Caution is the word of the day

I want to remind everyone to be especially careful during the current economic downturn. I am hearing from my fellow professionals that new scams and schemes are popping up all over the country at an alarming rate. Pay special attention to:

Craig's List - this is a free internet service for selling items, renting apartments, finding jobs, etc. However, reports of robbery and theft involving using Craig's List are disturbing. Everything from being robbed in the home or at so called safe public locations to having checks copied and used to buy expensive goods or empty checking accounts.

Phone and Mail - Never, never, ever give personal information to strangers calling over the phone! Don't answer mail ads.

Internet and Email - Never click on links for things you don't know and never click or respond to an email that looks as though it's from your bank or credit card company. Always build your own direct link to the companies you work with regularly and use that link to contact them.