💰 Navigating Your Finances in Uncertain Times
Worried about your 401K? Unsure how to manage your finances in today’s unpredictable market? We get expert advice from award-winning wealth manager Allie Plonska of Morgan Stanley on making smart, strategic financial decisions.
📩 Contact Allie Plonska
✉️ Email: alicja.plonska@morganstanley.com
📞 Phone: (215) 497-7074 🎧 Further Listening:
Gain deeper insight into market trends with Lisa Shalet, CIO & Head of the Global Investment Office at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, in her podcast episode "Navigating the Trump Trade." ▶️ Listen here: Navigating the Trump Trade
💔 Romance Scams: Know the Red Flags
Even the smartest people have fallen victim to romance scams, leaving them emotionally and financially devastated. U.S. Postal Inspector George Clark joins us to expose common scams and how to protect yourself.
🔍 Resources for Scam Protection:
🏕️ The Transformative Power of Girl Scout Camp
As a city girl, I know firsthand how Girl Scout camps provide an affordable way to experience nature, adventure, and personal growth. Molly Eigen, Chief Mission Delivery Officer at Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania, joins us to share why Girl Scout Camp is more than just fun—it’s a foundation for leadership and confidence. 🌎 Want to Learn More?
Worried about your 401K? Unsure how to manage your finances in today’s unpredictable market? We get expert advice from award-winning wealth manager Allie Plonska of Morgan Stanley on making smart, strategic financial decisions.
📩 Contact Allie Plonska
✉️ Email: alicja.plonska@morganstanley.com
📞 Phone: (215) 497-7074 🎧 Further Listening:
Gain deeper insight into market trends with Lisa Shalet, CIO & Head of the Global Investment Office at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, in her podcast episode "Navigating the Trump Trade." ▶️ Listen here: Navigating the Trump Trade
💔 Romance Scams: Know the Red Flags
Even the smartest people have fallen victim to romance scams, leaving them emotionally and financially devastated. U.S. Postal Inspector George Clark joins us to expose common scams and how to protect yourself.
🔍 Resources for Scam Protection:
🏕️ The Transformative Power of Girl Scout Camp
As a city girl, I know firsthand how Girl Scout camps provide an affordable way to experience nature, adventure, and personal growth. Molly Eigen, Chief Mission Delivery Officer at Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania, joins us to share why Girl Scout Camp is more than just fun—it’s a foundation for leadership and confidence. 🌎 Want to Learn More?
- Explore camp options & register: www.gsep.org/camp
- Stay connected:
- 📷 Instagram & Facebook: @GirlScoutsEPenn
- 💼 LinkedIn: Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning, Welcome to what's going on? A show about
making a difference in our lives and our communities. I'm
Lorraine Ballotmorrow, worried about your four oh one k? I'm
sure how to navigate your finances during these unpredictable times.
We'll get expert advice from award winning wealth manager Ali
Planska of Morgan Stanley. Romance scams have left Romance scams
(00:22):
have left even the smartest people emotionally and financially devastated.
US Postal Inspector George Clark joins us to break down
the red flags and how to protect yourself. But first,
as a city girl, I know firsthand how transformative Girl
Scout Camps can be. These affordable experiences open up a
whole new world of nature, adventure and personal growth. I
(00:46):
am a lifelong member of Girl Scouts. I was a
Girl Scout as a kid, went to Girl Scout camp.
And that's what we're going to be talking about now,
because going to Girl Scout Camp for the first time
was really my first first time having the opportunity to
go from being a very citified girl with no experiences
(01:06):
out in nature to having the very unique and wonderful
experience of being one with nature through Girl Scout camps. Also,
I had my first taste of asamors, which outside of
a campfire, there's nothing more delicious. Joining us today is
Molly Iigen, chief Mission Delivery Officer at Girl Scouts of
Eastern Pennsylvania. She's here to talk about the magic of
(01:28):
Girl Scout Camp, a place where girls build confidence, make
lifelong friendships, and embark on exciting outdoor adventures. With six
camp locations and both day and resident options, Girl Scout
camps offer something for every girl looking for a summer
full of fun and growth. So, Molly is so great
to have you here and so excited to talk about
about camping. And I wonder if you can talk a
(01:50):
bit about the camping experience for those raised in the city,
never been out in the country, per se. Just tell
us what is so unique and so special about the
camping experience.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
We love providing opportunities for our girls to spend time outdoors,
to spend time away from screens, to learn from each
other and from their amazing.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
Counselors in really beautiful environments.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
And so we ensure that girls have time to make friends, to.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Earn badges, and learn new skills like building.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Fire for our older girls or learning how to do
a special craft. And we know that that time together
really builds those memories for girls and also builds independence
and confidence as they try new things and you know,
engage in new relationships.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
Totally, and it's really about expanding people's experiences, you know,
really when it comes to raising kids that become successful
in adults, one is giving them a sense of possibility,
having the opportunity to have adult mentors, which camping does provide,
and to really develop a kind of identity for themselves.
And camping does provide so many different opportunities to explore
(02:59):
different options in life. I wonder if you can share
some of the outdoor adventures in leadership building activities that
campers can look forward to.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
We have a lot of amazing resources on our properties,
so we have low ropes course, high ropes courses. Some
of our campers engage in horseback riding lessons. In programming,
we do tons of fun traditional girl scout games and
get to know you activities as well as team building games.
And we do some even some travel programs, so we
(03:28):
have girls that go on extended canoe trips or backpacking
trips or actually travel to other states during their time
at camp. So there's just a wider range of opportunities
for girls to try something new and experience a different
part of the world in their summertime.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
It can be such a fantastic experience. And there's different
types of options. There's day camps, which I have also experienced,
and then there's overnight camps. Let's talk about what are
the different options that are available for the girls.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Yep, So we have programming from kindergarteners all the way
through seniors in high school, both in the day camp
and the overnight camp options. For overnight camps, we have
multiple different properties in different areas where girls can sleep
there and they sleep there through in a platform tent,
so they're more of a rustic feel. And then we
also have lodges for girls maybe it's their first time
out in the woods and they're not quite ready for
(04:19):
the bugs and the outdoors, and so they can spend
their evenings in the lodge and those are across multiple
of our different properties.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
And then for day camp options, same thing.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
We have a range of ages available to spend the
day at camp for multiple weeks at a time, just
to really ensure girls can kind of have the taste
of home, but also get to spend days doing new
things and exploring new areas. We also have opportunities, you know,
for girls, younger girls or girls new to overnight camp
is will do a half week, so girls can come
and spend two nights together and then go back home,
(04:50):
just to kind of ease into that idea of a
longer term camp potentially when they get older.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Yeah. I mean for me, going away to an overnight
camp was a new experience, as I had never been
away from my family, and so I think that's really
such an important experience for kids to have, is to
be able to experience what it's like to be away
from home and to be on your own and to
be independent. Now, I wonder, are there any camp open
houses where families can explore the camps and ask some questions.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
We have several open houses across for each of our
camps happening in the next few weeks.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
Everything one of our camp areas.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
If you go on GSP dot org you can find
open house times to go visit the camp, check out
where kids sleep, look at some of the different activities,
meet the camp leaders, and camp counselors to really feel
good about where your girl will be spend in her summer.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
Once again, going to Girl Scout Camp overnight was an
amazing experience. Somehow the food just tasted better out in
the woods, and just to be able to breathe clean
air was just a wonderful thing and just something very
nurturing and healing about being out in nature. And they
often say that for all of us, whether we're kids
(06:00):
or adults, having that exposure to nature on a regular
basis is really good for our mental wellbeing. And so
this is just a wonderful opportunity to learn about being
out of nature and to have that independent experience, to
have so much fun, and of course to have some mores,
because again, there is nothing more delicious on this planet
(06:22):
than a smore that was roasted with a marshmallow over
an open fire. If people would like more information, or
if there's anything else you'd like to add before we close,
tell us how we can find out more.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
Absolutely so, you can check us out at www dot
g SEP dot org, backslash camp. You can see us
on Instagram and Facebook, both of those are Girl Scouts
epen or on LinkedIn and all those places. You can
find out information about those open houses happening in February, March,
and April about different openings we have across our camps
(06:54):
for any of the weeks. We still have openings across
the board for all ages in all weeks. Another piece
I just want to plug is that for all of
our camps, we also have older girl opportunities to be
a counselor in training or to be hired as a counselor.
And so we're always looking for girls who've been at
camp and love it so much and want to recreate
that amazing experience.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
For younger girls, there's tons of.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
Opportunities to build those leadership skills and participate on actually
running camp as well as I'm having all the fun
of being at camp. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
And I also have to mention that Girls Scout Camp
is very affordable. As a parent of a son and
having to look for a camp experiences for him, I
can testify that it can be pretty expensive, but Girl
Scout Camp remains very affordable I think for a lot
of folks.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Yeah, we work really hard to try to keep our
prices accessible to folks and offer different scholarship.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
Opportunities as well.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
We know that camp, as you mentioned, is a can
be a pivotal point in girls growing up in their
experience to take risks and to learn about themselves, and
so we want to make that opportunity available to as
many girls as possible.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Right and when I was going to camp, there were
things like rope courses and climbing and things like that
that are so cool now and I wish I had
them when I was growing up as a twelve year
old Girl Scout. But they are more advanced now than
ever before, very affordable, and a wonderful opportunity for girls
to grow and learn and just have a fabulous time.
(08:17):
Molly Eigen, chief Mission Delivery Officer at Girl Scouts of
Eastern Pennsylvania, thank.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
You so much. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
In these very turbulent times, a lot of folks are
concerned about their financial wealth and health. To help us
guide us through some of the things that are happening
and how we can best utilize our financial health and wealth.
We're joined by Ali Plantska, she's senior vice president, and
Morgan Stanley and has been named Forbes Magazine's Top Woman
(08:51):
Wealth Advisors, also the top wealth Advisor best in State
of Pennsylvania. Let's talk about what's happening now with any
administration that changes. What are some things some tips that
you have for us regarding financial planning.
Speaker 4 (09:05):
Great question, Lauren, and thank you for having me here.
Financial planning is a long term game. We all know this.
So if there is anything your listeners can take away
from this call is that it is very important to
sit down with a professional and kind of think about
your goals and your objectives and give them the opportunity
to learn your true res tolerance. And sometimes that takes
(09:27):
like a whole business cycle for us to fully understand
how much risk you're willing to take to get to
your goals. When we have this information, we can build
a foundation where we know what a client needs to
do to get to where he needs or she needs
to get. But that doesn't end the relationship. Now everything changes.
As soon as we finish this plan, everything will change.
(09:49):
And I think the most important part is to embrace change,
to be very honest with you because it will always
happen and it's not always good. I'll get phone calls
from my client saying my loved one past away. I
hope to work till I can't, but I just got
laid off and my job. I can replace it. But
the change is not always good. But the change will
always happen, and we have to embrace it. We have
(10:11):
to assess the risk and we have to assess the
opportunities that that change brings. Loraene, you nailed it. Every
time administration changes, that is one of those changes we
have to embrace. So on constant is it will change, right, Lora,
Like the United States have this tendency of switching power
from left to right pretty consistently, I would say, But
(10:31):
every time that happens, it is a point of change
and it needs to be addressed.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
Let's talk about history and how that reflects our view
of what's happening right now. As a financial advisor that's
certainly worked through a number of different administrations, what have
you learned about making decisions that impact financial decisions?
Speaker 4 (10:51):
You know, that's a very good question. I think that
what I learned is that the devil is in the detail.
So whoever gets powered gives us some kind of a
story and certain goals or objectives they have, But the implementation,
the execution, the sequence of execution, all of that really
(11:12):
is what becomes the new normal, right, So acting on
an unfinished agenda piece that is not executed fully has
never really benefited anyone. We need to really see the
execution of whatever it is we're being told that's going
to happen, and examine what the true effect of those
(11:33):
changes are. Historically, you know, we've seen that anytime an
administration talks about taxes, we can kind of predict what
effect that may have. When they talk about tarrets or
when they talk about spending, those are pretty broad subjects
that do change the direction of the markets or the
economy a little bit. So yes, it is important things
(11:54):
to discuss and then watch as they are being implemented. Now,
I'm going to lean on my CIO Chief Investment Officer,
Lisa Charlotte.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
She's phenomenal.
Speaker 4 (12:03):
She put out this beautiful podcast called Trump two point Out.
I can share it with you if you want to
share it with your listeners. Sure, phenomenal piece. What she
helps people understand, and what I would like to share
with your listeners is that this is not the same
economy today as it was in twenty sixteen when the
administration changed. With noticed that a lot of investors kind
of follow the same playbook from twenty sixteen. We're yet
(12:26):
to see if that's the right thing, but it will
be very different. We have different interest rate environment, we
have different inflationary environments, so we'll see what happens. We
definitely are looking at certain sectors and maybe certain parts
of the markets that may be affected with this new administration.
And again I'm referring you to the Lisa's podcast because
(12:47):
it's more detailed, but in a nutshell, if we're talking
about let's say taxes, right, how can they affect US.
Taxes and DA combined could potentially affect sectors like industrials, financials, energy.
(13:08):
Those sectors usually do well when there is a deregulation
or maybe fourbarans in regulator environment or some kind of
tax incentive, especially for domestic companies. This is aside, not
from me, but I would like to remember that we
have two states currently Florida and California that also has
(13:29):
to rebuild from horrible things that happen in those two states.
So there is a lot of tailwinds for cyclical sectors,
for those growing sectors. I think that our gig thinks
that those three sectors probably will benefit in this administration.
So that's the opportunity that may be created the taxes.
Usually we want the high end consumer to kind of
(13:52):
grab the way that he wants to do it, grab
the majority of this benefit, and hope is that they
will spend more. Right Fortunately, you know, sometimes we don't
see that cohort. Really, their propensity to spend doesn't really
correlate one to one with the tax cuts. So we'll
see how it happens. But if it happens, it may
benefit small and med cup companies, especially here domestically, which.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
Would be great.
Speaker 4 (14:14):
We still have to look at interest rates and inflation
because those companies, the smaller metcap companies are very, very
linked to those two, and then see if you're really
going to see the rebirth weight we want and see
the effect that is intended for the small and metcap
companies without changes. Another thing we talk about is the
tariffs and the immigration and I don't know if you
(14:36):
want me to go into details on those two.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
Well, I think that that would be another hour. But
I would like to jump to a topic that I
think affects a lot of people. There are some people
who are into the stock market, but certainly a very
large majority of Americans have their retirement money in furrow
and K funds, and I wonder if you can talk
(15:00):
a little bit about some potential changes and how that
might impact that person.
Speaker 4 (15:05):
I am not sure what the changes will be in
the future. I know that there was a change down
during the prior administration that looked closer to for one
K offerings, which means that many funds we have available.
It is now very much driven by performance and costs, right,
and sometimes that may have a negative effect on some
(15:26):
of the ESG funds because they tend to be very
narrow in what they can do and they may kind
of deviate from the benchmark a little bit. For a
listener who is investing in a far one K, the
most important thing they should do is stay diversified, Do
not allow any kind of rhetoric, no matter who is
in administration, no matter what happens to make it. Put
(15:51):
all your eggs in one basket, right, So the versification
is the key. Maybe saying domestic is not the bad idea,
but still having a lot of bit of exposure internationally
or even to Europe maybe important. We really don't know
what's going to happen. Did we predict wars? We don't
know when they are coming. Do we predict hurricanes, do
we predict fires? Things are happening, So staying diversified is
(16:14):
extremely important. The hope is that if there were changes
to the tax brackets again, the hope would be that
that means we have a little bit extra money each
month that gives us an opportunity to maybe save a
little bit more for retirement if we can, which is bullish,
is bullish for the market, or spend it, which is
(16:35):
also bolish for the market. Even savings, it helps financial companies,
so you know, having that extra penny on a short
term it helps. So yes, if it comes to four
one case, I think the only change may be that
should there be changes to personal tax bracket, it may
help us save a little bit more towards retirement. Staying
diversified is very important. Staying invested is extremely important. If
(16:59):
you have access to active management or some kind of
advice through your plan. A lot of companies offer that.
I highly recommend you use it if you can talk
to a person about your financial plan, so you're not
just kind of throwing darts in a dark you're kind
of working towards a goal with your investments. But that's
in the nutshell of the answer to your question.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
Also, I think that what's very important is, as I've
learned over time, is not to panic, because we've certainly
been through old enough to have been through several real
bad downturns in the market that had a huge impact
on my investments, particularly my four ROH one K, And
I know in some cases people panicked and they cashed out,
(17:41):
and they did things that perhaps were not wise. When
I would say that holding fast the money came back,
it's very easy, I think, to panic when we do
have a downturn. So I wonder if you have any
quick advice for those who get very stressed out when
the market seems to be doing things that are tough
(18:02):
on their finances.
Speaker 4 (18:03):
Investing means investing in businesses. In my opinion, it should
not be speculation. We're not going to gamble. This is
investing in things that should grow. And in every point
of the market, we'll have three type of investors, but
we don't have someone who's buying, someone who is selling,
and someone who's holding. At every point of the market
(18:24):
cycle will have those three and we decide which one
of those three we are. I agree with you one
hundred percent that if you are invested in companies that
are solid businesses, if you are diversified, if you engage
in active management with someone who's actually manaitoring and watching it,
I'm biased because that's what I do for a living.
(18:45):
I know a lot of people may say passive investments
are fine, and they probably are just fine. But I
am a lot of type ay. I believe you should
always watch everything. Then you remain the investor. Over time
things work out. I have so many anecdotes that is
always that one client who will message me no matter
what happens, this is not about the sadministration at all,
(19:05):
and it will be something along the line. You know,
on my work computer, it's going to come up through
the chat and it's going to be I want to
sell everything and I'm moving out of your moving to
another or or I'll get I'll get expassage saying my
son wants to mortgage his house and by cryptos right right.
So like it is not let's put our money on
forty eight. It's investing. If you're diversified and you're patient,
(19:30):
you are probably going to do just fine. The market
will go five steps forward, three steps back, five steps forward,
three steps back, and just staying walking, you move ahead.
But if you step away, and if you sit down
at any point, the life passes you by and you
end up sitting and not growing and with infatient the
way it is right now and everything else. We really
(19:52):
cannot afford to have our savings and retirement savings, especially
to help us prepare for retirement.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
Yeah, no, very important. Having a financial advisor is a
great idea if you can afford it, and certainly taking
advantage of the resources that many companies do provide to
assist you in your furroh one K investments is definitely advisable.
I think the thing that we want to encourage people
to do is to pay attention because so often we
and I put myself in that category until fairly recently,
(20:23):
and that is, you know, just kind of like I
don't want to think about it, but you know what,
thinking about it is very critical. And there are certainly
lots of support and tools out there available. If people
wanted to find out how they can get in touch
with you, how did they do that.
Speaker 4 (20:38):
If you would like to reach me, please call me
on my work number, which is two one five four
nine seven seven zero seven four or my corporate cell
which is six one oh nine five five one seven
to four. You can email me at my first name,
Ali Cja dot my last name plo n. Ska at
Morgan Stanley dot com.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Ali Planska, who is senior vice president of Morgan Stanley.
Thank you so much. Thank you. Last week was National
Consumer Protection Week, but every week should be National Consumer
Protection Week because there's so many scams out there. And
joining us as he does periodically because he's got such
(21:19):
great information is George Clark. He's a US Postal Inspector,
and he's going to give us an idea of some
of the typical scams that people fall prey to and
some of the red flags. In your work at a
US Postal inspector, what are some of the most common
scams that you went across.
Speaker 5 (21:37):
The most common scams are probably romance scams, some form
of romance making that emotional, perhaps exciting connection with someone.
The underlying scheme might be a little different. There might
be a investment scheme, there might be a need for
money scheme. I'm in a desperate street and I need money,
(21:58):
but someone is trying to make that emotional connection with
the victim, and they'll read the victim as best as
they can from whatever part of the world they're sitting in.
But oftentimes it'll sort of resort down to preying on
sort of a romance type level and off. People who
fall victim to this are emotionally desperate. They might have
lost someone significant, they might be divorced, often older, they
(22:23):
have some disposable income, and those people make for prime targets.
I mean they always have through the centuries. I mean,
we're all humans, we understand some level of human nature.
But these days, the ability to connect with anybody across
the globe, the Internet has opened up those connections. So
you could be sitting and we were talking beforehand. You
(22:45):
could be sitting in a call center set up by
Chinese organized crime in the jungles of Southeast Asia. This
is really going on right now. It's actually very tragic
being held hostage essentially and calling people from Russia to
China to the UK to America and making that emotional
connection with them, offering them an investment. But that investment's intriguing,
(23:08):
and you can trust me because you and I are
in love, or we've made some deeper connection than just
your average salesperson on a phone. That is the most
common thing we see. These schemes start often from investment ideas,
and like today, as the stock market has become more
accessible for multitudes of people than perhaps it was fifty
(23:31):
years ago, investment opportunities go in all sorts of exotic directions.
Was like cryptocurrency, the idea that you can offer someone
a unique opportunity people have in their imagination like that
is an opportunity I want. I want to get that opportunity.
I want to be offered the secret crypto that's going
to make me rich. I want to be offered the
(23:51):
opportunity to turn Hong Kong currency into gold bars. And wow,
that sounds intriguing that you're offering me it's not real, right,
If it's.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
Too good to be true, it really isn't true most likely.
And I think the thing about it is that people
are often put into a spiral of shame because there's
very smart people who get sucked into these romance scams,
and often they're too embarrassed to share with other people
until it's too late. And we've seen some many tragic
(24:21):
incidents in which very responsible women have fallen prey to
having all of their savings taken and then become very
desperate and sometimes in their lives. That's how horrible it
can be. And you mentioned something that's very interesting, and
that is something relatively new, which are these call centers
that are also connected with human trafficking.
Speaker 5 (24:42):
Chinese organized crime is taking advantage and this is relatively new.
It's popped up in the last several years, taking advantage
of the lawlessness that exists in the Golden Triangle area,
and that's sort of the border area between Thailand, Laos
and Cambodia and Vietnam. They're building small cities, they're building
infrastructure for one purpose and as to set up these
(25:03):
call centers, and they're lowering most often, not exclusively, but
most often young Chinese men and women with job opportunities,
and they show up thinking they're going to be doing
I think often it's sort of like a customer service opportunity,
customer support, and next thing you know, their passport's being taken.
They're being locked away in these call centers which are
(25:24):
barred and locked, and you know they're sitting in front
of computers and microphones and telephones kind of like we
are now. For ten twelve fourteen hours a day just
trying to connect with potential victims.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
That's crazy. Let's go back to the romance scam and
discuss some of the red flags that people should immediately
be aware of because there's so many.
Speaker 5 (25:46):
So red flags. Are getting too romantic and that person
you've never met asking for significant I mean any amount
of money really, but you know a major red flag
would be significant amount of money, inconsistencies in their story
out till I met a man who fell in love
with a woman who said she lost all her money.
She had taken to some engineering project in Africa, and
(26:08):
she had been carrying the money on an airplane, millions
of dollars, and customs had taken it. Just think for
a second how much it weighs to carry millions of
dollars in it? And wait a minute, why are you
taking cash on an airplane for a major engineering project,
in this case for an oil company. They're sending you
with the money in suitcases. That doesn't make sense. You're
(26:28):
not real and that's what needs to be said. Unfortunately
he didn't say it quite in time. He did lose
a little bit of money. Those are the things to
listen to and also in that case, they were getting
very romantic very quickly. And when I say romantic, I
mean having exciting conversations on the phone. He had lost
his wife some months earlier, so this was really exciting
for him, and he was vulnerable and the red flags
(26:51):
were all over the place for him. And once we
got alerted, I sat down with him and tried to
talk him through these red flags and ultimately we succeeded.
It was touch and go at times because he really
wanted to believe it.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
Yeah, that's the thing that's so tragic about it is
that people do get sucked into it. They really do
have a connection with this individual that has very cleverly
sucked them into the situation. And then what recourse does
a person have who's been taken advantage of it?
Speaker 4 (27:20):
Well?
Speaker 5 (27:21):
And the recourse is tough because often when moneys sent overseas,
it's going to be very very hard to recover. Being
overseas itself is a tough obstacle for US law enforcement
to overcome. What people need to do is they need
to complain. It's law enforcement, whether it's a local police
or the Postal Inspection Service or any number of agencies.
(27:42):
Complain those complaints get compiled together and we can start
to target the infrastructure, at least here in the United
States that is facilitating that crime. But they need to
change their phone number, change their email address, if they've
given away their banking information, they need to call their
bank and they need to talk with someone at the
bank about what's happened and get advice on what should happen.
Maybe they need to set up a new checking account,
(28:03):
Maybe they need a new debit card, maybe they need
a new credit card. These are things that people need
to do, and they need to do it as soon
as they realize they're being victimized. The longer you go on,
the more you engage with these fraudsters, the more they're
going to really you back in.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
Well, there's all kinds of resources that are available for
anyone who thinks they might be the victim of one
of these scam situations, whether it's a romance scam or
a lottery scam. There's so many scams out there. To
keep up with them, it's not easy to do, but
there is a website that helps you figure out what
to do in case and to give you advice on
(28:38):
seeing what the red flags are, what is that website.
Speaker 5 (28:41):
I'll give you a couple. Our website www. Dot uspis
dot gov is where you can complain and get information
on different scams. The Federal Trade Commission FTC dot gov
has good information and they will also accept complaints at
the FPI. Obviously if you go to their website will
have the similar sorts of information that you can complain
to them. These compl in this line or work and
(29:01):
fraud at least will come together in one big database
and we'll have access to them. So it's important that
you do that. Also, talk to your financial institution. Talk
to them and they'll give you advice about red flags
or this is what's happening, what do you think and
they'll be like they have experience, they have a lot
of customers who also maybe fall victim to think, so,
you know, talk to them and they can help you
(29:23):
as a victim, stop being victimized and fix the exposures
you've created.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
So fantastic, Well, it's very important for us to be
very alert because there's so many scams out there and
with new technology and artificial intelligence and a lot of
people are falling prey to these many many scams out there,
so check it out George Clark, us Postal Inspector, thanks
for again raising our awareness and what to look out
for with all of these very scams that are out there.
Speaker 5 (29:49):
Thank you very much, Thank you, Lareen.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
You can listen to all of today's interviews by going
to our station website and typing in keyword community. You
can also listen on the iHeartRadio app ye words Fill
it HeLa community podcast. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram
at Lorraine Ballard. I'm Lorraine Ballard MOREL and I stand
for service to our community and media that empowers. What
will you stand for? You've been listening to what's going on,
(30:13):
and thank you
Good morning, Welcome to what's going on? A show about
making a difference in our lives and our communities. I'm
Lorraine Ballotmorrow, worried about your four oh one k? I'm
sure how to navigate your finances during these unpredictable times.
We'll get expert advice from award winning wealth manager Ali
Planska of Morgan Stanley. Romance scams have left Romance scams
(00:22):
have left even the smartest people emotionally and financially devastated.
US Postal Inspector George Clark joins us to break down
the red flags and how to protect yourself. But first,
as a city girl, I know firsthand how transformative Girl
Scout Camps can be. These affordable experiences open up a
whole new world of nature, adventure and personal growth. I
(00:46):
am a lifelong member of Girl Scouts. I was a
Girl Scout as a kid, went to Girl Scout camp.
And that's what we're going to be talking about now,
because going to Girl Scout Camp for the first time
was really my first first time having the opportunity to
go from being a very citified girl with no experiences
(01:06):
out in nature to having the very unique and wonderful
experience of being one with nature through Girl Scout camps. Also,
I had my first taste of asamors, which outside of
a campfire, there's nothing more delicious. Joining us today is
Molly Iigen, chief Mission Delivery Officer at Girl Scouts of
Eastern Pennsylvania. She's here to talk about the magic of
(01:28):
Girl Scout Camp, a place where girls build confidence, make
lifelong friendships, and embark on exciting outdoor adventures. With six
camp locations and both day and resident options, Girl Scout
camps offer something for every girl looking for a summer
full of fun and growth. So, Molly is so great
to have you here and so excited to talk about
about camping. And I wonder if you can talk a
(01:50):
bit about the camping experience for those raised in the city,
never been out in the country, per se. Just tell
us what is so unique and so special about the
camping experience.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
We love providing opportunities for our girls to spend time outdoors,
to spend time away from screens, to learn from each
other and from their amazing.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
Counselors in really beautiful environments.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
And so we ensure that girls have time to make friends, to.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Earn badges, and learn new skills like building.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Fire for our older girls or learning how to do
a special craft. And we know that that time together
really builds those memories for girls and also builds independence
and confidence as they try new things and you know,
engage in new relationships.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
Totally, and it's really about expanding people's experiences, you know,
really when it comes to raising kids that become successful
in adults, one is giving them a sense of possibility,
having the opportunity to have adult mentors, which camping does provide,
and to really develop a kind of identity for themselves.
And camping does provide so many different opportunities to explore
(02:59):
different options in life. I wonder if you can share
some of the outdoor adventures in leadership building activities that
campers can look forward to.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
We have a lot of amazing resources on our properties,
so we have low ropes course, high ropes courses. Some
of our campers engage in horseback riding lessons. In programming,
we do tons of fun traditional girl scout games and
get to know you activities as well as team building games.
And we do some even some travel programs, so we
(03:28):
have girls that go on extended canoe trips or backpacking
trips or actually travel to other states during their time
at camp. So there's just a wider range of opportunities
for girls to try something new and experience a different
part of the world in their summertime.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
It can be such a fantastic experience. And there's different
types of options. There's day camps, which I have also experienced,
and then there's overnight camps. Let's talk about what are
the different options that are available for the girls.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Yep, So we have programming from kindergarteners all the way
through seniors in high school, both in the day camp
and the overnight camp options. For overnight camps, we have
multiple different properties in different areas where girls can sleep
there and they sleep there through in a platform tent,
so they're more of a rustic feel. And then we
also have lodges for girls maybe it's their first time
out in the woods and they're not quite ready for
(04:19):
the bugs and the outdoors, and so they can spend
their evenings in the lodge and those are across multiple
of our different properties.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
And then for day camp options, same thing.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
We have a range of ages available to spend the
day at camp for multiple weeks at a time, just
to really ensure girls can kind of have the taste
of home, but also get to spend days doing new
things and exploring new areas. We also have opportunities, you know,
for girls, younger girls or girls new to overnight camp
is will do a half week, so girls can come
and spend two nights together and then go back home,
(04:50):
just to kind of ease into that idea of a
longer term camp potentially when they get older.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Yeah. I mean for me, going away to an overnight
camp was a new experience, as I had never been
away from my family, and so I think that's really
such an important experience for kids to have, is to
be able to experience what it's like to be away
from home and to be on your own and to
be independent. Now, I wonder, are there any camp open
houses where families can explore the camps and ask some questions.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
We have several open houses across for each of our
camps happening in the next few weeks.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
Everything one of our camp areas.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
If you go on GSP dot org you can find
open house times to go visit the camp, check out
where kids sleep, look at some of the different activities,
meet the camp leaders, and camp counselors to really feel
good about where your girl will be spend in her summer.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
Once again, going to Girl Scout Camp overnight was an
amazing experience. Somehow the food just tasted better out in
the woods, and just to be able to breathe clean
air was just a wonderful thing and just something very
nurturing and healing about being out in nature. And they
often say that for all of us, whether we're kids
(06:00):
or adults, having that exposure to nature on a regular
basis is really good for our mental wellbeing. And so
this is just a wonderful opportunity to learn about being
out of nature and to have that independent experience, to
have so much fun, and of course to have some mores,
because again, there is nothing more delicious on this planet
(06:22):
than a smore that was roasted with a marshmallow over
an open fire. If people would like more information, or
if there's anything else you'd like to add before we close,
tell us how we can find out more.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
Absolutely so, you can check us out at www dot
g SEP dot org, backslash camp. You can see us
on Instagram and Facebook, both of those are Girl Scouts
epen or on LinkedIn and all those places. You can
find out information about those open houses happening in February, March,
and April about different openings we have across our camps
(06:54):
for any of the weeks. We still have openings across
the board for all ages in all weeks. Another piece
I just want to plug is that for all of
our camps, we also have older girl opportunities to be
a counselor in training or to be hired as a counselor.
And so we're always looking for girls who've been at
camp and love it so much and want to recreate
that amazing experience.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
For younger girls, there's tons of.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
Opportunities to build those leadership skills and participate on actually
running camp as well as I'm having all the fun
of being at camp. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
And I also have to mention that Girls Scout Camp
is very affordable. As a parent of a son and
having to look for a camp experiences for him, I
can testify that it can be pretty expensive, but Girl
Scout Camp remains very affordable I think for a lot
of folks.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Yeah, we work really hard to try to keep our
prices accessible to folks and offer different scholarship.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
Opportunities as well.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
We know that camp, as you mentioned, is a can
be a pivotal point in girls growing up in their
experience to take risks and to learn about themselves, and
so we want to make that opportunity available to as
many girls as possible.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Right and when I was going to camp, there were
things like rope courses and climbing and things like that
that are so cool now and I wish I had
them when I was growing up as a twelve year
old Girl Scout. But they are more advanced now than
ever before, very affordable, and a wonderful opportunity for girls
to grow and learn and just have a fabulous time.
(08:17):
Molly Eigen, chief Mission Delivery Officer at Girl Scouts of
Eastern Pennsylvania, thank.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
You so much. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
In these very turbulent times, a lot of folks are
concerned about their financial wealth and health. To help us
guide us through some of the things that are happening
and how we can best utilize our financial health and wealth.
We're joined by Ali Plantska, she's senior vice president, and
Morgan Stanley and has been named Forbes Magazine's Top Woman
(08:51):
Wealth Advisors, also the top wealth Advisor best in State
of Pennsylvania. Let's talk about what's happening now with any
administration that changes. What are some things some tips that
you have for us regarding financial planning.
Speaker 4 (09:05):
Great question, Lauren, and thank you for having me here.
Financial planning is a long term game. We all know this.
So if there is anything your listeners can take away
from this call is that it is very important to
sit down with a professional and kind of think about
your goals and your objectives and give them the opportunity
to learn your true res tolerance. And sometimes that takes
(09:27):
like a whole business cycle for us to fully understand
how much risk you're willing to take to get to
your goals. When we have this information, we can build
a foundation where we know what a client needs to
do to get to where he needs or she needs
to get. But that doesn't end the relationship. Now everything changes.
As soon as we finish this plan, everything will change.
(09:49):
And I think the most important part is to embrace change,
to be very honest with you because it will always
happen and it's not always good. I'll get phone calls
from my client saying my loved one past away. I
hope to work till I can't, but I just got
laid off and my job. I can replace it. But
the change is not always good. But the change will
always happen, and we have to embrace it. We have
(10:11):
to assess the risk and we have to assess the
opportunities that that change brings. Loraene, you nailed it. Every
time administration changes, that is one of those changes we
have to embrace. So on constant is it will change, right, Lora,
Like the United States have this tendency of switching power
from left to right pretty consistently, I would say, But
(10:31):
every time that happens, it is a point of change
and it needs to be addressed.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
Let's talk about history and how that reflects our view
of what's happening right now. As a financial advisor that's
certainly worked through a number of different administrations, what have
you learned about making decisions that impact financial decisions?
Speaker 4 (10:51):
You know, that's a very good question. I think that
what I learned is that the devil is in the detail.
So whoever gets powered gives us some kind of a
story and certain goals or objectives they have, But the implementation,
the execution, the sequence of execution, all of that really
(11:12):
is what becomes the new normal, right, So acting on
an unfinished agenda piece that is not executed fully has
never really benefited anyone. We need to really see the
execution of whatever it is we're being told that's going
to happen, and examine what the true effect of those
(11:33):
changes are. Historically, you know, we've seen that anytime an
administration talks about taxes, we can kind of predict what
effect that may have. When they talk about tarrets or
when they talk about spending, those are pretty broad subjects
that do change the direction of the markets or the
economy a little bit. So yes, it is important things
(11:54):
to discuss and then watch as they are being implemented. Now,
I'm going to lean on my CIO Chief Investment Officer,
Lisa Charlotte.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
She's phenomenal.
Speaker 4 (12:03):
She put out this beautiful podcast called Trump two point Out.
I can share it with you if you want to
share it with your listeners. Sure, phenomenal piece. What she
helps people understand, and what I would like to share
with your listeners is that this is not the same
economy today as it was in twenty sixteen when the
administration changed. With noticed that a lot of investors kind
of follow the same playbook from twenty sixteen. We're yet
(12:26):
to see if that's the right thing, but it will
be very different. We have different interest rate environment, we
have different inflationary environments, so we'll see what happens. We
definitely are looking at certain sectors and maybe certain parts
of the markets that may be affected with this new administration.
And again I'm referring you to the Lisa's podcast because
(12:47):
it's more detailed, but in a nutshell, if we're talking
about let's say taxes, right, how can they affect US.
Taxes and DA combined could potentially affect sectors like industrials, financials, energy.
(13:08):
Those sectors usually do well when there is a deregulation
or maybe fourbarans in regulator environment or some kind of
tax incentive, especially for domestic companies. This is aside, not
from me, but I would like to remember that we
have two states currently Florida and California that also has
(13:29):
to rebuild from horrible things that happen in those two states.
So there is a lot of tailwinds for cyclical sectors,
for those growing sectors. I think that our gig thinks
that those three sectors probably will benefit in this administration.
So that's the opportunity that may be created the taxes.
Usually we want the high end consumer to kind of
(13:52):
grab the way that he wants to do it, grab
the majority of this benefit, and hope is that they
will spend more. Right Fortunately, you know, sometimes we don't
see that cohort. Really, their propensity to spend doesn't really
correlate one to one with the tax cuts. So we'll
see how it happens. But if it happens, it may
benefit small and med cup companies, especially here domestically, which.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
Would be great.
Speaker 4 (14:14):
We still have to look at interest rates and inflation
because those companies, the smaller metcap companies are very, very
linked to those two, and then see if you're really
going to see the rebirth weight we want and see
the effect that is intended for the small and metcap
companies without changes. Another thing we talk about is the
tariffs and the immigration and I don't know if you
(14:36):
want me to go into details on those two.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
Well, I think that that would be another hour. But
I would like to jump to a topic that I
think affects a lot of people. There are some people
who are into the stock market, but certainly a very
large majority of Americans have their retirement money in furrow
and K funds, and I wonder if you can talk
(15:00):
a little bit about some potential changes and how that
might impact that person.
Speaker 4 (15:05):
I am not sure what the changes will be in
the future. I know that there was a change down
during the prior administration that looked closer to for one
K offerings, which means that many funds we have available.
It is now very much driven by performance and costs, right,
and sometimes that may have a negative effect on some
(15:26):
of the ESG funds because they tend to be very
narrow in what they can do and they may kind
of deviate from the benchmark a little bit. For a
listener who is investing in a far one K, the
most important thing they should do is stay diversified, Do
not allow any kind of rhetoric, no matter who is
in administration, no matter what happens to make it. Put
(15:51):
all your eggs in one basket, right, So the versification
is the key. Maybe saying domestic is not the bad idea,
but still having a lot of bit of exposure internationally
or even to Europe maybe important. We really don't know
what's going to happen. Did we predict wars? We don't
know when they are coming. Do we predict hurricanes, do
we predict fires? Things are happening, So staying diversified is
(16:14):
extremely important. The hope is that if there were changes
to the tax brackets again, the hope would be that
that means we have a little bit extra money each
month that gives us an opportunity to maybe save a
little bit more for retirement if we can, which is bullish,
is bullish for the market, or spend it, which is
(16:35):
also bolish for the market. Even savings, it helps financial companies,
so you know, having that extra penny on a short
term it helps. So yes, if it comes to four
one case, I think the only change may be that
should there be changes to personal tax bracket, it may
help us save a little bit more towards retirement. Staying
diversified is very important. Staying invested is extremely important. If
(16:59):
you have access to active management or some kind of
advice through your plan. A lot of companies offer that.
I highly recommend you use it if you can talk
to a person about your financial plan, so you're not
just kind of throwing darts in a dark you're kind
of working towards a goal with your investments. But that's
in the nutshell of the answer to your question.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
Also, I think that what's very important is, as I've
learned over time, is not to panic, because we've certainly
been through old enough to have been through several real
bad downturns in the market that had a huge impact
on my investments, particularly my four ROH one K, And
I know in some cases people panicked and they cashed out,
(17:41):
and they did things that perhaps were not wise. When
I would say that holding fast the money came back,
it's very easy, I think, to panic when we do
have a downturn. So I wonder if you have any
quick advice for those who get very stressed out when
the market seems to be doing things that are tough
(18:02):
on their finances.
Speaker 4 (18:03):
Investing means investing in businesses. In my opinion, it should
not be speculation. We're not going to gamble. This is
investing in things that should grow. And in every point
of the market, we'll have three type of investors, but
we don't have someone who's buying, someone who is selling,
and someone who's holding. At every point of the market
(18:24):
cycle will have those three and we decide which one
of those three we are. I agree with you one
hundred percent that if you are invested in companies that
are solid businesses, if you are diversified, if you engage
in active management with someone who's actually manaitoring and watching it,
I'm biased because that's what I do for a living.
(18:45):
I know a lot of people may say passive investments
are fine, and they probably are just fine. But I
am a lot of type ay. I believe you should
always watch everything. Then you remain the investor. Over time
things work out. I have so many anecdotes that is
always that one client who will message me no matter
what happens, this is not about the sadministration at all,
(19:05):
and it will be something along the line. You know,
on my work computer, it's going to come up through
the chat and it's going to be I want to
sell everything and I'm moving out of your moving to
another or or I'll get I'll get expassage saying my
son wants to mortgage his house and by cryptos right right.
So like it is not let's put our money on
forty eight. It's investing. If you're diversified and you're patient,
(19:30):
you are probably going to do just fine. The market
will go five steps forward, three steps back, five steps forward,
three steps back, and just staying walking, you move ahead.
But if you step away, and if you sit down
at any point, the life passes you by and you
end up sitting and not growing and with infatient the
way it is right now and everything else. We really
(19:52):
cannot afford to have our savings and retirement savings, especially
to help us prepare for retirement.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
Yeah, no, very important. Having a financial advisor is a
great idea if you can afford it, and certainly taking
advantage of the resources that many companies do provide to
assist you in your furroh one K investments is definitely advisable.
I think the thing that we want to encourage people
to do is to pay attention because so often we
and I put myself in that category until fairly recently,
(20:23):
and that is, you know, just kind of like I
don't want to think about it, but you know what,
thinking about it is very critical. And there are certainly
lots of support and tools out there available. If people
wanted to find out how they can get in touch
with you, how did they do that.
Speaker 4 (20:38):
If you would like to reach me, please call me
on my work number, which is two one five four
nine seven seven zero seven four or my corporate cell
which is six one oh nine five five one seven
to four. You can email me at my first name,
Ali Cja dot my last name plo n. Ska at
Morgan Stanley dot com.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Ali Planska, who is senior vice president of Morgan Stanley.
Thank you so much. Thank you. Last week was National
Consumer Protection Week, but every week should be National Consumer
Protection Week because there's so many scams out there. And
joining us as he does periodically because he's got such
(21:19):
great information is George Clark. He's a US Postal Inspector,
and he's going to give us an idea of some
of the typical scams that people fall prey to and
some of the red flags. In your work at a
US Postal inspector, what are some of the most common
scams that you went across.
Speaker 5 (21:37):
The most common scams are probably romance scams, some form
of romance making that emotional, perhaps exciting connection with someone.
The underlying scheme might be a little different. There might
be a investment scheme, there might be a need for
money scheme. I'm in a desperate street and I need money,
(21:58):
but someone is trying to make that emotional connection with
the victim, and they'll read the victim as best as
they can from whatever part of the world they're sitting in.
But oftentimes it'll sort of resort down to preying on
sort of a romance type level and off. People who
fall victim to this are emotionally desperate. They might have
lost someone significant, they might be divorced, often older, they
(22:23):
have some disposable income, and those people make for prime targets.
I mean they always have through the centuries. I mean,
we're all humans, we understand some level of human nature.
But these days, the ability to connect with anybody across
the globe, the Internet has opened up those connections. So
you could be sitting and we were talking beforehand. You
(22:45):
could be sitting in a call center set up by
Chinese organized crime in the jungles of Southeast Asia. This
is really going on right now. It's actually very tragic
being held hostage essentially and calling people from Russia to
China to the UK to America and making that emotional
connection with them, offering them an investment. But that investment's intriguing,
(23:08):
and you can trust me because you and I are
in love, or we've made some deeper connection than just
your average salesperson on a phone. That is the most
common thing we see. These schemes start often from investment ideas,
and like today, as the stock market has become more
accessible for multitudes of people than perhaps it was fifty
(23:31):
years ago, investment opportunities go in all sorts of exotic directions.
Was like cryptocurrency, the idea that you can offer someone
a unique opportunity people have in their imagination like that
is an opportunity I want. I want to get that opportunity.
I want to be offered the secret crypto that's going
to make me rich. I want to be offered the
(23:51):
opportunity to turn Hong Kong currency into gold bars. And wow,
that sounds intriguing that you're offering me it's not real, right,
If it's.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
Too good to be true, it really isn't true most likely.
And I think the thing about it is that people
are often put into a spiral of shame because there's
very smart people who get sucked into these romance scams,
and often they're too embarrassed to share with other people
until it's too late. And we've seen some many tragic
(24:21):
incidents in which very responsible women have fallen prey to
having all of their savings taken and then become very
desperate and sometimes in their lives. That's how horrible it
can be. And you mentioned something that's very interesting, and
that is something relatively new, which are these call centers
that are also connected with human trafficking.
Speaker 5 (24:42):
Chinese organized crime is taking advantage and this is relatively new.
It's popped up in the last several years, taking advantage
of the lawlessness that exists in the Golden Triangle area,
and that's sort of the border area between Thailand, Laos
and Cambodia and Vietnam. They're building small cities, they're building
infrastructure for one purpose and as to set up these
(25:03):
call centers, and they're lowering most often, not exclusively, but
most often young Chinese men and women with job opportunities,
and they show up thinking they're going to be doing
I think often it's sort of like a customer service opportunity,
customer support, and next thing you know, their passport's being taken.
They're being locked away in these call centers which are
(25:24):
barred and locked, and you know they're sitting in front
of computers and microphones and telephones kind of like we
are now. For ten twelve fourteen hours a day just
trying to connect with potential victims.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
That's crazy. Let's go back to the romance scam and
discuss some of the red flags that people should immediately
be aware of because there's so many.
Speaker 5 (25:46):
So red flags. Are getting too romantic and that person
you've never met asking for significant I mean any amount
of money really, but you know a major red flag
would be significant amount of money, inconsistencies in their story
out till I met a man who fell in love
with a woman who said she lost all her money.
She had taken to some engineering project in Africa, and
(26:08):
she had been carrying the money on an airplane, millions
of dollars, and customs had taken it. Just think for
a second how much it weighs to carry millions of
dollars in it? And wait a minute, why are you
taking cash on an airplane for a major engineering project,
in this case for an oil company. They're sending you
with the money in suitcases. That doesn't make sense. You're
(26:28):
not real and that's what needs to be said. Unfortunately
he didn't say it quite in time. He did lose
a little bit of money. Those are the things to
listen to and also in that case, they were getting
very romantic very quickly. And when I say romantic, I
mean having exciting conversations on the phone. He had lost
his wife some months earlier, so this was really exciting
for him, and he was vulnerable and the red flags
(26:51):
were all over the place for him. And once we
got alerted, I sat down with him and tried to
talk him through these red flags and ultimately we succeeded.
It was touch and go at times because he really
wanted to believe it.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
Yeah, that's the thing that's so tragic about it is
that people do get sucked into it. They really do
have a connection with this individual that has very cleverly
sucked them into the situation. And then what recourse does
a person have who's been taken advantage of it?
Speaker 4 (27:20):
Well?
Speaker 5 (27:21):
And the recourse is tough because often when moneys sent overseas,
it's going to be very very hard to recover. Being
overseas itself is a tough obstacle for US law enforcement
to overcome. What people need to do is they need
to complain. It's law enforcement, whether it's a local police
or the Postal Inspection Service or any number of agencies.
(27:42):
Complain those complaints get compiled together and we can start
to target the infrastructure, at least here in the United
States that is facilitating that crime. But they need to
change their phone number, change their email address, if they've
given away their banking information, they need to call their
bank and they need to talk with someone at the
bank about what's happened and get advice on what should happen.
Maybe they need to set up a new checking account,
(28:03):
Maybe they need a new debit card, maybe they need
a new credit card. These are things that people need
to do, and they need to do it as soon
as they realize they're being victimized. The longer you go on,
the more you engage with these fraudsters, the more they're
going to really you back in.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
Well, there's all kinds of resources that are available for
anyone who thinks they might be the victim of one
of these scam situations, whether it's a romance scam or
a lottery scam. There's so many scams out there. To
keep up with them, it's not easy to do, but
there is a website that helps you figure out what
to do in case and to give you advice on
(28:38):
seeing what the red flags are, what is that website.
Speaker 5 (28:41):
I'll give you a couple. Our website www. Dot uspis
dot gov is where you can complain and get information
on different scams. The Federal Trade Commission FTC dot gov
has good information and they will also accept complaints at
the FPI. Obviously if you go to their website will
have the similar sorts of information that you can complain
to them. These compl in this line or work and
(29:01):
fraud at least will come together in one big database
and we'll have access to them. So it's important that
you do that. Also, talk to your financial institution. Talk
to them and they'll give you advice about red flags
or this is what's happening, what do you think and
they'll be like they have experience, they have a lot
of customers who also maybe fall victim to think, so,
you know, talk to them and they can help you
(29:23):
as a victim, stop being victimized and fix the exposures
you've created.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
So fantastic, Well, it's very important for us to be
very alert because there's so many scams out there and
with new technology and artificial intelligence and a lot of
people are falling prey to these many many scams out there,
so check it out George Clark, us Postal Inspector, thanks
for again raising our awareness and what to look out
for with all of these very scams that are out there.
Speaker 5 (29:49):
Thank you very much, Thank you, Lareen.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
You can listen to all of today's interviews by going
to our station website and typing in keyword community. You
can also listen on the iHeartRadio app ye words Fill
it HeLa community podcast. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram
at Lorraine Ballard. I'm Lorraine Ballard MOREL and I stand
for service to our community and media that empowers. What
will you stand for? You've been listening to what's going on,
(30:13):
and thank you
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