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For many people, their worst fear is one day being financially preyed on and exploited by an unscrupulous conman or predatory company. This certainly isn’t an unreasonable fear, ether. Huge numbers of people are defrauded annually in all kinds of ways, both big and small, and the damage done by some of these predators activities can be hard to recover from. It’s not too much of a stretch to say that some people’s lives are genuinely destroyed due to financial crime and abuse.

Scams have been around since the dawn of mankind in all likelihood, but the rise of the internet seems, unfortunately, to have substantially increased the number of tools that scammers have at their disposal, and the number of ways in which people can be creatively defrauded.

For the sake of protecting yourself from predators and criminal financial exploitation and saving your money for investment instead, here are a few tips that you should bear in mind.

Compare your options before committing to anything — especially loans

Payday loans have been in the press a lot recently, and for good reason. Many of these companies seem to thrive off manipulating, hoodwinking, and essentially financially enslaving, those desperate individuals who use their services.

The general template is that a company will offer loans to people in dire need of money in a hurry. They will give the money to just about anyone. But, often hidden in the fine print, these companies will then extract enormous interest, sometimes to the tune of several thousand per cent, for any payments which are made late. Sometimes payment dates will also be obscured.

Using a good loan search comparison service can help you to identify the right loan for you, in advance, and know what you’re signing up to.

Always assume that success requires work, not get-rich-quick schemes

It’s one of those truisms of the human experience that success (almost) always requires hard work. Sure, some people win the lottery, but you’d be making a big mistake by assuming that you can have a successful and prosperous life for nothing.

Many companies, self-appointed gurus, and online programs, however, promise that you can make your fortune overnight, with virtually no effort involved, if you pay a premium fee for the secret formula they hold.

Always assume these programs are, first and foremost, rip-offs. If in doubt, take the stance that anything worth achieving in life — from publishing a book to starting a business — takes work.

Remain sceptical whenever discussing finances with others, and avoid giving away more info than you have to

Scammers will often pry for bits of financial information to rip you off with, whether it’s by email, on the phone, or in person.

Always have a clear sense of who you’re talking to, listen to your gut and end the conversation early if something seems fishy, and avoid giving away more financial info than you have to in any given situation.

If someone phones you up, claiming to be your bank, and wanting your pin number, rest assured you’re being scammed.