Title: Scam-Proof Your Assets: Guarding Against Widespread Deception
Author: Garrett Sutton, Esq.
Publisher: RDA Press
ISBN: 978-1-947588-14-1
Pages: 252
Genre: Non-fiction, Financial Advice
Reviewed By: Dan MacIntosh
Hollywood Book Reviews
Author Garret Sutton, Esq.’s book Scam-Proof Your Assets: Guarding Against Widespread Deception is about scam-proofing your assets may just cause you to lose a little faith in your fellow man. However, losing some of this faith variety would be most beneficial because many of us are sometimes overly trusting – trusting to the point of being naively gullible. As Sutton explains in this richly detailed study of modern-day financial scams, our world’s naively gullible people make for what con artists term, ‘good marks.’ A ‘good mark’ is a person a scammer views as easy prey. Oftentimes, tragically, these marks end up being marks multiple times. Therefore, Sutton could have easily subtitled his book, “How Not To Be An Easy Mark For Predatory Con Men.”
It might have been tempting for Sutton to glory in the utter depravity of these various scam artists. These are the true deplorables in our society. However, Sutton smartly keeps his discussion extremely practical. He’s not out to make folk heroes out of these various scammers; he’s more concerned with everyday people, like you and me. He wants to help us recognize a potential scam when we encounter one. And make no mistake about it, we all encounter these scams, almost daily.
While Sutton doesn’t exalt various lawbreakers, he does introduce us to a few of the most illustrious scammers, and with good reason. For instance, we’ve all heard of Ponzi schemes, which involve a many times nonexistent enterprise, where initial investors make money off of later investors. Did you know, though, this scheme was named after a real person? Yep, Charles Ponzi innovated this evil practice in the early 20thcentury.
Much of what Sutton provides in his book might be considered common sense. However, whenever he details the large amount of money lost to these tricky practices, the reader realizes this so called ‘common sense’ may not be so common after all. One phrase he repeats repeatedly in his book is, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true. Nevertheless, bad character traits, like greed and pride, oftentimes get the best of us. We tell ourselves we just can’t pass up a chance to be wealthy, and we’re so proud we refuse to believe we can be fooled.
Some of what Sutton learned while writing his book surprised him (and should surprise you). Of course, it doesn’t come as any great shock that scammers prey on older folks. One big reason is that many of these senior citizens have a lot of expendable money socked away. Secondly, they come from an era when people were just more trusting of each other. What he didn’t expect to learn, though, was about the many young people who are also many times victims of these scams. You’d expect these younger people — raised on the Internet — to be far more careful and suspicious. Such is not always the case, though.
The toughest sections to read in this book are stories about good people losing their life savings. Some of these folks are pillars of their peer group. Keep in mind: There’s just not nearly enough law enforcement to catch all these financial predators, so chances are good that, if you lose money to one of these terrible scams, you’ll never see that money again. The Internet, as great as it is, also allows people to remain relatively anonymous, which is why Sutton dedicates a full chapter, called ‘Gone Phishin’, to internet and email scams. We’ve all seen these scams in our email spam folders, and hopefully we haven’t clicked on any of them.
There is no program you can install on your computer that can prevent you from being scammed out of your hard-earned money. The only sure defense against asset scams is knowledge about how to spot and avoid these financial tricks. Thankfully, Garret Sutton, Esq. has filled his essential new book with plenty of information you can gain, and put to good use immediately. If you are interested in protecting yourself from fraud, then this is the book for you. The author is highly effective in addressing the issues in a clear and concise manner. Being aware of these scams is the first step in protecting ourselves. A must read! Captivating, informative and educational. Don’t allow yourself to become an unwitting victim.