Tag: identity theft

Here at Emergency Plan Guide we usually focus on disasters that impact whole communities: wildfires, floods, earthquakes, power outages. We want your community to be better prepared and better able to respond when something bad happens. This week, though, we want to consider a personal financial emergency – identity theft.

Let’s take a look at identity theft, scams and fraud.

We want to share some of what we learned from our local police department last week on the topic of identity theft. Over 70 people showed up to hear the presentation and they had stories to tell, too. And of course I have added some details pulled from online sources. Buckle your seat belt!

Did you know these facts about identity theft and fraud?

1. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reports that over $1.48 BILLION was lost to fraud in 2018 – up nearly 40% from 2017.
2. The biggest losses were to impostor scams, debt collection and identity theft. Interestingly enough, younger people reported losing money more often than older people!
3. Scammers prefer to get money via wire transfer, but they also like their victims to “pay” them using gift cards: Target, Walmart, and drug stores.
4. Credit card fraud – someone opening a new card in your name and then using it to the maximum – was up 24%. And it’s not just credit cards that are threatened. The 2019 study from Javelin Strategy and Research reported that  “criminals are beginning to focus their attention on different financial accounts such as loyalty and rewards programs and retirement accounts.”
5. While fraud transactions on existing credit card accounts have gone down,  particularly since the introduction of embedded chip technology, hackers are now increasingly able to open new accounts on mobile phones!

What resulted in the biggest financial losses last year? Romance scams!

I was surprised by this statement. Probably I shouldn’t have been. Apparently as many as 1 out of 10 romance profiles online are fake.

And when I looked into the subject more deeply, I discovered the stories of hundreds and hundreds of people tricked this way – into romantic relationships and often into marriage. Their stories are heartbreaking – and their losses devastating.

I found this book about the subject. If you think you or a loved one is being drawn into an unhealthy relationship, find out more before it’s too late

Red Flags of Love Fraud: 10 Signs You’re Dating a Sociopath

The most common concern of the people in our senior audience?

Phone calls from impostors pretending to be from government agencies – Social Security, IRS, and Medicare.  Nearly everyone in the room raised a hand when the question was posed about these calls! (The police politely refrained from asking for a show of hands for who had actually fallen for the scam.)

Our crime prevention officers said it very clearly:

The government does not make phone calls to request money. Hang up the moment you hear any threatening language or urgent appeal from what sounds like an “official” phone call.

How can we protect ourselves from these scams?

The Federal Trade Commission is the nation’s consumer protection agency. If you have a complaint about fraud, misleading advertising, businesses that don’t deliver what they promised, go to the FTC website and register it. I found a lot of interesting and up to date info there including posts on

• Scams and the older consumer
• What the government is doing about robocalls (and what you can do to limit them)
• Special info for military consumers, who lose 44% more than the general population to fraud

Other recommendations for protecting yourself against identity theft:

1. Keep the inside of your car as clean as if it were brand new!  Nothing visible!
2. Use a purse with a cross-body strap; don’t place it in a shopping cart.
3. Carry just what you need in the way of ID and/or credit cards. If you lose them, it’s a lot easier to track down just a couple of things instead of a whole collection!
4. Use credit cards instead of debit cards. Credit cards typically have purchase or theft protection that debit cards don’t.

And from Joe and me, some final thoughts based on our own experiences:

1. If you buy anything online – particularly if it’s a trial offer – READ THE FINE PRINT! Many magazines, for example, are inexpensive when you first order, but they will be automatically renewed at full price at the end of the trial subscription.
2. Money back guarantees are great – but again, read the fine print. This feature may expire within just a few days, and then you are stuck with an item you really didn’t want.
3. Review your bank statements carefully and get a free credit report each year. This is the only way to discover that your identity may have been stolen! ATTENTION: “Free” credit reports aren’t. The only legitimate free service that contains all three major credit reporting agency reports is available at www.annualcreditreport.com.

By now you should have seen enough movies or read enough crime novels to know that thieves (and police, for that matter) routinely search trash for identitying names, addresses and account numbers.

Shred ALL financial documents that you don’t want, in particular offers for new credit cards, insurance, etc. If you don’t have a shredder, or don’t have room for one,

Finally, consider a theft prevention stamp!

This gadget rolls over paper mail, covering addresses and personal data with a specially designed patented pattern that masks the writing underneath. Easy to use, convenient, makes a great gift for a kid off to school or for an elderly parent.

Click on the images or links below to go to Amazon (where we are Associates). You’ll find a number of different styles and sizes of ID protection stamps, ranging in price from around $7 to $30.

Guard Your ID Mini Roller Identity Theft Prevention Security Stamp 4 Piece Kit (38138) Miseyo Wide Identity Theft Protection Roller Stamp – Yellow (3 Refill Ink Included)

Note: A while back I saw ads for what were called “RFID blocking wallets.” These purported to protect your credit cards from being “scanned and read” by thieves carrying special readers. From what I can now tell, these are useless and may well be a scam, themselves.

And one last suggestion to consider – an identity protection subscription program.

The most well-known of these personal protection programs is probably LifeLock. As you can imagine, there are many competitors offered by private companies and even retailers like Costco.

You pay monthly for the service – anywhere from around $10 to as much as $30. Most are around $20.  Look for features such as Dark Web monitoring, mobile apps to protect against phishing, credit monitoring, bank account and credit card alerts, Social Security alerts, tax refund alerts, and reimbursement for funds stolen.

I hope all this is familiar to you, but it’s worth a review. A number of people came up to me after the meeting and said how good it had been. You may want to ask YOUR local law enforcement agency to come to YOUR next group meeting and give their own presentation!

That’s it for now. Stay safe out there.

Virginia
Your Emergency Plan Guide team

P.S. As always, bringing in a “guest expert” is often a lot more effective than putting on a meeting yourself. Lots of suggestions in our book on Emergency Preparedness Meeting Ideas. Still our best seller!

Identity theft – the fastest-growing crime in America.

Here at Emergency Plan Guide we examine a wide variety of threats to our safety and security, and certainly, identify theft belongs on our list.

Over 16 million people became victims of identity theft in 2017 – nineteen every minute!

So, on World Password Day, it’s worth taking another look at some common frauds from both sides – the scams that threaten us, and the actions we can take to avoid falling prey to them.

A scam is designed to trick or cheat you directly to get your money. When identity theft is involved, the criminal takes your identity to sell the information to a third party or to steal money in other ways, often after a delay.

Who gets scammed?

Most of us know that older people are targeted more than other groups. Most of us don’t know, however, that it’s Millennials who have the highest ratio of actually becoming victims!

The June 2018 issue of Consumer Reports takes a look at victims not by demographics (age, income, etc.) but by personality type. Here are some excerpts from their article that I found valuable.

• Eager for bargains – These victims are people who willingly open and read emails and snail mail that advertises investments, contests and drawings, special time-limited discounts, even a message or an envelope stamped “You’re a winner!”
  Does this sound familiar? The danger is, every time you respond in any way, you will be identified as potential prey and you are likely to get follow-up letters, phone calls, etc.
• Susceptible to persuasion – You may get a fund-raising phone call from a veteran’s group or a fire fighter or other special group with an emotional appeal. They ask for and get your personal information along with your donation. Phishing emails work this way, too. You are “persuaded” by well-designed emails that the message requesting your response is coming from a legitimate source – your bank or credit card company or even someone in your own company. A study from the internet security firm F-Secure reports that more than one-third of all security incidents start with phishing emails or attachments sent to company employees.
  Again, their goal is identity theft — stealing your personal information which may include passwords and/or login sequences.
• Make an immediate decision out of fear or greed – Are you a person who can make a spontaneous purchase without doing any real research about where the offer is coming from, without reading “the fine print” of the contract, etc.?
  I’ve never gotten the famous “grandmother” call (“Grandma, I’ve been in an accident and I need your help!”) — UPDATE as of 10.2019. Yes, I have received this call! Moreover, TODAY I have received 2 separate phone calls from the “Criminal Division of the IRS!” (Slightly different messages, one female voice and one male voice.) This IRS scam has been around since 2016 but apparently is still going strong.
  And I have also been shocked a couple of times by a wildly blinking pop-up on my computer with a message that reads something like — WARNING YOUR COMPUTER IS COMPROMISED CALL IMMEDIATELY FOR TECHNICAL HELP!
  I get the same kind of message by phone, too. “This is the technical department. We can see that your computer is having problems.”

These scams are designed to frighten you into giving out your personal details and your credit card account information.

Ransomware is a variation on the theme of fear. It is malicious software that takes control of your computer, encrypting your files and blocking your access to access them. The thieves tell you to pay a “ransom” in order for the lock on your files to be removed. You can be infected by clicking on links in emails or social media messages or by clicking on links in compromised ads (apparently often those ads that stream video).

With all this danger out there, what can we do?

Recommendations for basic protection against identity theft.

I hope some of this is familiar to you!

On the phone – Don’t answer calls from numbers you don’t recognize. A legitimate caller will leave a message so you can do your research before you call back. If you are called by the IRS or by a computer “technician” or someone announcing you have just won some sort of prize, just hang up.

On the cellphone .–.Same as above, but in addition, if you click on a link in the text of an email or text, the scammer may be able to install malware that can collect personal info from your phone!

On the computer —

(1) Even if a message comes from what looks like a friend, stop before you click on a link or download a document. Check the “from” portion of the email. You may see the name of a friend or colleague, but a closer look at the domain will reveal a completely unknown or a foreign mail service.

(2) Disable pop-up advertising so you don’t accidentally click on a dangerous link.

(3) Keep your operating system and browser software updated.

(4) Back up your files so if you are truly the victim of malware or ransomware attack you will be able to restore your files.

(5) Install good antivirus software and keep it updated.

Which brings us back to celebrating World Password Day!

Take the time TODAY to examine your passwords.

Once again, I  hope this is review for you!  But if not, you can start making some changes today to protect yourself from identity theft.

Use different passwords!

Make sure you aren’t using the same password for more than one account. 60% of people make this foolish mistake – if hackers get ONE of your accounts, they will then have access to others! By the way, here’s a list of the most common passwords, from Keeper Security:

1. 123456	10. 987654321	19. 555555
2. 123456789	11. qwertyuiop	20. 3rjs1la7qe
3. qwerty	12. mynoob	21. google
4. 12345678	13. 123321	22. 1q2w3e4r5t
5. 111111	14. 666666	23. 123qwe
6. 1234567890	15. 18atcskd2w	24. zxcvbnm
7. 1234567	16. 7777777	25. 1q2w3e
8. password	17. 1q2w3e4r
9. 123123	18. 654321

Note #1. If you’re creating websites, don’t use “admin” as your password!

Note #2. If you are happily installing smart home management devices – voice-activated or smart-phone activated cameras and temperature controls, security systems, etc. – think through the passwords you’re using there, too.

Change out OLD passwords.

Change one today! Many older passwords are probably too simple and easy to guess. Many experts recommend a password made up of at least 16 digits including capital and lower case letters, numbers and symbols.

Read below for a resource to help you come up with longer, stronger passwords.

Add a second layer of security.

Add “multi-factor authentication” to your favorite email, bank or social media apps and websites. This adds a second step to your login – it may be a fingerprint scan on your phone, or a request for a PIN that is sent to your phone for one-time access to your computer account.

Make a plan for tracking your passwords.

One way to keep track of your passwords is simply to write them down. It may be slow, and you’ll have to look them up regularly, but it’s a tried and true and reliable method (as long as you protect your list from fire, flood and theft!)

I own the book shown. I selected it because its pages were large enough actually write in, unlike many of the “notebooks” you’ll find advertised for this same purpose. And it doesn’t advertise “SECRET PASSWORDS” on the cover! Click on the image and you can go to Amazon to check prices and other options.

Find out more about digital security.

There are hundreds of articles and books available on the topic of passwords and identify theft. You can find instructions for creating strong passwords that are easy for you to remember but difficult for anyone else to figure out.

A side note. You may want a way for someone else to get into your accounts if you have been incapacitated. Think about that . . .!

Use a password manager.

Many password products are available, at costs that range from free (simple versions for just one device) to several dollars a month (multiple devices, syncing, etc.) These managers store all your passwords safely, automatically “remember” them so that sign-ins are automated, and some even have a “legacy feature” so someone can inherit your passwords. In any case, you only have to remember the one, master password.

A recent article by PC Magazine compares the top dozen paid password manager products and gives its recommendation for free products, too. https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2407168,00.asp

Amazon offers a free download for two of the free popular password managers mentioned in the PC Magazine article: Roboform and LastPass, images shown below. Click and you will go directly there. (Review carefully to be sure you’re getting all you need. You may find that a premium version will suit you better.)

Get and use the best anti-virus programs.

Over the years we have used a number of anti-virus products. For the last 7 years or so we have been using Avast – first the free, and now the Premier version. The company has provided good service in a couple of what I will call “sticky” situations and we feel more secure having them on our side.

I checked costs today and you can save quite a lot of money by buying through Amazon. (We are Associates.) Click on the image for current prices. Be sure to understand exactly which version of the product you are getting, for how many computers and for how long. It’s easy to mis-read the advertising (even though it’s perfectly clearly laid out!).

Disclaimer – This Advisory is not necessarily all you need to improve your security and avoid identity theft. But, it’s a start. If any of the stories or recommendations sound like they might fit you or family members, take the time to find out more about how to protect yourself.

Maintaining password security is an ongoing project. Might as well establish good habits NOW — so you can celebrate next year!

Virginia
Your Emergency Plan Guide Team