Guelph schoolteacher Barbara Fisher learned the hard way that being well educated doesn’t protect you from smart criminals.
“Educated people get defrauded too,” said Fisher. “Criminals don’t discriminate.”
In 2011 Fisher lost a substantial amount of her life savings to a fraudulent investor.
“I felt lost and didn’t know who to turn to,” she said. “I was too embarrassed to tell my family what happened. Friends told me to get a lawyer.”
Her search for legal help led to her becoming an independent associate for LegalShield. The pre-paid legal service provides a variety of services including legal advice, power of attorney, contract reviews, estate planning and identity-theft protection.
“Identity theft has surpassed the illegal drug trade for organized criminals,” said Fisher. “It’s not a matter of if but when it will happen to you.”
She said a lot of people do what she did and wait until they have been victimized before seeking legal advice.
She pointed to the highly publicized hacking of Yahoo and Target to emphasize how vulnerable everyone is to these types of crimes.
“The hackers are after your personal information,” said Fisher. “It’s only a matter of time before they use it.”
She hosts information sessions every other Tuesday where people can learn to identify potential scams and get advice about finding the right legal services to protect their property and personal information.
