Watch out for crooks taking advantage of the economic upheaval.

The news continues to be dominated by the economy; efforts from the Congress trying to fix the mess, and banks failing or being taken over.

You can't miss the headlines about it all, and neither do crooks and scammers. They love to take advantage of a crisis by taking advantage of you.

Don't be surprised if you get an official looking e-mail claiming to be from your bank or stockbroker. It will have all the appropriate logos and official language and ask for personal information to "confirm" your account status.

Delete it immediately!

Your banker or broker will never, ever, ask for such information from you in this way.

The whole economic situation is very confusing, and crooks and scammers know that.

It's one reason our "Protect Yourself Online" tutorial is so popular. It teaches you how to keep you and your family safe from crooks and scammers, especially in these very uncertain times.

If you have questions about the status of your bank or brokerage accounts, 401k's etc, contact them by phone, or stop by the local offices or branches.

It's your money, and the crooks always want it.

-John
John W. Scherer
John is CEO & founder of Video Professor, Inc.
You can reach him at ceo@videoprofessor.com