The Other Guy l Beware, ’tis the season for holiday scams

Like Santa Claus, most folks will check their gift lists twice, not necessarily to find out who’s been naughty or nice, but to make sure they haven’t missed anyone or anything.

Let’s face it, we’re all going to be busy over the next month.

Others know this as well. While we’re caught up in the holidays, there are people out there who want to prey on our distractions. It sure is easy to let our guard down. Scams happen.

These people, if you want to call them people, are much worse than Scrooge or the Grinch. Now, while they lurk year-round, like Christmas tree lighting celebrations, they find the holidays joyful because they’re busy sucking the joy out of others.

That’s because they’re busy planning their next scam, packaging them as a festive gift that would deceive anyone.

That’s not all they have to offer: Coworkers need assistance, family members are in trouble or maybe a “person” who says you’re the most attractive person on the planet has found your social media profile. They’re ready to settle down; they just need your “help.” An email telling you a long lost, distant relative wants to leave you millions of dollars. You know, “your father’s brother’s nephew’s cousin’s former roommate.”

Scammers are the worst, because they rarely get caught. They vanish without a trace and with your money. There’s little local, state and federal authorities can do about it. There’s little your family can do about it either.

And while it might sound weird, the worst part isn’t that the scammers get away with it. For those who’ve been deceived, they feel shame and guilt. Two years after my mom died, a family member fell victim to a scam. They lost their live savings and racked up untold credit card debt. To save the few possessions they had left, including their home, they were forced to declare bankruptcy. They had worked hard their entire life. And in the blink of an eye, most of it, if not all of it, was gone.

Talk with your family members about what you can do to protect each other, and if something seems amiss, communicate with each other. Talk to your banking officials about security protocols you can put in place with your accounts. And as my mom taught me, if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

Be careful and be alert, because the holidays are supposed to be a joyous time of the year.

Jeff Bryan is the editor for the Chronicle. Contact him at jeff.bryan@ chronicleonline.com.