Financial Videos

Weekly Wrap: Vaccine Passport Coming As Scams, Car Prices, IPOs All Trend Up

April 3, 2021 By Max Erkiletian Leave a Comment

One old dirty trick is still with us. However, other financial matters are changing quickly. Check out this week’s financial wrap.

Tax and Social Security Scammers Add to Their Bag of Tricks

The phone rings. Caller ID shows a Washington, D.C. number. You answer and an official-sounding recording says you are in trouble with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Or, your social security number has been used in criminal activity. You need to respond quickly.

You are on your way to losing money to a scam artist if you obey the instructions.

“Consumers reported losing more than $3.3 billion to fraud in 2020, up from $1.8 billion in 2019,” states a report from the Federal Trade Commission. “Nearly $1.2 billion of losses reported last year were due to imposter scams, while online shopping accounted for about $246 million in reported losses from consumers.”

Expanding Fraud Opportunities

The IRS and social security scams have been around for years. But now the same techniques are being used to take advantage of fraud related to COVID-19.

The crimes include stealing unemployment benefits, stimulus checks, fake COVID treatments, and bogus charities.

Formula for Fraud

The tried and true template for all these frauds is the IRS phone fraud. Although it can and has been carried out with texts and emails.

With IRS phone fraud, you get a call like the one detailed above. Fear is a big part of the scheme’s success.

The call seems official because it comes from a Washington, D. C. number. However, scammers spoof calls. That is where false information is used to make the call appear to come from a legitimate source. Some phone providers even offer spoofing services that work like prepaid calling cards.

The Call Is Not From the Government

“Government agencies like the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or the Social Security Administration (SSA) won’t call, text, or email you out of the blue to demand payment right away,” writes FTC Attorney Emily Wu in an agency blog post.

The IRS Confirms Wu’s Assertion

“The IRS doesn’t initiate contact with taxpayers by email, text messages or social media channels to request personal or financial information,” the service says.

To help consumers, the IRS has posted a list of current scams.

To report a scam call, email or text, contact the FTC.

Here is how the FTC suggests you handle a government imposter call.

Here’s Why Your Next Car (New or Used) Will Cost More

You may have heard semiconductor chips are in short supply. The chip drought will short circuit any ideas you had about getting a bargain on your next car.

Semiconductors make up around forty percent of the cost of a new car, according to consulting firm Deloitte. Without them, modern automobiles can not function properly. Auto manufacturers around the world have slowed production as a result of the shortage. That means fewer new cars are coming to market.

Check out Saving Advice’s look into the semiconductor shortage and the impact it will have on your wallet. Our special cover will be available in Sunday’s edition.

IPOs Continue To Boom, SPACs Bust As Opportunity Opens for Small Investors

The surge in IPOs that began last year has charged into 2021 and is rising. Meanwhile, small investors are able to join the stampede.

Companies raised $174 billion on 494 offerings in 2020, according to FactSet, a financial data and software company.

“In aggregate, IPOs raised $174 billion in 2020, a 150% increase over 2019,” according to FactSet.

The number of companies raising over $1 billion set a record at 28. DoorDash and Airbnb both exceeding $3 billion.

IPO Market Off to a Strong Start in 2021

This year is shaping up as an IPO tsunami. Through mid-March, 302 IPOs have raised 102.3 billion, according to Dealogic.

SPACs Go Splat

The only sour note is the recent downturn in Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPAC).

SPACs are often called “blank check” companies. They are shell companies. These companies raise money through a stock offering to invest in other companies.

SPACs joined in the IPO surge last year. They now have an estimated $1 trillion in buying power, according to Business Insider. However, average SPAC returns are minus 34 percent between January 2019 and June 2020. Many are trading below their IPO price. Consequently, the market seems to be cooling.

Democratization

IPOs have long been reserved for wealthy and institutional investors. However, SoFi is trying to change that. The investment company is offering IPOs to clients with $3,000 or more in their account. Robinhood is planning to do something similar.

Vaccine Passports Are Coming

Soon, you may be asked to show your passport when you attend public events. No, not that passport. The one showing you have been vaccinated against COVID-19.

The Biden Administration is considering “vaccine passports”. These credentials would be displayed on free smartphone apps or printed.

The White House, various tech companies, local governments, and universities in the United States are trying to develop a credentials plan.

Global Effort

Internationally, the World Health Organization (WHO) is exploring vaccination passport ideas.

Several airlines are testing a digital travel pass developed by the International Air Transportation Association.

The European Commission is contemplating a “digital green certificate”. The voucher would be for travel within the European Union. It would be proof of vaccination, a negative COVID test, or a previous infection.

Everybody Has a Plan

Countries and organizations are researching or have announced plans to implement vaccination passports.

Israel is developing a “green pass” to travel. In Demark, a “Coronapas” will be required to enter hair salons, movie theaters, and restaurants, according to the BBC. Meanwhile, Sweden, Estonia, and Greece are also considering issuing vaccine passports.

Standardization

The potential for chaos is great.

The Federal Health IT Coordinating Council cited the need for one coordinated plan to avoid confusion.

The council stressed that “A chaotic and ineffective vaccine credential approach could hamper our pandemic response,” The Washington Post reported.

Save Money on House Repairs With This DIY Air Conditioning Repair

5 Tried-and-True Strategies for Saving Money on Health Insurance

Best Places to Put Savings From A Side Hustle

If you enjoy reading our blog posts and would like to try your hand at blogging, we have good news for you; you can do exactly that on Saving Advice. Just click here to get started. Check out these helpful tools to help you save more.

New Stimulus Bill That Might Actually Pass

September 29, 2020 By Trey LaRocca Leave a Comment

Pressure has been mounting for congress to pass a second stimulus bill, and negotiations have been slow. Republicans started out with a $1 trillion plan, then reeled it back to $500 billion after some pushback within the party. Democrats started with a whopping $4 trillion extension to the HEROES Act that passed in May. With some sluggish and incremental shifts, this new $2.2 trillion bill is meant to be the final proposal for consideration. Many believe the Democrats started too high, others feel the Republicans were far too stingy. Both sides, though, seem to be happy that these negotiations should soon come to an end.

To get you the most complete information on the bill, we will be looking at Meet Kevin’s comprehensive outline of the bill. Meet Kevin is a YouTuber who focuses on finance and investment topics. he has been watching this stimulus negotiation like a hawk, and releasing frequent updates throughout. His updates on stimulus negotiations have been extremely helpful in keeping up with the news. He has extensive experience as a property owner/manager, investor, and business owner. While he does inject his own feelings into the mix, it isn’t too hard to tune that out and focus on the superb fact-finding he has done.

In Summary

This bill definitely harkens back to the HEROES Act, and that was the aim of it’s author, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. As one of the main champions of the act, the only COVID stimulus bill that has been passed so far, Pelosi wanted to make sure specific provisions remained in tact. The primary points of issue for her have been $600 weekly bonuses to unemployment and rental assistance. While it doesn’t seem like much of a concession from their previous $2.4 trillion stance, Republicans have been under pressure from President Trump to concede and get stimulus out before the election. With that said, it does seem like this is pretty much what we will see passed by the senate.

They will have time to make some amendments, but both parties know that the public expects these negotiations to be done quickly. Congress has dragged their feet, and the electorate is watching closely before election season. So, Republicans and Democrats will most likely try to get this stimulus bill passed in the coming weeks. Once elections really get going, the folks in congress want to keep their focus on their re-election campaigns.

If you enjoy reading our blog posts and would like to try your hand at blogging, we have good news for you; you can do exactly that on Saving Advice. Just click here to get started. If you want to be able to customize your blog on your own domain and need hosting service, we recommend trying BlueHost. They offer powerful hosting services for $3.95/month!

3 Times You Need to Prove Fault in a Car Accident

September 1, 2020 By Susan Paige Leave a Comment

If you’re in a car accident, you will have a lot of questions right off the bat. One of those questions may be if you need to prove fault to receive an insurance settlement.

There are some situations where that’s true. You’ll be forced to prove that the car accident was at least mostly the other driver’s fault. Let’s take a closer look at those cases:

Common Bitcoin Scams And How to Avoid Them

August 16, 2017 By Alexa Mason Leave a Comment

How do you know a given technology has arrived? When the scammers start to show up. Since the introduction of Bitcoin in 2009, nearly $11 million has been stolen in numerous bitcoin scams. Despite having been prominent in the news, many people are still not familiar with digital currencies and can’t recognize common Bitcoin scams when they see them.

For investors who want to safely get into Bitcoin, this is the article for you.

There are a lot of different bitcoin scams. This article discuss four: fradulent wallets, brand impersonators, fake mining operations and Ponzi schemes.

1. Fraudulent Wallets

A fraudulent wallet is a Bitcoin application designed to look official in order to steal from you. Numerous fraud Bitcoin wallets enter and leave the market every day from credible stores on the Android and Apple platforms. These wallets upload malware along with their bogus application, allowing hackers access to critical information like your bank account and any Bitcoins you obtain. One way to avoid fraudulent wallets is to go with a well-known application like Ledger Nano, Trezor or Coinbase. You can also ask around.

2. Brand Impersonators

Brand impersonation is commonly used in Bitcoin scams. The scam works like this: a scammer sends a clickbait type message on social media. The message appears to come from a legitimate source. The message directs the user to a site which appears to offer a useful service. The site will then entice the user to enter in their private Bitcoin key. Once the user enters a key, it is stolen and the scammer will be able to spend directly from the user’s Bitcoin wallet. See the graphics below for examples.

Source: ZeroFox

The social media security firm, Zerofox.com, found over 40,000 brand impersonator social media profiles, gathering their research from platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google plus, and Youtube.

3. Fake Mining Operations

Nearly all Bitcoin mining operations have been called scams at one point. To clarify, a fake mining operation is defined as one that takes payments from “investors” but never actually mines Bitcoin. Usually the best way around fake mining operations is to avoid getting involved in the first place. Exercise due dilligence. Red flags for fake miners are:

Newly registered websites with hard to identify ownership
Companies registered in locations with weak identity requirements
Evasion when asked to show proof of equipment
Initial payouts which stop and do not resume
Emphasis on marketing and promotion over operations
Advertising on channels which do not verify credentials.

4. Ponzi Schemes.

A Bitcoin ponzi scheme is an operation, website or organization which falsely markets itself as engaging in cryptocurrency investing or other activity. In reality, these organizations collect money from users and pay out returns for a period of time. After a while, the fake organization stops paying out and user’s funds are stolen. In cryptocurrency, these are usually “mining” schemes which collapse when users stop buying fake mining contracts. How can you avoid Bitcoin ponzi schemes? According to the SEC, the official characteristics of a Ponzi scheme are:

Source: SEC.gov

Avoiding Bitcoin Scams – Get Educated

Every investment in digital currency contains an element of risk. If you’re willing to take the risk, the best strategy is to educate yourself on how blockchain technology works. In case you aren’t clear – blockchain technology is the methodology underling Bitcoin’s value. A good resource is to check out Brock Pierce crypt currency expert. Pierce is an interesting guy, he was a child actor and appeared in the films Mighty Ducks (1992), Mighty Ducks 2 (1994) and First Kid (1996). In later life Pierce went on to become a leader in the Bitcoin community. Here is a great video where he walks you through the logistics of blockchains and how they work in today’s economy.

If you want to invest more into Bitcoin and stay safe, this video will help.

Ever run into trouble with digital currency? If so, leave us a comment below.

Photo credit: Sean MacIntee

How PewDiePie Raked in $7.4 Million Last Year as a YouTuber

July 9, 2015 By Will Lipovsky 5 Comments

Yep, PewDiePie made over $7 million dollars last year. This secures his spot as the wealthiest YouTuber of all time.

When this was recently revealed by a Swedish news outlet (Felix is Swedish), many people were outraged. Here are just a few (of the many!) hateful comments seen on social media:

I find what he does complete garbage. Same goes for people like paris, kardashians, etc…

The one thing that does bother me, and IS a real, serious reason is he makes more money than many of the games he “reacts” to. So… all the man hours, creativity and skill that go into making those games are worth LESS than his idiotic blubbering about them. THAT is SAD AS HELL.

pewdiepie got millions of dollars playing video games and all i got from it was divorced ha ha!!!

In fact, PewDiePie has reacted to these trolls. Watch his reaction video here. He basically says he’s no happier with money than he was when he was barely getting by. He says money doesn’t buy happiness.

However, money must buy something. He definitely wants more of it. No question about that. That’s apparent by the amount of ads he runs on his channel. Not to mention all the other ways he earns money.

This article is about how PewDiePie is able to earn over $7 million from playing video games…

PewDiePie’s Income Streams

YouTube Ad Revenue

As of this writing, his videos have approxmiately 9,388,272,000 views. Yes. Billions of views. These videos contain display ads. When someone clicks on an ad, PewDiePie gets 55% of the money that advertiser paid YouTube to be on their site. The remaining 45% goes to YouTube. If PewDiePie would stop caring about money, he could take down these ads in an instant.

Promotions

What PewDiePie has done is create a massive audience. He has millions of subscribers. Video game companies want him to play their games and hopefully have him say nice things about the product. The individual deals are private but it’s safe to assume companies would pay him tens of thousands of dollars to endorse their game. Maybe even hundreds of thousands. He has said he promotes video games for money.

Merchandise

He also owns PewDiePie.com. Here, you can buy video games and miscellaneous merchandise. There’s a $36 t-shirt as well as many other items.

Speaking Engagements

There are no trustworthy statistics on this but you can bet people are willing to pay big money to have the world’s most famous YouTuber appear on their stage. A lot of people say he’s an internet celebrity. Really, he’s a celebrity. Period.

The Future of PewDiePie’s Reign

While nothing is for certain, it’s pretty safe to say PewDiePie will have plenty of money in his future. In 2013, he made just $4 million. He has near doubled that in 1 year. The power of compounding, am I right??

If his life continues this way, he will earn 15 million this year.

There are about 8,760 hours in a year. That means 25-year-old Felix will earn $1,712 each hour of 2015.

But PewDiePie is not alone. There are thousands of YouTubers making six-figures and beyond each year.

Now to you… what are your thoughts on the PewDiePie enterprise? What does this tell us about where the world is headed?

People Dumpster Diving for Marijuana to Make Money

July 25, 2014 By Jeffrey Strain 4 Comments

More people are dumpster diving for weed

There are a lot of people who dumpster dive to make money, or just to get items for themselves. It can be a great way to get things for free, and people can often find good items to sell for a profit at garage sales or online auction sites. There is a thriving community which does this to help themselves, help others and make money.

In most areas in the US, dumpster diving is still legal (although you should always check with your local government to make sure it’s legal where you live before you begin doing it). With the legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington state, it seems there are a growing number of people dumpster diving specifically for weed. As legalization takes place in more and more states, there is a good chance growing numbers of people will do this. Why? As one person explains, he makes $2,500 a month jumping into a trash can to collect the trimmings and clippings from marijuana dispensaries and grow houses.

The businesses selling marijuana have to trim and clip the plants to sell in their stores. The inferior parts of the plants end up getting tossed out, and this is what many of the dumpster divers are after. Although it isn’t the highest quality, it’s still weed. Even better, it doesn’t cost a dime when obtained this way. The video below gives a brief explanation on why this is done:

So should you consider this as a money-making opportunity if you live in a state where weed is legal? Probably not. While dumpster diving is legal in most places, this is for trash containers which are freely open and can be accessed by anyone. It’s usually illegal if the dumpster is padlocked, which is the growing trend of these businesses, since their dumpsters are targeted so often. More have guard dogs and other security measures to keep people out of their garbage. You could also get a trespassing ticket if you jump into fenced-off areas in order to gain access to the dumpster.

In addition, it’s important to remember that just because you find the marijuana from a place where it was legally grown or sold, that doesn’t necessarily make it legal for you to resell it. In fact, since the selling of marijuana is highly regulated in most places, this could get you into even more trouble than dumpster diving for it. While it’s an interesting trend, it’s not one you want to jump onto simply to make a few extra bucks.

(Photo courtesy of Mark)