Farrell: How should you protect yourself from falling for a scam?

A major reason it's easy to fall for a scam is we're busy.

For example, a friend recently moved, a stressful situation with lots of deadlines. During the move, she received an official-looking email from the Social Security Administration with an attachment. The letter said that there was a problem with her Social Security account. She should immediately open the attachment, fill in the information and send it back.

She hesitated. The email looked official. She also knew not to open the attachment and after a few minutes she deleted the email.

She is far from alone in her experience and, unfortunately, not everyone ignores the message. The Social Security Administration recently issued a "scam alert" on these fraudulent messages delivered by mailed letter, email, text message or phone call.

https://www.startribune.com/farrell-how-should-you-protect-yourself-from-falling-for-a-scam/600269589/