Lock the Door, Ask a Friend

Two older friends sit at a sunny café table; one holds out her phone to show the other, who leans in and shakes her head knowingly with a wry smile.

Start with your privacy settings. On Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, go to Settings and look for Privacy or Account. Change who can see your posts from Everyone to Friends. Do the same for your friends list. This removes the raw material scammers rely on.

Then make one rule for anything you see or receive on social media: before you act on it, ask someone you trust first. An investment opportunity. A message from a stranger. A deal that looks too good. A call that uses your family's names. This is the A in PAUSE. Ask someone you already know and trust. That question is often all it takes. If it feels too good to be true, it almost always is.

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