JT Maier Associates

03/05/2024

https://patch.com/california/temecula/s/iv3ch/4-ca-cities-among-top-10-happiest-in-u-s-report?utm_term=article-slot-1&utm_source=newsletter-daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_content=email-test_E1:c0&user_email=65570e066b45b4cbc20c3db59795bd993205683c66a792b65e021f8cd8418542&user_email_md5=1c0d7036073bd3f8182fa7091e722404&lctg=4fadc92590658cce4aae17a3

WalletHub released its 2024 rankings of the happiest cities in America. One California city landed at the top of the list.

02/19/2024

'Terrified': Latest billionaire acquisition in Carmel sets off alarm bells
Carmel-by-the-Sea is being quickly bought up by Monaco billionaire who reportedly wants to 'crush everyone'

Monaco billionaire heir who has an international reputation as a "canny, outspoken developer" is causing deep concerns in Carmel.

01/01/2024

December 27, 2023. 6:44 AM morning sunrises & hot air balloons...
Ranch, Temecula, CA.

12/05/2023

11/03/2023

Watch this. AI-Power scamming EXPOSED

🤯😱 Have You Seen This? AI Scams Are Taking Over!===============================Learn more here: https://scfme.co/Researchsomeone===========================...

10/26/2023

This is Stephen Niese"s photos.

10/11/2023

Why do smart people fall for scams?
Patti Cotton
PUBLISHED: October 8, 2023 at 5:00 a.m. |
Categories:Business

Scammers are skilled at exploiting human psychology and emotions, and they use various tactics to deceive even the most intelligent individuals. (iStockphoto via Getty Images)
This month, our articles have shared some of the ways that you can safeguard yourself and your family from the multitude of scams out there.

Here, in a nutshell, are the key points that you need to remember:

—Education: Stay informed about common scams and share this information with your family.

—Skepticism: Encourage a healthy level of skepticism, especially for unsolicited offers or requests for personal information.

—Verification: Always verify the caller’s identity for the authenticity of offers, especially if they involve financial transactions.

—Privacy settings: Be cautious about the information shared on social media, as scammers often use social media to gather personal information.

It seems simple enough, right? Why, then, do smart people still fall for scams?

Teri Parker: Guarding yourself from scams, imposters and fraudsters

Smart people can fall for scams for several reasons, and these reasons are not necessarily related to intelligence. Scammers are skilled at exploiting human psychology and emotions, and they use various tactics to deceive even the most intelligent individuals. Here are some reasons why smart people might fall for scams:

1. Overconfidence: Smart individuals may believe they are too intelligent to be tricked. This overconfidence can lead them to underestimate the possibility of falling victim to a scam. When you are feeling secure about a particular opportunity, it doesn’t hurt to do a bit more research and talk to others before acting on it.

2. Emotional manipulation: Scammers often appeal to emotions, creating a sense of urgency, fear, or excitement. Even intelligent people can be swayed by their emotions and make impulsive decisions. If a particular opportunity presents itself and you feel a lot of emotion around it, stop. It’s best to get a good night’s sleep first, and then let reason help you make a rational decision, rather than making a quick emotional one.

3. Sophisticated scams: Scammers use sophisticated techniques, such as creating realistic-looking websites or official-looking emails, making it difficult for anyone, regardless of intelligence, to distinguish between scams and legitimate offers. If you encounter something new, or you are faced with a unique or new opportunity from one of your “tried and true” sources, check twice. Ask questions of an educated third party.

4. Social engineering: Scammers excel at social engineering, manipulating people into revealing confidential information. Intelligence does not always protect against tactics that exploit trust and human relationships. Anytime someone new begins to ask you for information that you generally keep private, please pause and investigate first.

5. Limited information: Intelligent people can fall for scams when they lack specific knowledge about a particular area. For example, someone well-versed in science might not be knowledgeable about financial scams. It never hurts to educate yourself before you make a move. And if someone tells you there’s no time to investigate, this is a big red flag.

6. Momentary lapses in judgment: Smart individuals are not immune to making impulsive or irrational decisions, especially when they are under stress, fatigued, or distracted. Again, get sleep, make sure you aren’t making a rash or emotional decision, and check with a trusted advisor if you need more information.

7. Lack of experience: Some smart individuals, especially younger ones, might lack life experience to recognize certain scams. Scammers often target younger people who may not be as familiar with common tactics. Educate your children, even when they are young adults out in the world. A big scam right now is one that promises to pay off your student loans. You can imagine how many young people will jump at that.

8. Psychological manipulation: Scammers use psychological tactics, such as authority bias (trusting figures of authority), scarcity (creating a sense of limited availability), and social proof (showing that others have fallen for the scam) to deceive people. Are you prone to trusting others easily? You may want to ask yourself what that’s about and to slow down a bit when you feel an authority figure is presenting you with a “great opportunity.” Do your homework first.

9. Fear of consequences: Scammers often threaten legal action, financial ruin, or embarrassment. Even smart individuals can be coerced into compliance out of fear of negative consequences. If you or someone you know is being bullied into contemplating something to avoid these circumstances, please reach out for help. If you don’t know who to call, your estate attorney, your CPA, or your wealth advisor are all educated in this way and can provide you with assistance or resources.

10. Cognitive biases: Cognitive biases, such as confirmation bias (interpreting information in a way that confirms existing beliefs) or optimism bias (believing that bad things are less likely to happen to oneself), can cloud judgment and lead intelligent people to make poor decisions. Again, if you are presented with a new opportunity, such as a charity that supports your beliefs and values, do your homework. There are many great causes out there, and sadly there are just as many scams that will abscond with your funds and direct them to a criminal bank account.

Falling for scams is not an indication of a lack of intelligence. Scammers are adept at exploiting human vulnerabilities and emotions, making it crucial for everyone, regardless of their intelligence, to stay vigilant, informed, and skeptical of unsolicited offers and requests.

The lesson here? Whenever you aren’t sure about something, don’t act on it immediately. Review the reasons people fall for scams, above, and ask yourself if one of these is your motivator. Talk with a trusted advisor or friend before you move forward. As the old adage says, “If it seems too good to be true – it probably is!”

Patti Cotton serves as a thought partner to CEOs and their teams to help manage complexity and change. Reach her via email at [email protected].
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Even intelligent people can be swayed by their emotions and make impulsive decisions.

10/06/2023

A 74-year-old man lost $50,000 life savings after downloading an app to order Peking duck
Thibault Spirlet Oct 3, 2023, 10:46 AM ET
Download the app
Sliced Peking duck with sliced vegetables laid out on a wooden surface.

HOMEPAGE
HOME TECH
A 74-year-old man lost $50,000 life savings after downloading an app to order Peking duck
Thibault Spirlet Oct 3, 2023, 10:46 AM ET
Download the app
Sliced Peking duck with sliced vegetables laid out on a wooden surface.
Peking duck. Ryzhkov Photography/Shutterstock
A 74-year-old man lost $51,000 in life savings after being scammed, Singapore media reported.
Scammers tricked Mr. Loh into paying a deposit on an app and then stole his savings.
Over 750 users fell victim to such malware scams in the first half of this year, local police found.

A 74-year-old man lost almost $51,000 in life savings after being tricked into downloading an app to order Peking duck, Singaporean media reported.

The older man, who was identified only as Mr. Loh, said he was attracted by a deal on Facebook offering 1.5 kilograms of Peking duck for the equivalent of $17.30, with an extra 5 Singapore dollars, about $3.60, for delivery fees, the Singaporean newspaper The Straits Times reported.

He told Singaporean tabloid newspaper Shin Min Daily News he was going to have dinner with his family on the night of August 26 and figured his grandson would like to eat the popular dish.

The Facebook seller sent Loh voice messages on WhatsApp with instructions to download an app named Grab&Go on his phone, Loh said, according to The Straits Times.

Before his order could be processed, he said, the app required him to make a 5-Singapore-dollar deposit payment through PayNow.

Loh, a former importer, was initially wary of the ad and even asked whether it was a scam. But the person eventually persuaded him to pay the deposit, the newspaper reported.

The scammer told him "no one would be cheated of $5" and that "this was a small thing," according to the report.

But within minutes of making the payment, Loh's phone screen went black and repeatedly rebooted for 30 minutes, prompting him to reach out to the scammer in a panic, the newspaper said.

Loh's wife then realized something was wrong and contacted their daughter, who got her brother to call the bank to block their father's account, the outlet reported.

But it was already too late.

The Straits Times said a bank employee told the family that the scammer had raised Loh's transaction limit and transferred about $42,900 out of his current and savings accounts.

Using Loh's DBS credit card, the scammer also obtained a credit advance of nearly $8,000, it reported.

"I couldn't believe the news. I thought: 'Why am I so stupid?'" Loh told The Straits Times.

"I was so angry at myself for being cheated of my life savings,'" he said, adding: "My family is frustrated, and I ended up quarreling with my wife."

Loh's daughter told the newspaper that all the children were "heartbroken" that their father was scammed after they'd warned him about such schemes in the past.

"We thought we had done enough to minimize the risk," she told the newspaper.

Loh has since switched phones and deleted the Facebook and internet-banking apps from his phone, the newspaper reported.

A recent report by Singapore's Police Force found more than 750 Android-device users had fallen victim to this kind of malware scam in the first half of 2023, resulting in losses of more than $7 million.

Police and the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore released a joint advisory in August to increase awareness about the growing frequency of malware scams impacting Android users.

A Singaporean man was tricked into downloading an app to order Peking duck, and then lost $50,000 in savings to scammers, local media reported.

09/22/2023

His profile name and photos are used by several romance scamers on Facebook and Instagram. BE AWARE.

06/25/2023

MORE AI:

AI buzz. How scammer is using AI to scam people.
deepfake
noun
a video of a person in which their face or body has been digitally altered so that they appear to be someone else, typically used maliciously or to spread false information.
"the committee hearing on worldwide threats cited deepfakes as a growing concern"
OXFORD DICTIONARY:
If you’ve spent time on social media, you might have come across what is a potentially concerning technological advancement – the deepfake. Deepfake images can be seen as anything from entertaining to concerning – or even scary. A political figure spreading propaganda they didn’t truly spread. A historical figure making a speech they didn’t actually make. A famous actor doing or saying things they didn’t do or say. Some questions you might be turning over in your mind – how are these images created? What are the security implications of deepfakes? Should I be worried? Rest assured, while deepfake technology is advancing, there isn’t a need to panic about what this could mean for the average person’s security.
What is Deepfake Technology?
The phrase “deepfake” comes from the combination of the terms “deep learning” and “fake.” While it doesn’t have one universally agreed-upon definition, a deepfake generally means that a person in an existing video is replaced with someone else’s likeness. Essentially, a deepfake is a photo, audio, or video that has been manipulated by Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to make it appear to be something that it is not.
{https://www.aware.com/blog-how-does-deepfake.../....}
SAMPLE OF ORIGINAL AND DEEPFAKE PORTRAIT.