Financial scams are on the rise. At Idaho Trust we want you to be aware of them and also know you can protect yourself against them. Below is information that was published in the Winter 2008/2009 FDIC Consumer News that tells about current scams and ways to avoid them:

Con artists are preying on hard-pressed homeowners in the current depressed housing market. Some pose as foreclosure specialists and claim they can help save a home from foreclosure and "all for a large upfront fee."

Instead, distressed homeowners should contact their mortgage loan servicer to request a modification of their loan. It doesn't cost a dime. You should not have to spend thousands of dollars to get help.

In some cases con artists claim they can "guarantee" loan approvals to people with credit problems in exchange for an upfront fee. After collecting the nonrefundable fee, the loan falls through. You should know that no lender can guarantee a loan without looking at a person's financial situation. Also, in most cases, loan fees are typically collected at the end of the lending process.

You've probably seen the ads in the paper for flexible, part-time jobs working at home doing such things as processing payments, shipping items, or becoming a mystery shopper. In many cases, the "employer" steals your identity and commits fraud by obtaining your bank account and Social Security number. Or, the new "boss" asks you to deposit a check or electronic transfer into your account and wire the funds out after deducting a "commission." Later, the bank tells you that the deposit you made was fraudulent and you're responsible for all the money. Not only will you have to pay the money back, but you may experience difficulty opening a new account until your name is cleared from suspicion that you were a willing partner in any fraud.

Scam artists are pretending to be from a financial institution in the news and are calling, emailing, and faxing consumers, asking for personal information like Social Security numbers or passwords. Don't fall for it. No bank will call, email, or text you to ask for information. If they were truly a representative of your financial institution they should already have it.

FDIC insured Bank CDs are one of the safest investments available because of the deposit insurance. You may frequently find CDs advertised in the paper or online that offer unusually high returns. Beware that some ads may be misleading and require you to buy other financial products or insurance you might not want.

• Be wary of requests to "update" or "confirm" personal information, such as Social Security numbers, bank account numbers and credit card numbers, in response to an unsolicited email, phone call or text message.
• Take time to investigate organizations offering a job, loan, deposit, investment or other "opportunity" involving your money or personal information.
• Walk away from any offer that would involve a large deposit into your account and instructions to wire any of that money back, especially to someone in another country.
• Assume that any offer that sounds unrealistic or "too good to be true" - especially one from a stranger or an unfamiliar company - is probably a fraud.