me for next hour why term insurance is the only life insurance you should ever buy.   In the end I still disagreed and left it at that.

The truth is one type of insurance  is not always right for everybody, so if you’re  an elderly person looking for affordable life insurance you will want to read this article as I will be discussing all the options available as well as debunking a few myths that people have gotten caught up in.

What Options Do You Have

In this section I am going to cover the different types of insurances out there and how they work.  Take some time learn about these options before you get dead set on any particular one.

Term Insurance

Term is usually your cheapest option available.   The way it works is you are buying life insurance for a predetermined amount of time.  They usually range from as little as five years to 30 years in length.

The length of time a policy last also determines the cost of the policy.  In most cases a five year term policy will cost a lot less than a 30 year policy because the amount of risk the insurance company has to take on is a lot less.  With longer term policies they have to take on more risk hence higher premiums.

Whole Life Insurance

A whole life insurance policy is a permanent policy the does exactly what it says, covers you for your whole life.   In fact, it not only last your whole life but the premiums last your whole life as well.

These types of policies are meant to be paid on till you die.  However, not all of the money you pay into this policy goes towards the cost of insurance.  Some of it goes towards your cash value which earns a fixed rate of return, usually ranging from 3% to 5%.

Index Universal Life

This is a newer type of insurance that is a close cousin of the whole life policy but with some much added benefits.  First, the policy is universal, which means it’s flexible.  For example in a whole life policy if you would stop paying your premiums on your policy would lapse and you would lose the coverage, but in a universal life policy you could miss a payment and be OK as long as you had money in the cash value of the policy it would continue to pull money from it till it would exhaust the account.

The policy is also called an indexed universal life policy because you can invest some or even all of the money in an indexed account based on the S&P 500 minus dividends usually.  In the indexed account you will never earn less than zero but there is usually a cap of 8%, which means you won’t be able to earn more than that.  Each company varies their cap on the interest rate but 8% is standard for most companies.

However if you decide you don’t like the indexed option most companies also have a fixed option which earns a fixed return around 3% to 5%.  With some companies you may also be able to split where you invest the money as well, you could put 50% in fixed and 50% in the indexed fund.

Variable Universal Life

Variable Universal Life Insurance, also known as VUL, is a close cousin to the index universal life policy except for a few things.  First, the policy is universal and flexible just like the indexed policy.

Second, a VUL is variable and not indexed which means it is invested in the stock market just like your mutual funds and 401ks.  This also means it can lose money like any other investment.

Why Term Insurance Isn’t Always The Best

With all of the benefits term insurance has it may not always be the most suitable option.  It may be the most affordable life insurance for elderly people but it doesn’t necessarily mean it will do everything you want it to.

Recently I read a book by renowned author Dave Ramsey who claimed that term insurance was the only type of insurance you should buy.  In fact he went on to say that you should buy a term policy and invest the difference.

To everyone who reads his book and don’t know much about insurance probably thought this was a great idea.  However, let me just punch a few holes in this myth before we move on.  The first issue I have with this idea is that Dave mentions in his book, The Total Money Makeover, that if you would buy a term policy at a young age a cheaper price you could save the difference and by the time you got to retirement you would have enough money saved up that you wouldn’t need the insurance anymore.

I’ve worked in the insurance industry for four and a half years and there is one thing I learned in that time, if I did not physically help that person set up an account and help them save the money, it won’t happen.  You could tell them all you want but more than likely they will forget or some type of emergency will come up and they’ll spend the money any ways.

Second, if you got a 30 year term policy at the age of 30, this would mean the policies contract would expire at age 60.  Now let me ask you, would there be a better chance that you would die between the ages of 30 and 60 or 60 and older?

Now there is a chance that you might die before the 30 year term policy ends but in most cases that won’t happen.  You would be more likely to die at age 60 and older.  This means that you paid for 30 years of nothing and a risk that did not happen.  This would be like renting an apartment and not living in it.

Finally, when you past age 60 and realize you don’t have enough money in place to cover all of your expenses you realize that you need more life insurance, and that it’s going to cost you a lot more.  In fact you’re also more likely to have more medical conditions at that time such as heart problems, cancer, or any other life threating illness which could deny you from getting any coverage at all.

If you’re reading this article and have fallen into anyone of the above situations my heart goes out to you.

Why I Have A Permanent Life Insurance Policy

With all the mess a term policy could cause why do I like my permanent policy?  Think of it like this, if you’re reading this article you probably have some type of health insurance.  If you’ve had it for some time you’ve probably used it already.  You might have used it for you doctor visits, buying prescriptions, or even if you went to the emergency room.  The point is you used it, so why not your life insurance?

The point I’m trying to make is that I can’t guarantee how long you’ll live, or when you’ll die but I can guarantee that you will die someday and wouldn’t it be better to leave your loved ones better off then you found them.  Not with a pile of debt in their lap and not to mention going through the entire process of probate and paying estate taxes.

UGH!!!

This is why I have a permanent policy.

Your Options…

In this final section I’m going to give you a few tips to help you out.

1. Talk to several insurance agents and get term and permanent quotes.  Getting several quotes will allow you to compare all the options.  Don’t just go with the guy you’ve known for years just because you know him.  You may be passing up better deals than you realize.  I did this for years with my car and homeowner insurance till a neighbor stop by one day and showed me what I was missing out on.
2. The cheapest policy is not always the best policy. Make sure you check the companies ratings, A++ and A+ are the best a company can get.  This rating means that they are a superior company in meeting the needs of their of their client insurance obligations.
3. What is the insurance for? If you don’t need it don’t get it.  I’ve seen some fast talking insurance agents that could sell penguins fur coats, but it doesn’t mean you necessarily need it.
4. Get only what you need. If you only need $25,000 don’t get a penny more.  Insurance companies charge per thousand so if $25,000 will cover you just get that.
5. Make sure it covers your needs. If someone says you need $500,000 of life insurance make sure it’s for the right reason?  If you don’t have debt or the need to cover the loss of a breadwinner why do you need the insurance?

In Closing…

Follow the tips I have shown you above and buying life insurance for elderly people will go a lot smoother.  There are a lot of people out there trying to take advantage of people and their money so make sure you consider all you options before you decide.

The Guide To Life Insurance For Elderly People is a post from: StumbleForward.com

Are you in debt up to your eyeballs? In this article I’m not going to be talking about some new fly by night get out of debt strategy but rather a proven system by one of the most revered men on the subject of teaching others how to get out of debt.

In this article I am going to be reviewing the Dave Ramsey Baby Steps Plan with a fine tooth comb and giving you all the good and bad things about his makeover plan.

The Dave Ramsey Baby Steps Plan

Dave Ramsey’s plan is unlike any other get out of debt plan I’ve ever come across.   In fact the Dave Ramsey Baby Steps Plan is more than just a plan to get out of debt it’s a way of life.

Dave Ramsey’s baby steps plan, also known as The Total Money Makeover, is made up of seven major steps which are designed to help you focus on specific areas of your finances.  They were designed to be followed on chronological order from beginning to end, they are as follows.

Step 1:  Save $1000 Fast

The first step in this plan is to save $1000 as fast as you can.  You might be thinking why should I save money when I have debt to pay off?  The reasoning behind this is so you have that cushion between you and falling into anymore financial traps.

Things like unexpected car repairs, medical bills, and anything else you can think of will take a huge toll on your finances.  So the first thing you need to do is save some cash fast.

If are wondering how you might come up with this extra money take a look at this article to get a few ideas for what you should do.

Step 2: Pay Off All Debt Using The Debt Snowball Plan

This step is where you put together what is called a debt snowball plan and start paying down debt rapidly.  If you you’re not sure how to put this type of plan together you can learn more about it here.

In this step you will also pay off all of your debt except your mortgage.   Why is this?  Mostly because this debt takes the longest to pay off and also has some extra added tax benefits which will help lower your tax burden.

Step 3:  Build 3 To 6 Months Of Expenses In Savings

Now that we have are debt paid off we want to continue building that emergency fund that we started in step one.  At this point we should have a budget together and know how much we are spending on everything we buy.

We should know how much we are spending and where it is going.  So figure out how much your expenses are for the month and times it by 6 and this will be what you need for a six month emergency fund.  If that number looks too big to you cut it in half and start with a 3 month emergency fund.

Step 4:  Invest 15% Of Your Household Income For Retirement

At this point you should have the ball rolling.  In this step we want to maximize on our retirement saving by setting aside at least 15% of your household income into some type of long term investment such as a mutual fund or 401k.

For example let’s say at your job you are contributing 3% of your paycheck to your 401k and they’re matching it 100%.  This means that you are contributing 6% to your retirement fund.  If your spouse is doing the same then you are saving 12% and only need save 3% more.

Step 5:  College Funding For Children

In step 5 of the Dave Ramsey Baby Step Plan you want to focus on saving some money for your kids college education, but only after you’ve paid yourself first.  Sometimes as parents we tend to give everything to our kids first.  College funding is important but make sure you are on track first before you decide to help someone else out.

If you’re wondering where to find a good college check out Peterson’s.  On this website you will be able to find information about any college around the country from the cost of tuition, rates on room and board, to the type of degree programs they have.

Step 6: Pay Off Your House Early

In this step once we have taken care of the savings aspect so we can now turn our attention to paying off the biggest debt of all, your mortgage.  In this step Dave recommends that you don’t use any more than 25% of your income for mortgage payments.  He also says that you shouldn’t have a mortgage with a term any longer than 15 years.

He says mortgages at 15 years have lower interest rates and in the long run you’ll pay less interest as a result.

Step 7:  Build Wealth And Give

You did it!  At this point you’ve paid off all of your debt and should be on track to build great wealth for you and your family to come.  In fact, you will be on track to change future generations for years to come all because you followed this plan.

Now that you have your debt paid this gives you a great opportunity to give back to others.  This can be anything from donating to a charity, to giving to your church, or even as simple as making a mortgage payment for someone who is having a tough time paying their bills.

What I Like About Dave’s Plan

• First off, Dave Ramsey’s plan offers a place to start from with a step by step approach.  One of the biggest problems people face is that they get too overwhelmed by all the bills they have.  It feels as if you’re going to be in debt forever.

• Second, this plan forces you to focus on one particular area of your finance’s at a time.  Instead of looking at everything as a whole Dave’s plan breaks everything down for you into simple bit size pieces.

• Finally, this is not just a plan to get out of debt it’s a way of life.  The Dave Ramsey Baby Steps Plan is a total money makeover from start to finish.  It not only helps you pay off all of your debt but also helps you save more money than you could ever imagine.

What I Didn’t Like About The Baby Steps Plan

With all the things I love about this plan there are just a few things I don’t like about this plan.  So to keep things fair and balanced I am going to give you a few things that bother me about this plan.

In Dave Ramsey’s book he mentions you should get rid of all of your credit cards and only use a debit card.   It’s hard to agree with this, in fact he claims that rewards cards are not worth it and you hardly ever get the rewards from them.  I have a Marathon MasterCard and have been getting a 5% rebate on all of the gas I bought from day 1.

Dave also claims that people who have credit cards spend 30% more than if they would have just used debit or cash.  I can agree with Dave to an extent but the same can hold true with a debit card.  If you can have access to your money 24/7 what stopping you from going to the nearest ATM and withdrawing an extra $20.

Second, I don’t agree with Dave’s Plan on the fact you should only ever own term insurance because everything else is too expensive.  In fact in his book, The Total Money Makeover, Dave says you can buy a term policy for as little as $7 a month.

This might be true if your 20 years old and have no health issues, but if your 60 years old and coming off of a 30 year term policy and you didn’t save any money, or blew it all, a 30 year term policy will cost you dearly.  I’m not going to go into this in great detail now but just know that a term policy isn’t right for everyone.

Finally, Dave’s Plan says you should save for your child college education in either an ESA (Education Savings Account) or a 529 college savings plan.  The thing I don’t like about these plans is what if my child doesn’t go to college; can I still give them the money?

The answer is yes but at a price, you will have to pay taxes on all of the money you saved or you can give it to another child that is going to college.

Furthermore, do you really want to pay for all of your child’s education?  I can tell you that my parents had no plan in mind to even help me pay for my college education.  Not because they might have been poor but because they wanted me learn how to work for what I wanted in life and not to be given everything at the drop of hat.

Sure, I’ll give my child some money to get started but am I going to pay for their entire college education?

Nope.

Who Is This Plan Meant For

The Total Money Makeover is proven plan for financial fitness, but this plan isn’t for everyone.  If you’re someone who has no debt and saving a good chunk of your money this plan isn’t for you.  So who is this plan for?

If you’re someone who can’t handle money well this program is meant for you.   If you’re the type of person that spends money without reasoning or thought of what you’re doing this program can help you.

If your someone who wants to do more with their life than worry about living day to day paying your bills.  The Dave Ramsey Baby Steps Plan can help you.

Call To Action

Well, are you going to do it?  Are you going to let another day much less a second go by living life the way you are.  What I’m saying is you have complete power to change your situation right now or just throw up your hands to the mess and do nothing.

There is a saying that Dave mentions in his book, The Total Money Makeover, and that is,” If you will live like no one else, later you can live like no one else.” That means if you stop right now and focus all of your attention to this plan someday you could be living the life like no one else.  It may not happen today or tomorrow but it will happen.   The Dave Ramsey Baby Steps Plan can give you the freedom you’re looking for.

This post was recently featured on the Money Hacks Carnival by The Financial Blogger.

The Dave Ramsey Baby Steps Review is a post from: StumbleForward.com

If you have reached this page looking for some quick fix to your credit or fast credit repair you will want to read this before you continue looking. Today they’re more people in debt than ever before.

More people are filing for bankruptcy and foreclosure than ever. People are looking for some way to get out of this mess. Unfortunately it’s usually those that are the lowest on the totem pole that fall for these frauds and scams.

Credit Repair Scams Reveled

The point I am trying to make here is that most credit repair agencies are scams.  I know I’m being a bit blunt when I say this because it’s for your own good before you go blowing your money on some instant credit repair secrets scam.

With hundreds of thousands of people’s credit in the dumps these days were all looking for some quick fix to boost are credit up.  The point I’m making is that the, “repair my credit now,” store down the street is nothing more than a scam.

Why?

One, because everything they say they can do you can do also.  Yup, you can fix your credit report yourself.  You don’t need some credit repair agency or some special credit repair software that fixes your credit, much less pay them money.

Two, they don’t have any special tricks up their sleeves to instantly fix your credit fast or give you the secret you’ve been looking for to make your credit go from 450 to 850 over night.  It doesn’t work that way.

Finally, if you do have a bankruptcy, foreclosure or tax lien on your record, a credit repair agency is not going to have any power to wipe that black mark off of your credit report.  It’s impossible to do.  The only thing you can do is wait till they wipe the slate clean.  This could take anywhere from seven to ten years.

So How Do I Repair My Credit Now

In order for you to repair your credit we need to address a few questions first.  Ask yourself this…

• Why do your have bad credit? What got you into this situation in the first place? Was it massive amounts of credit card debt? Was it a job loss? Was it poor money management skills? What was it? Pin point the reason you have bad credit.
• If you had better credit what would you do with it? Isyour plan is to take on more debt or credit? The reason I ask these questions is because if your plan is repair your credit just so you take on another loan you’re heading right back to where you started.

Why?

Because a credit repair agency or credit repair software is not going to solve the entire problem.  Nope, it may help you improve your report but it won’t better you in any way.  It won’t get rid of the debt problems you’re facing.

What You Should Focus On

Instead of focusing on a fast credit repair agency take a step back and look at a plan that solves the entire problem from saving to paying off debt to saving for retirement.

It’s called The Seven Baby Step Plan from Dave Ramsey.   The great thing about this plan is it walks you through a simple proven process that will help you not only get out of debt but put you in a position to stay debt free forever.

I could sit here and talk about all kinds of different ways to get out of debt and repair your credit but Dave Ramsey’s plan is by far the simplest to follow.

In Closing…

Credit repair doesn’t work because there’s no such thing as a quick fix to your credit.   The best way to fix your situation is by following the seven baby steps plan I mentioned above.

Chris

This post was recently featured on the Money Hacks Carnival by Amateur Asset Allocator.

Instant Credit Repair Secrets: Credit Repair Scams Reveled is a post from: StumbleForward.com

Hey everyone I have yet another PayPal Email Scam for you.  These scammers just won’t give up.  They’re just going to keep trying until your not looking one day and then wham!  They’ll have you by the noose and no where to turn.

Recently, I spoke about how these scammers where sending emails claiming you had to many log in attempt and even going as far as to set up fake websites to get your valuable information.  You can check both of those stories out here and here.

Fake PayPal Email Transaction Scam

As for this particular PayPal scam goes the scammers want you to believe that you have made a false transaction with your PayPal account and want you to click the link to resend the fake transaction.

Below is a copy of the email I received.

PayPal Scammers Are Emailing Fake Transactions is a post from: StumbleForward.com

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been taking my time to put together this list.  This list is unlike any list you may have seen before because this is list of known scammers by name.  This could be a persons first name, a website address, the name of a company,  even an email address.

This list will be formally known as The Scammers Lists.  Today so many people are getting ripped off by these cons that I felt compelled me to start a list of known scammers.  However this list of scammers is by no means a complete list.

This list is just a start of known scammers and a way to turn in scammers names.  With this list finding scammers on the net will benefit us all by exposing these criminals and helping others avoid getting scammed.

Next, feel free to add to this list by leaving a comment.  By contributing your information everyone benefits.   On the same end of the stick if you have reached this page make sure you read the comments because they will contain the best information of all.

If you are planning on leaving a comment list the scammers name, how they contacted you, and what they said.  Give as much detail as possible.   Over time I will add more names to the list as readers bring more names to my attention.

Finally, their were a lot of names I’ve come across over time that were reported to me as being scammers.  However, I have not listed most of these names due to the fact that I couldn’t verify whether these names were the names of real scammers.

The List Of Scammers Names

• Milton Hayward. This scammer is actually the name of a company.  In fact their are several people involved in this scam of which all names I will mention next.  Milton Hayward are basically stock scammers based out of China looking to sell people bad investments.  You can read more about Milton Hayward here. Other scammers that are associated with Milton Hayward are John Hayward, Dave Basset, John Cannon, Mark Harvey, and Micheal Gellard.
• noreply@support.com. This email address has been on tons of email scams from PayPal scams to top name banks.  You may have also seen this email address spelled differently like this no-reply@support.com  Ether way if you see this email address your likely looking at a scam.
• update@support.com. Again, the same as the last one.  Just a different word used.
• Createw8. This the name of an X-eBay user who was scamming people on eBay by claiming to sell them a product.  This user no longer exist on eBay but likely to have just changed their user name to something else once eBay caught on.  You can read more about this scam here.
• notification@paypal-us.intl.com. This is another PayPal scam email address.  An email address from PayPal should say intl.paypal.com not this one.

Add A Name To The Scammers List

Above, I have tried to give you a few the known scammers that I have recently come across.  Now it’s your turn share your knowledge so we can turn in scammers and stop them from ripping off more people.

Chris

Updates

• Recently a ready of mine, Steve, also mentioned to me that he had been scammed by an eBay seller and his eBay user ID is yorkxas and the email he used was dana.black51@yahoo.com.  If you come across this user stay away.

The Scammers Lists: The Names Of Known Scammers is a post from: StumbleForward.com

Earlier this week I was invited to be apart of a podcast discussion group at LifeTuner. If your not sure what Life Tuner is it’s a web based community devoted entirely to helping people learn more about their finances, especially young adults.

Life Tuner has everything from forums, financial tools and calculators, to experts with tons of great advice.  I guess you can call it a one top shop for getting all of your financial advice.  Below you can listen to podcast.

If you like what you heard make sure you subscribe to the podcast and you will receive future podcast updates as they come, and if you like you can also join in the discussion by creating your own free account.

Finally, I will be doing a more formal review on Life Tuner here shortly, so make sure you check back shortly and sign up to my RSS to get the updates.

Till then,

Chris

LifeTuner Podcast: Saving Money vs Making Money is a post from: StumbleForward.com

Recently,  I came across a reader, Shelley, on my blog who had been ripped off on Ebay by someone pretending to sell a product to her.  You can read her comments here.

How She Was Scammed On eBay

This is a typical scam going around eBay.  The buyer in this case, Shelley, wanted to buy a dress for an upcoming wedding.  So she found one she liked one eBay through a seller named createw8.

The seller then drug her along until she made the payment of $141 and then poof just like that the seller entered the witness protection program not be seen or heard from again.

So Shelley talked to her bank and they told her she couldn’t get her money back because the seller was from overseas, China to be exact.  The purchase was even made through PayPal which even meant the payment would be protected in case of situations like this.

However, this did not happen.  EBay and PayPal were unable to help, though eBay has banded this seller from the site.  In fact, I tried looking for this seller on eBay and all I could find were a couple of dead end leads.

If the seller doesn’t ship the product you can usually file a dispute as long as you bought the product via PayPal which she did.  However in this case the seller strung her along till the 45 day dispute period was up and she could no longer file a dispute.  This meant she wasn’t going to get any help from eBay or PayPal.

Shelley has since filed a complaint with The Better Business Bureau hoping to see some light at the end of the tunnel.  To this day Shelley has not seen a dime of her money back.

Prevent An eBay Seller Scam

It’s unfortunate to hear what happened to Shelley.  So in this post I will be talking about some steps you can take to avoid an eBay seller scam the next time you are shopping on this popular auction site.

1. Contact The Seller.  When buying a product on eBay make sure it is exactly what you want.  Contact the seller and ask him about the product if you have any doubts at all.
2. Review Sellers Feedback.  Check the seller out thoroughly by checking all of their feedback.  Also look for how many positive and negative results they have had over the last three months.  Finally, make sure they have a lot of reviews as well, one or two isn’t enough.
3. Make sure the purchase is protected.  Make sure the product is covered by the PayPal Buyer Protection Program. If you buy the product via PayPal you will most likely be covered.  You can read more about that here.
4. Product Return Policy.  Make sure you can return the product for a full refund if it’s not exactly what you want.
5. Search ebuster.  If your not sure if the person you are dealing with is a scammer or not check them out out on ebuster.  This site will tell you who the worst sellers and buyers on eBay.

What You Should Do When You Get Scammed By An eBay Seller

In Shelley’s case she did everything above, but what happens when you do everything to prevent this from happening and it does anyways.  Below are the steps you should follow if you don’t get what you paid for.

1. File a dispute with PayPal.  As long as you bought the product with PayPal you can file a dispute with them.  However, if you did not you will not be able to pursue this route.  Last, you only have 45 days from the time you make the payment to file a dispute.  You can learn more and do that here.
2. Escalate the dispute to a claim.  Once you file the dispute and you and the seller cannot agree on a price you will want to escalate the dispute to a claim.  However, you only have 20 days to do this or PayPal will throw out the dispute, and you can’t file for a claim till 7 days after a dispute.
3. Provide Documentation.  Make sure you keep all of the receipts and seller conversations you have.  PayPal will need these to make a determination.  Also, if the value of the product you bought was less than $250 you can provide all documentation via email.  However, if it is more than that they may need to see physical copies of your receipts.

Where Should You Go From Here

At this point if everything else has failed you may have to take drastic measures.  In this section I am going to give you some ideas you can try so you can get your money back.

1. Contact your bank. It’s always worth a shot, you never know what they’ll say.  They may be able to help you get your money back but like in Shelley’s case the bank would not help her because the business was located overseas.
2. Contact the Better Business Bureau.  File a complaint with The Better Business Bureau.  This is an option however if the company is not located within Canada or the US you may not have much luck here.  The BBB can do a lot to help you but they can’t force a reply or administer  sanctions.  In Shelley’s case though the company was literally a ghost company which means it was entirely fake right down to the name of the person she was talking to on eBay.
3. Pursue legal action.  You hate it to come to this but sometimes it’s necessary.  Again as in Shelley’s case this may not be possible as well because she’s fighting a ghost company that doesn’t exist.  You would also have to consider the cost involved as well.  Is it really worth fighting over $141 when you’ll blow that easily in lawyer fees.

Where Would You Go From Here

With all the ways I have mentioned, from taking measures to prevent this from happening to taking legal action you would think the systems we have in place would stop things like this from happening to people.  The sad reality is that it still does.

If you have any idea’s to help Shelley out with her situation feel free to leave a comment and share your ideas.  She would be grateful for your help.

Chris

This post was recently featured on the Money Hacks Carnival by The Military Finance Network.

How To Avoid Ebay Seller Scams is a post from: StumbleForward.com

Lately I’ve been getting a lot of people reading my article on the PayPal Scam that’s been going on.  In that article it talks about how the PayPal scammers are sending out a fake email and asking for your information.  If you haven’t read that article read that first.

Well it seems that the PayPal scammers are getting even more desperate.  If fact if you read my article last week on the British Lottery Scam I talked about how the scammers are taking more desperate measures to get what they want.

Now it seems that the PayPal scammers are up to the same thing.  Now instead of just sending an email out and asking for your info they are now setting up what look like legitimate websites and trying to fool you into giving  up your information.

Here is what my email read this time:

Notice how the email even has the logo at the top.  It looks very convincing, but here are a few reason how I knew this email was a scam.

1. The email address read no-reply@support.com. This is a bogus email address, in fact it should read something like no-reply@paypal.com
2. Your full name is not used in the email anywhere.  The email should say something like Dear Chris Holdheide, but it has no name anywhere.
3. PayPal would never ask you to reconfirm you financial details once they have them.
4. PayPal will never ask you to download or install anything. Once I seen the download at the bottom of the email that through up a red flag immediately.

Don’t let this email fool you.  So what happens when you veiw the attached Security Measures.htm.html file.  Check out the next picture below.

Notice how the picture resembles the actual PayPal website, but it’s not the real PayPal site.  This is were I’m afraid people will get scammed into giving out their credit card information in fact that’s what the form is only asking for.  It’s not asking for you PayPal user name or password at all.

In this page they include a yellow box at the top telling you your account access has been limited and you need to verify your info immediately.  What every you do DON’T DO IT.

I also have to laugh a bit because they even put a blurb in the right hand column telling you shouldn’t give out your PayPal user name and password to anyone and even include a link to the actual PayPal security tips page.

If you follow the tips I have listed above you should be fine however I fear this is only the beginning of what the scammers are doing in order to persuade you into to handing over your valuable information online.  In fact, I feel these scammers will get harder and harder to catch since they are getting smarter and doing things like setting up fake websites  and sending fake emails.

To keep on top of these things just sign up to my RSS Feed and you will get weekly updates on the scams, financial mistakes and garbage you should avoid online.

Till Next Time,

Chris

This post was recently featured on The Carnival Of Personal Finance Blog by Taking Charge.

Paypal Scams Getting Harder To Detect is a post from: StumbleForward.com

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while I’ve been busy with all sorts of projects and on top of that my wife is pregnant and due soon.  However I’ve come across another lottery scam as if there aren’t enough of those floating around these days.

This is called the British Lottery Scam and has recently been sneaking through my inbox.  How dare them.  Anyways, I thought I would point this scam out.  It seems that these scammers are up to their old tricks again.

Here is what the email read:

“White, Pamela J” <pamela-white@uiowa.edu> to Sep 10
British National Lottery,
Ref: UK/9420X2/68 Dear Selected winner,
This is to inform you that you have been selected for a cash Prize of 753,437.00GBP in cash from International programme held on the 30th of July 2009 in United Kingdom.You are advised to contact the verification department through our assigned claims agent by providing your Reference Number UK/9420X2/68.You are also advised to provide him with the underlisted information.
1.Name in full.2.Address in full.3.Age.4.Occupation:5.Phone No.6.mobile no
7.Winning Email Address 8.Country ASSIGNED CLAIMS AGENT: Mr. Garry Baldwin
Tel:+447031874347,+447031903483
Email:garry4baldwin7@live.com Yours Truly,
White Pamela
Online Co-ordinator

Now obviously this is a scam but for those of you knew to the world of the net though I would point out that if you don’t know the person who is sending you the email discard it immediately and you will save yourself all the hassle of getting caught up in this scam.

I should also mention that lottery scams are popular right now.  The Jamaican lottery scam has been hitting the U.S. hard, except in that scam they are calling you instead of emailing you.  The point I am making is if you never signed up for a lottery how can you be a winner.

You Can’t!

Sorry about being so blunt but it’s the truth, yet people everyday go to Western Union or their bank and send money to these scammers thinking they’ve struck it rich.  Nope, you’ve just been duped into a scammers plan.

My fear is that as people become more aware of these types of scams that the scammers will become even more desperate and instead using email or a phone call they may take more drastic measures.   In fact I’ve seen some of the tricks scammers will take to get your hard earned cash.

A Scammers Story

A few year back a scammer called a lady in are hometown in Midwest Ohio.  This lady was older and for scammers an easy target.  It started out as an innocent phone call from an individual telling this lady she had won a cash prize.

However, she needed to send some money in order to get the winnings.  However the lady mentioned she couldn’t make it to the bank because she was older and couldn’t drive anymore.  The man on the other side of the phone said in a pleasant voice that’s OK we’ll even send you a cab.

Now at this point it’s plain obvious that this is a scam, however the elderly lady fell for the scam and took the cab to the bank.  Thankfully, when she arrived at the bank and told one of the tellers of her situation they became suspicious right away.

Luckily, this elderly lady was not scammed but this is just a real life example that scammers will take to get their hands on your money.

Well that’s enough for today, back to the grind as I say.

Chris

British National Lottery Scam Going Around is a post from: StumbleForward.com

If you’re not familiar with John Commuta’s Transforming Debt Into Wealth System you just have to turn on the radio to hear all about this guy.  In this article, the John Commuta review, I will be talking all about John Commuta’s  famous transforming debt into wealth program and why you shouldn’t buy it.

Transform Debt Into Wealth

It all sounds good right, a system that will eliminate all of your debt in a matter of a few years.  The big question on everybody’s mind is does this program do what is says it does?

The long and short is the John Commuta transforming debt into wealth program does work, everything in his program you can find on about every other finance blog on the net including this one.

The truth is the crap that John Commuta has been selling for years making him rich is the same stuff found right here on Stumble Forward.  Yup, you heard me right here at this blog.

How John Commuta Turns Debt Into Wealth

Turning debt into wealth sounds like a catchy title but in reality all he is doing is selling you a system that has been around for years.  It’s called the debt snowball plan.

With the transforming debt into wealth system John Commuta takes this very program and packages it up into nice and neat little package along with some great testimonials and presto, you got a never ending TV infomercial making thousands of dollars a day.

By the way you know John Commuta is making a lot of money off of this program or you wouldn’t hear it ten thousand times a day on the radio.

I know this can sound a bit harsh but it’s true.  People in America get ripped off everyday from scammers, but the worst part is the people who are in debt up to their eye balls are getting the blunt end of the deal, much less paying for the John Commuta scam product.

The so called debt settlement companies that are helping you eliminate thousands of dollars of your debt are nothing more than in most cases a bunch of fakes.  Now I say most because some are legit but most are taking advantage of you.

Where To Get Your Debt Advice

If you’re looking for some simple debt advice on how to set up a debt plan check this out.  If you want to get a more extensive view into what it takes to get out of debt for free check out Enemy Of Debt.

This guy knows what he’s talking about.You can read all the John Commuta reveiws you want but Enemy of Debt  does what he preaches and knows a lot about the subject of debt, and isn’t some infomercial guy just trying to push a product on you.

Their is also another point that must be said, you have to watch out for who you take your advice form when it comes to getting out of debt.  If you have ever heard the term don’t get a hair cut from a bold barber the same should hold true for who you take financial advice from.

If you’re wondering who you should get your advice from question their motives.  Here at Stumble Forward I’m not charging for any of the advice and second I have personally worked in the industry myself for 4 and a half years.

If your getting debt advice from someone who is in debt up to their eyeballs much less from a guy like the John Commuta fraud doing nothing more than pushing a product  that may not be the most trustworthy source.

Final Thoughts

Don’t buy John Commuta’s Transforming Debt Into Wealth System.  If you really want to turn debt into wealth start reading up on the abundant information available on the net, and the best part it’s all free.

Chris

If you like this article check out these recently featured on The Carnival Of Money Hackers by ABC’s of Investing.

John Commuta’s Transforming Debt Into Weatlh System Review is a post from: StumbleForward.com