The truth is that we all like to use other people’s money to help us achieve our objectives in business and life. The problem is, that when we give credit to a business or help our friends with a loan, we need to identify which of the recipients of our money are going to pay us.
There are many good businesses and people who are after your money legitimately and for all the right reasons. The majority of these parties will repay their debt as agreed. Unfortunately, a few will be unable to pay their outstanding debt because of circumstances beyond their control, such losing their job, illness, divorce, floods, bushfires, etc.
Unfortunately, there will also be those businesses and people who will do their best not to pay their debts as they fall due or just refuse to pay you at all. There are two groups involved in this practice.
There are those parties which deliberately use mechanisms such as claiming you did not supply the goods or services as requested, bully you into unfair contract terms, raise false credit claims, etc. Many of these parties claim to be legitimate businesses or your family and friends.
The other group are the fraudsters, scammers, criminals, etc, with no intention of paying you as their business is to steal your money. These parties make their living because stealing other people’s money by using well know strategies is the way they survive financially.
When good businesses and people lose money, largely it is because they do not think that they will be ever swindled because of their own experience, their protective strategies, or even if the fraudsters sound especially plausible in their presentations.
They are however, easily robbed due to being greedy, failing to take adequate precautions, perhaps are naïve or overly trusting, or just lack common sense.
To avoid being caught out, it is up to those with money to take precautions, such as, but not limited to:
- the best security systems they can afford commensurate with their situation,
- practising a good level of cyber hygiene,
- listening to and taking heed to the stories of people who have lost money,
- follow up with their banks directly when unexpected emails are received, which are said to be from your banks,
- don’t click onto attachments or on to links in emails received from unknown parties,
- if the offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is just another scam,
- have a healthy level of scepticism or caution when contacted by unknown parties, etc.
The truth is that we all like to use other people’s money to help us achieve our objectives in life. The problem is, that when we give credit in business or help our friends with a loan, we need to identify which of the recipients of our money are going to pay us back within agreed terms.
At the end of the day, it is up to all of us to be wise, because there are unscrupulous parties out there who have no intentions of paying you and make a nice living using other people’s money. In other words, they really do like your money!
Want to know more about this topic, contact Kim at kim@creditmatters.com.au, or on Mobile 0411 649 261. Alternatively, have a look at what we offer via our website at www.creditmatters.com.au
