​This installment is about scams - not scabs, scars or Spam - and so I appreciate your opening this message and taking the risky chance that it's not just another of those we all receive that warrants immediate use of the DELETE key.  Unfortunately, scams have become as ubiquitous in our lives as the cell phones and computers they often arrive on - and that's because our communication and financial transactions have largely moved online.  Plus, with the assistance of AI, scammers now have almost infinite numbers of ways to convince us to accept their tricks as legitimate offers, deals and requests.  So, while your fraud antennae may already be pretty sophisticated, here are some hints that may also minimize the sad stories we hear too often from those who've already been taken in.

One of the most effective ways to avoid disaster is to understand that scammers succeed by creating urgency and fear.  Thus, our bank account has been compromised; a valuable prize we've won just requires us to authorize the shipping charge on our credit card; legal action will taken if we don't immediately authorize a payment we didn't even know we had; or the old favorite: a family member needs money wired from our account for some critical purpose.  This urgency, if it seems even remotely plausible, is designed to make us stop thinking clearly and to act before we can protect ourselves.  The best rule of thumb for this one is just to slow down.  First of all, we need to remember that legitimate organizations rarely demand instant action or threaten severe consequences without providing the notices they actually use.  In fact, the IRS, credit card companies, and collection agencies never use simple phone calls to pursue their claims.  They want a record of the contacts and requests/demands they've made, so they send written notices.  That means the best way to respond to such calls is to say we'll need to discuss their business with our lawyer or financial advisor or consult our own records - and we'll need a hard copy of the relevant documents to do so.  Legitimate claimants won't have any problem with that response, but scammers will do nearly anything to force a payment out of us before they'll let us off the phone.  That's the critical litmus test for phone call scams and it warrants an immediate hang-up.  It's also the best strategy for any charitable organization or supposed alma mater who may be calling during a "today-only" fund drive - that urgency is the dead giveaway and they'll appreciate our contribution next week as much as right this moment. 

But what about those drastic emergency calls from a child or grandchild who needs bail money or funds for a plane ticket home, just to name a couple of the heart-string pullers?  We shouldn't even assume we can verify the caller by the sound of the voice at the other end.  Again, AI has developed ways to make those calls sound just like our real family members, despite our disbelief that that's really possible.  One safeguard our family uses is to have a special password we've all agreed to require before we proceed further.  If our troubled family member doesn't know the word or doesn't even know we have one - or maybe doesn't know a nickname they call us - then we're talking to someone else's family member and they should make another call.  Goodbye and good luck!

Of course, we should never give out personal information over the phone or by e-mail, even if it's needed right away to verify or correct our records.  The best way to flush out the crooks here is to say we don't have that information handy and we'll call back the organization at its legitimate number as soon as we can locate what they're looking for.  And, too, if we receive what looks like an official letter or form that asks us to update key information, or to call a certain number to do so, or to mail the form in a stamped envelope conveniently provided, it may be tempting, but we shouldn't ever do it.  Instead, we should contact the organization ourselves - at a customer service number on a recent statement we know is legitimate or by checking the organization's actual website. 

Sometimes, we've actually shot ourselves in the foot just by opening an e-mail from a source we don't recognize.  Even doing that can also provide information that can be used against us.  It's not a coincidence that spam and scam sound so much alike.

Finally, we should keep our usernames and passwords in good shape, by using ones that aren't easily guessed or aren't used for every single account or site we have or use - and then by changing them periodically.  So-called password lock boxes and security services that shield individual passwords from hacking are also worth investigating, particularly if we do a lot of online buying or surfing among random or unfamiliar sites.  But check to make sure those are legitimate, too.

And, of course, if we decide or discover that we've already been scammed, then speed in contacting our bank or credit card company is the key to cancelling or reversing the charge or having it taken off our account.  We should also consider reporting it to the NH Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division at 603-271-3658, as that may not only help us but alert the office to a new and virulent new scam tactic.  

The way I look at all this is that sophisticated scamming is going to keep trying to stay ahead of our attempts to thwart it - there are people sitting around thinking them up and plotting how to prey on us at this very moment.  And it's going to remain a more serious threat in ever more unexpected places and disguises if we don't use just as much guile to protect ourselves.  I mean, we're not dealing with door-to-door sellers of vacuum cleaners and encyclopedias anymore.  Those people are now retired and living in Florida on our parents' and grandparents' money.  Let's at least not fund the next generations' nefarious lifestyles.  

​Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!  No law this time, but perhaps a topic of conversation at the dinner table tomorrow, to help us avoid any of those topics that might have caused projectile silverware or glasses of wine used as splashy conversation enders.  So, here goes.

Just look around the table and then consider what the odds are that all of us would ever be here in the first place.  Let's start with some basics.  The people who keep track of things like demographics estimate that there have been about 109 billion people since we started walking somewhat erect and processing more thoughts than a jellyfish.  If that's even remotely accurate, then it's a pretty long shot that any one of us is here right now at all.  And if there are a dozen of us around this one table, just think of the odds that all of us would have made it from the primordial ooze to this moment in the almost infinite history of things. 

Let's break this down another way.  Homo sapiens are believed to have existed for the past 300,000 years.  If we assume 20 years per generation - people didn't live much longer until pretty recently - that's 15,000 generations since that first hot night in the cave.  And if we speculate that our lines of descent stretch back that far, then during each one of those generational encounters, it was likely just a random event that enabled our ancestors to survive until the next generation.  That means our luck had to have held during 15,000 such occasions, or we wouldn't be here today.  So, if any two of those distant nanas and grampas hadn't found each other, our family tree would have put down its roots somewhere else entirely.  To put it in contemporary terms, we had to win the lottery 15,000 times in a row to be asking for another helping of creamed leeks right now.

But we don't need to go back anywhere near that far to understand the point.  Just think about our ancestors since America's first birthday almost 250 years ago.  If the males hadn't survived the intervening wars; if they'd died haying in the fields in the hot sun or dropping trees on themselves trying to build the homestead; or if the females had died in childbirth or the children hadn't made it through those first treacherous months of untreatable diseases, we wouldn't be here now.  Or if our parents hadn't met on that blind date or it hadn't gone well; or if they hadn't lived or gone to school near enough to each other to have had that date at all; or if one of their families had moved away and that was the end of it right there; we wouldn't be here now.

So, what's my point in all this?  It's simply that we have an awful lot to be thankful for just to be sitting here at this very moment.  And instead of arguing over things we can't change during the next hour or so - things that will only distract us from the need for serious thankfulness - let's make the most of this convergence of our extraordinary good luck and enjoy it like our lives have depended on it.  Because they did and they do.  

​We've probably all at least heard about so-called "special needs trusts", even if we've never met one in person.  They're intended to provide supplemental assistance for people receiving - or who may be eligible to receive - those special public benefits.  They're also usually long and complicated, because there are lots of rules limiting what the trust funds can be used for without upsetting the public benefit apple cart.  Enter the recently-enacted ABLE account, which is short for Achieving a Better Life Experience, and which, under the right circumstances, can be much more user-friendly than a tedious and restrictive special needs trust.  Here's how:

Let's say a young person with special needs has had a Uniform Transfers to Minors Act account that was set up by a caring parent or grandparent.  If she applies for public benefits after turning 21 (when UTMAs must pay out), those funds will be counted against her in the application process.  If instead those UTMA funds are transferred to an ABLE account before she turns 21, the government authority will be unABLE to count those funds against her in determining her benefits.

OK, but how does an ABLE account work, and who's in charge of it?  That's the beauty part, as they say, because instead of having to work through an independent trustee for every expenditure, the young person can be in charge of the account and can determine the use of his funds.  That may not work for everyone with special needs, but in the right case it can be extremely empowering and can help build a vulnerable person's self-esteem.  The enABLEd person can also use the account to save up for important purposes like buying a home or getting married.

Another ABLE advantage is that the account can be used for the person's own household and living expenses, which would likely be disqualifying expenditures for public assistance purposes if those payments were made from a special needs trust.  Again, if a person with such an account can pay her own way, so to speak, that can result in a feeling of independence and promote a sense of personal responsibility that's unheard of in the special needs trust world.

As I said, an ABLE account may not work for someone with severe needs, but it might be partnered with a traditional special needs trust to provide a person with control over at least a portion of the available funds.  Any degree of self-determination in these difficult situations can be life-changing.

Sure, there are some limitations on ABLE accounts that go beyond a message you may be reading somewhere by the water, but maybe this will plant the seed.

​Posted July 11, 2017 - misc.

Most of us won’t ever run for public office, but that doesn’t mean we don’t engage in important public service.  I venture to say that everyone reading this is now or has fairly recently been serving on a non-profit or municipal board or committee of some sort.  And when we were asked to serve, our questions were usually, “How often are the meetings?” and “Do I have to ask people for money?”  While those are still important questions, we should now be asking this one, too:  “Does the organization have directors’ and officers’ liability insurance, and will it cover me for the things that might cause potential liability?”  Actually, the last part of that question could be the most important, so don’t leave it out.
 
Here’s what I mean.  Let’s say you’re on the board of a private school or day care center.  Will the organization’s D&O policy cover you if suit is filed against the board because one of the teachers or caregivers molested a student or child, or sexually assaulted or harassed another employee?  Will the policy cover you if the board is sued because the business manager filed fraudulent tax returns to cover up a history of misappropriating the organization’s funds - and will it keep you from having to make good personally on those obligations?  Also, will the board have coverage if one of those employees is terminated and then files suit for wrongful termination?  And if you’re sued personally - it happens frequently in these cases - will the policy provide you with legal representation and pay the fees – because we all know how expensive lawyers can be, right, even if we win?
 
Needless to say, there’s almost no chance that the person you pose these questions to will have the answers.  Don’t let that deter you, though, and don’t settle for a squishy response that doesn’t really give you the information you need.  No, I suggest you ask for a written explanation of coverage from the agent or carrier of the organization’s D&O policy – as I did when I asked Tim McMahon of the Bellows-Nichols Agency about all this.  You’ll probably be doing the rest of the board a great service at the same time.   Then, if you get the right answers, you’ll be good to go; you’ll have immediate cred for insightful brilliance; and you can serve with distinction and peace of mind.  But if you don’t hear enough to put you at ease, either the organization can do something about it for the whole board’s benefit, or you can make your mark elsewhere.  Either way, you’ll be ahead of the game.

​Posted 10/31/2016 Misc.
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