If you have an email account, you are probably familiar with requests that show up in your inbox asking for personal and bank account information in exchange for a deposit to your account to help someone in a foreign country get money into the U.S.   These scam emails are typically easy to spot since they usually have grammar and style mistakes—no capitalizations, misspellings, etc.  Hitting ‘ALT-Delete’ usually takes care of these obvious scams with little to no effort on our part. 

However, there is another scam that is ringing the phones of unsuspecting grandparents in our midst.  The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) refers to this as the “Grandparent Scam,” and it is targeting seniors throughout the country.  The scam unfolds something like this:

                Scammer:  “Grandma?  This is your grandson.  I need a favor badly.”

                Grandma:  “Is this Jimmy?”

Scammer:  “Err…of course, Grandma.  I’m ...

Recently, the Wall Street Journal reported that the index of leading economic indicators posted a large gain in March, 2010, capping a full year of increases.  Mortgage delinquencies declined in March for the second month in row.  Housing starts are improving for home construction companies.  Financial companies, such as Citigroup, are reporting improved profits and earnings as the dust settles from strategic moves undertaken during the height of the financial crisis.  These reports are only a sampling of the positive news currently impacting the U.S. economy and contributing to one of the most significant 12-month rallies in U.S. stock market history.  At the end of the first quarter 2010, the stock market, as measured by the S&P 500 Index, is up an astounding 49.8 percent on a trailing 12-month basis (April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010).  The Russell 2000 Index, a proxy for smaller U.S. companies, is up even ...