Tax Season Scams and Identity Theft Red Flags, Plus a 401(k) and IRA Rollover Lightning Round
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
All right, pop quiz, Sean. What is a mega backdoor Roth?
Okay, a mega backdoor Roth is a super clever way to save a ton of money for retirement, but not everyone has the option to do it.
Oh, well, I definitely want to hear more about that. So luckily, we're going to be discussing that later in this episode during our 401k and IRA rollover lightning round.
Let's get to it. Welcome to NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast, where you send us your money questions and we answer them with the help of our genius nerds. I'm Sean Piles.
And I'm Elizabeth Ayola. Now, later in this episode, we're going to be discussing 401ks and IRA rollovers in our lightning round.
But first, it's everyone's favorite made-up holiday by the Federal Trade Commission, Identity Theft Awareness Week. This is one of my favorite topics because we are all susceptible to scams. And also, it's the beginning of the year, so we are all due for a refresher about how to stay safe in this precarious, scammy world we all live in.
That's right, Sean. It's also tax time. And don't ask me how I know, but I think scammers love tax time. So as we speak, they are scheming on how to steal our IDs, take our sensitive information, and do all the other terrible things. But Sean, I just want to be honest and say I definitely need a refresher on how to protect my information from scammers. Because even though we give all the tips on the podcast, unfortunately, I got scammed in Christmas. No. Yes.
Oh, Elizabeth, what happened?
Oh, my gosh. It was heartbreaking, to be honest with you, Sean. Why am I getting all vulnerable?
I need to hear all the details. I'm here for you.
I know. I felt so embarrassed. I'm going to tell you first the dominant emotions. I felt embarrassed. I felt violated. It was so sad. But okay, let me tell you the story. So here's my quick story time. So my boyfriend gave me a gift card. during Christmas time to get a piece of furniture for my reading nook, which I think I've been telling y'all that I wanted to get. And I was excited and we just finished like unwrapping gifts. I mean, me, my son and him.
How can I protect my identity from tax season scams?
And I just wasn't really, you know, I was in the Christmas spirit. So I was, my guard was down essentially. So I was like, okay, let me quickly check. Cause I didn't know initially how much was on the gift card. Let me see how much I have to put towards this new you know, beanbag or sofa. So I look on the gift card and actually I don't think I've gotten a gift card before because I was like, I think I need to activate it. So I looked for activation number and then I saw a website. So I missed the website by one letter, but I didn't know at the time. And it takes me to this website. So I enter all my gift card information, trying to see the balance and activate the gift card. And then something told me like, is this the right website?
Because it just looked like one of these kind of, I don't know, just not a very familiar website.
Did it look sketchy or old or what was weird to you about it?
First of all, I had never heard about it because it was a Visa gift card. And I'm like, shouldn't I be able to do this on the Visa website? And then second, it just literally only asked for my information. There was nothing else on there. So I thought, hmm, it gave me the balance or a balance. But I was like, hmm, let me try another one. So I go back and I look at the website again and I enter it in and it actually takes me to something that looks like a Visa website. But I thought nothing of it.
Yeah. A little more legit.
Yes. I just thought, okay, well, great. You know, I'll, you know, spend this money later when I'm ready to start looking for an item for my reading nook. Sean. So this is Christmas day. However, two days later, I'm sitting down and I'm like, okay, let me use this gift card.
What are common tax season scam tactics to watch out for?
And I input it on a website and it's like, you don't have any money on there. And I'm like, what? It's not possible. It's not possible because I haven't used it. I log in Sean, zero dollars.
That is such a classic move of scammers is they will take something like an email address from a company or in your case, a website and have one letter or a number off.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–1:59
2
How can I protect my identity from tax season scams?
1:59–3:25
3
What are common tax season scam tactics to watch out for?
3:25–6:20
4
When should I consider rolling over my old 401(k) accounts?
6:20–8:23
5
What is a mega backdoor Roth and is it worth the hassle?
8:23–19:22
6
How do I evaluate the performance of my retirement accounts?
19:22–40:29
Speakers
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