<\/p>\n
Recent research in the UK<\/a><\/span> has revealed a shocking new epidemic: almost one in five people\u2014approximately 9 million in the UK\u2014has fallen victim to a financial scam in the past year. The vast majority of these scams, 76%, were carried out through social media, where scammers posed as friends in need, promoted fake debt advice, or lured people into fraudulent pension or investment schemes. One particularly deceptive scam involved QR codes: scammers placed stickers with fake QR codes over legitimate ones in car parks, redirecting unsuspecting users to fraudulent payment websites where their personal and financial information was stolen\u2014along with their money.<\/p>\n UK’s Citizens Advice Bureau, which conducted the research, found that the impact of these scams extended far beyond the initial financial loss. About 43% of victims reported having to borrow money or increase their debt to make ends meet. Nearly a quarter (24%) relied on help from friends or family, while 20% took on additional jobs or extra shifts to recover from their losses.<\/p>\n In the USA, the situation is also severe. Data by the Federal Trade Commission <\/a><\/span>indicates that consumers reported losing over $10 billion to fraud in 2023. The FTC\u2019s Consumer Sentinel Network<\/a><\/span> received a total of 5.4 million reports during the year.<\/p>\n With the rise in scams, it\u2019s essential to remain vigilant and proactive. To safeguard your financial well-being, consider learning to recognize the signs of a scam<\/a><\/span> and always verify the legitimacy of payment platforms and requests.<\/p>\n But beyond practical steps, seeking spiritual wisdom can be a powerful way to protect yourself and your finances. Even if you\u2019ve escaped these scams, financial strain is still a reality for many, especially as the year-end pressures mount, businesses struggle, and wages stagnate. Many professionals may end the year with finances stretched thin or consider a career shift due to workload and lack of recognition.<\/p>\n If you aim to conclude the year with renewed financial stability and fulfillment, join us for the \u2018Prosperity With God\u2019<\/a><\/span> Monday Meetings<\/strong>\u2014where we will seek guidance from the Word of God against financial barriers and challenges.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Join us every\u00a0Monday at 10 AM, 4 PM, and 7 PM<\/strong>\u00a0at\u00a0The Universal Church.<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>All are welcome regardless of religion or background. Come as you are.\u00a0<\/span>For more information on locations, please call\u00a01-888-332-4141<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>or text 1-888-312-4141.<\/p>\n You may also contact us via our\u00a0contact form (click here)<\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0For those who live in areas without a location of The Universal Church, you may also connect to our\u00a0Virtual Church<\/strong>\u00a0via Zoom Conference<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Recent research in the UK has revealed a shocking new epidemic: almost one in five people\u2014approximately 9 million in the UK\u2014has fallen victim to a financial scam in the past year. The vast majority of these scams, 76%, were carried out through social media, where scammers posed as friends in need, promoted fake debt […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":248,"featured_media":344757,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,6243],"tags":[6209],"site":[],"class_list":["post-344445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","category-prosperity-with-god","tag-financial-problems"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/universalchurchusa.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/universalchurchusa.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/universalchurchusa.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/universalchurchusa.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/248"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/universalchurchusa.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=344445"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/universalchurchusa.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":344798,"href":"https:\/\/universalchurchusa.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344445\/revisions\/344798"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/universalchurchusa.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/344757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/universalchurchusa.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=344445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/universalchurchusa.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=344445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/universalchurchusa.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=344445"},{"taxonomy":"site","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/universalchurchusa.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/site?post=344445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\u2018Prosperity With God\u2019 Monday Meetings<\/strong><\/h4>\n