How To Spot A Financial Scam With Tech Expert Kim Komando

At HerMoney, we talk a lot about the different ways we can protect ourselves from financial risk. We buy insurance to guard against sudden illness and accidents, and we invest in a diversified portfolio so we can grow our money without endangering our savings. But there’s another type of risk we sometimes overlook because we don’t think it’ll happen to us — financial scams. 

You might think you’re too savvy to fall for financial fraud, but these scams have gotten more sophisticated and more prevalent over time. There were a whopping $8 billion in losses to financial fraud in the United States in 2022, according to the Federal Trade Commission. That’s up more than $6 billion from 2019. (And $1.2 billion of those losses originated from social media scams — which is why you should think twice before friending someone you don’t really know.) 

That’s just one of many useful nuggets of advice shared this week by our guest Kim Komando, tech expert and host of The Kim Komando Show, a talk-radio show about technology that reaches more than 500 stations and 6.5 million listeners nationwide. Kim also hosts The Kim Komando Television Show on the Bloomberg Television Network and the Daily Tech Update podcast. And her website Komando.com helps tens of millions of readers learn about the latest tech news and ways they can protect their online privacy. 

Kim guides us through the most common scams that people are getting tricked by, and how new advances in artificial intelligence make it easier than ever for scammers to fake someone’s identity (and even their voice). But still, there are telltale signs that a text, email, or phone call is suspicious — Kim walks us through them all. 

We also dive deep into romance scams, which (unfortunately) often target women. One study by TSB Bank found that as many as 66% of romance scam victims are women. Kim explains why she’s seen so many smart, successful women lose out on tens of thousands of dollars in the name of love. (Hint: If a hunky, too-good-to-be-true Australian firefighter you haven’t physically met asks for your bank account number, it’s a GIANT red flag.) 

And as always, we talk solutions, from better protecting our bank accounts and credit cards, to locking down our social media accounts, to erasing our personal information from people search websites that scammers love to target. Listen in, and stay safe. 

Plus, in Mailbag, Kim weighs in on a tech question from a listener who’d like to share financial documents with her son online without compromising their family’s security. We also hear from a father who’d like to refinance his kids’ student loans, and another listener who wants to know what the tax differences are between index funds versus ETFs. In our money tip of the week, how to start teaching your kids about money.

Looking for more insights on how to safeguard your personal and financial information? Take a look at Kim’s website, podcasts, or newsletters.