$$$: Email and phone scams are increasing. You can get taken for thousands. [View all]

[Cyrano]

No matter how smart or savvy you are, you can be taken. Trust me on this. I have smart friends who fell, or almost fell, for an email of cell phone ripoff.

You may get an email with the logo of your bank or your credit card, or some other entity that holds your savings or investments. Don't trust it. Call your bank, your credit card company, (or other), tell them what you've received, and ask if they sent it.

The email/call may be from "a long lost son/daughter." It may be from a "bank" saying you're account has been compromised. It may be from your insurance company saying you're behind and that they'll drop you if you don't pay immediately.

The variations are endless. I live in an area of Florida in which many seniors have been victimized through email, cell phones, and even their land lines, and taken for thousands of dollars.

None of us are immune to today's sophisticated scams. Me included. Many of them are brilliant.

Here's the cue to the scam. Money. The second a credit card, or a bank account, or other financial institutions are mentioned, alarms should go off in your brain. Cut it short and directly contact the bank, credit card company, etc., that they claim to be.

And they have now moved onto text messages. If you don't know who a text is from, don't open it.