October is National Crime Prevention month. As part of the month’s events, Lifelock is partnering with the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Association to share information on identity theft prevention. Together, they are holding summits meant to benefit law enforcement. The goal is to educate them on the newest techniques identity thieves are using and how to adequately fight the crime.
In addition, to benefit consumers, the organization will be holding educational seminars that anyone can attend for free. These seminars are known as the Lifelock Speaker Series. Attendees of the series will learn more about how identity theft occurs and what they can do to avoid becoming a statistic. In addition to the information included in the seminars, Lifelock offered the following information in a recent press release:
*If you get an “official” call requesting personal information, cross check the number on your caller ID. Sometimes thieves can spoof the number, making a call appear to be from an institution it’s not really from. Instead of blindly giving out your personal details, make sure the number is the official one for that institution.
*Do a check of your rental history. This is
Read more…
Failing to receive bills or mail on your usual address, receiving credit cards that you haven’t applied for, denial of credit, getting calls from companies asking you to pay for merchandise you didn’t even buy – these are some of the indications of becoming a victim of identity theft. Identity theft is almost like a wretched disease that can happen to anyone, anytime, and anywhere.
When it comes to protecting your identity, you need to employ simple Do-It-Yourself techniques that can minimize the risk of becoming a potential victim of identity theft. Some of the best DIY techniques for identity protection would include:
· Placing fraud alerts every ninety days
· Reviewing credit reports regularly
· Using a shredder to destroy important documents and mail
· Protecting bank and credit accounts with a password
· Avoid divulging personal information through email or phone irrespective of the company the caller claims to be calling from
· Keeping Social Security Number or SSN card in a secure place
· Installing ant-ivirus software on the computer
Many are tempted to go for credit monitoring services to protect themselves from identity theft. But the trut
Read more…
Identity theft is on the rise, and is fast becoming one of the top five most often occurring crimes. This crime cost victims, money and time, as well as in some cases even further damages to their health and family. In many instances, it can take up to 400 hours to be resolved, with monetary damages measuring at $5,000.00.
Many states have taken steps to help protect consumers from identity theft, as well as to assist them in recovering. There are now special investigative units within many police departments, as well as State Attorney Generals. However, the state of Texas has recently passed new legislation to help victims of identity theft overcome one of the most significant problems with identity theft that of bank (checking) account theft. Thousands of people each year have had checking accounts opened in their names, checks drawn on the account and thousands of dollars spent, committing identity theft in the form of check fraud.
In the past, check fraud and identity theft victims believed that by simply closing the accounts, after the crime has been discovered, would be enough to stop the unauthorized use of their identity and the account.
Read more…
#1 Phone Fraud. The phone rings, a scammer poses as your banks fraud department. They may have your entire card number stolen from another source. They ask about a charge made and you deny the charge, but in order for the charge to be removed, they need your 3-4 digits CVV number off the front or back of the card. A variation may be they only have the last 4 digits found on a receipt or statement you threw away. They can also use the same ruse to get the full 16 digits from you.
#2 Clever Clerk. You hand your card to a sales clerk, waiter or waitress and they have a card reading wedge device that looks like this. The device may be wrapped around a band on their ankle. They bend over and make it look like they are fixing a sock, once they swipe the card through, they can make charges on your card.
#3 The Loop. You’re at an ATM that isn’t cooperating. Some nice guy injects himself into the scene to help you. During the process he watches you enter your pin. After another attempt the ATM eats your card. After you leave all upset, he pulls the card from the ATMs card slot using a loop of VHS tape he jammed inside the machine.
#4 Risky Retailer. When searching for something on the web you come across a website with a great deal. In
Read more…
You may have seen this before, it goes like this: a pop-up pops and it looks like a window on
your PC. Next thing a scan begins. It often grabs a screenshot of your “My Computer” window
mimicking your PCs characteristics then tricking you into clicking on links. The scan tells you
that a virus has infected your PC. And for $49.95 you can download software that magically
appears just in time to save the day.
From that point on if you don’t download and install the software, your computer goes kooky
and pop-ups will invade you like bedbugs in New York City.
Web pages may be infected or built to distribute scareware. The goal is to trick you into clicking
on links and download their crappy software.
Information Week reports those behind a new fake antivirus software have added a new social engineering element — live support agents who will try to convince potential victims that their PCs are infected and that payment is the cure.
The rogue software comes equipped with a customer support link leading to a live session with the bad guy. Real sca
Read more…
In further proof that identity theft can happen to anyone, foreclosure counselor Robert Mitchell, whose job partly entails telling people to vigilantly check their credit reports, was victimized late last year. Mitchell told the Charleston, SC, Post and Courier he was denied a loan due to an unpaid utility bill, which lowered his credit score considerably.
This bill was for an apartment in Georgia that Mitchell had never seen, let alone lived in. However, someone who had his or her hands on Mitchell’s Social Security number got free electricity for about two years. Then the person took off and left Mitchell to clean up the mess. He had to go through the tiring process of proving he had never lived in the apartment, supplying identification, proof of residency and a police report – and the utility company was forced to eat the cost of two years of power service.
After discovering the identity theft, Mitchell said something that many others in his position have uttered in the past, “You read about this sort of thing, but you never think it’s going to happen to you.” He now checks his report often, just as he advises his clients to do. Instead o
Read more…