Archive for March, 2011

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Exercise caution – and then some – this tax season

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

While your rummaging through the drawer, looking for all your receipts to get ready to file your income tax, you can bet scam artists are also hard at work figuring out ways to steal your personal information. Identity thieves are particularly active during tax season because your tax return contains all the information they need – your Social Security number, name, address, work information, investment accounts – to commit identity theft.

There are some precautions you should take to stay a step ahead of the bad guys.

• Never respond to an e-mail claiming to be from the IRS. The IRS does not send e-mails about your tax return. Ever. Be skeptical of e-mails claiming to be from a tax preparation firm also. These are very likely phishing scams, used to obtain your personal information by asking for it in order to file your return or process your refund. You should also be cautious about letters. Call the IRS if you receive a letter asking for additional information in order to process your claim. Go online at www.irs.gov and obtain the telephone number to verify the letter – do not call any number listed on the letter.

• Be careful who you work with. You’ll be providing an awful lot of personal information to your tax preparer, so be extra vigilant about verifying his or her credentials. Look for someone who’s been in the business for a long time, and verify them through the IRS.

• Keep your tax files secure. Be particularly careful with computer security when dealing with your tax files.

• Be careful with your Internet connection. Don’t do your taxes on a public computer, and don’t send tax information through an unsecured wireless connection.

• Be careful when you dispose of tax files. When you get rid of physical tax files and supporting documents, make sure you shred before you throw them out.

And remember, when you eventually dispose of your computer, whether you trash it, sell it or give it away, make sure that your tax files, as well as other personal files, are gone. Use a program that wipes the information off the hard drive, and then reinstall the operating system with the original disks that came with the computer.

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Get smart about ID theft – get the help you need!

Friday, March 25th, 2011

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Recent headlines about data breaches and losses of personal information have prompted many companies to advertise products or services to help consumers prevent or minimize their risk of identity theft.

The Federal Trade Commission urges consumers to be sure they understand what they’re getting when they sign up for a product to protect their information. Consumers should also be aware of the rights and protections available to them under federal or state laws – these can help protect your identity, as well as help you recover from identity theft at no cost. Knowing your rights can help you determine what commercial product or service may be appropriate for you.

Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, you may be entitled to two kinds of free fraud alerts: initial and extended. An initial alert can be placed if you suspect you are about to become or have become a victim of identity theft. It’s good for 90 days. An extended alert stays on your credit report for seven years. To place it, you will need to have been victimized and provide a police report stating so.

You can also place a credit freeze on your credit report, which will mean potential creditors and others can’t access it unless you lift the freeze either permanently or temporarily. A freeze is different from a fraud alert in that it stops all access to your credit report, while an alert allows creditors to get your report after verifying your identity.

Identity theft protection companies offer a range of products and services. Some of them only offer to lock, flag or freeze your credit report, something you can do yourself.

Other services will monitor your credit report, and notify you of the activity. Again, this is something you can do yourself. Still other services offer to help you rebuild your identity in the event of an identity theft. These require a power of attorney, so that they can act on your behalf when dealing with credit bureaus or creditors.

Many companies offer additional services, including removing your name from mailing lists or pre-screened offers of credit, while others offer reimbursement if you experience a financial loss due to ID theft. There are also those that monitor your personal information online, and notify you if your identity has been exposed to possible theft.

Before you sign up for any of these services, compare what they offer, read the fine print, and determine what will work best for you.

But do something. Statistics show that millions of Americans became victims of identity theft last year, and the numbers are growing. Be a smart consumer and get proactive when it comes to your personal information.

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Learn to spot a phishing attempt

Friday, March 25th, 2011

This video contains excellent information on how to recognize a phishing attempt, and gives great tips on what to do if it is. While the video is specifically aimed at the customers of this particular bank, the information is useful, and consumers can learn how to spot a phishing attempt a mile away.

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Elizabeth Taylor movie touts sucker born every minute – just what identity thieves are hoping for

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011

The world mourns today the loss of film actress and AIDS activist Elizabeth Taylor, who died in the wee hours this morning of congestive heart disease. She was 79.

Taylor was born in London in 1932 to American parents who were living in the country at the time. She lived there until she was 7 years old, when war clouds had begun to cloud the skies over Europe. She and her family moved to Los Angeles, where a family friend noticed little Elizabeth’s beauty and suggested her parents take her in for a screen test. The studio immediately signed her to a contract.

Her first film, “There’s One Born Every Minute,” was made in 1942. She played Gloria Twine, a small role. The story revolved around inventor Lemuel P. Twine, Gloria’s father, who invented a prepared pudding that supposedly has a lot of vitamin Z in it. Twine runs for mayor in the film, but his opponent brands the pudding and the claims associated with it as fake, revealing Twine as a fraud. But Twine fights the accusations and, of course, comedy ensues.

Yes. There is one born every minute – a sucker that is. At least, that’s what identity thieves hope for. They set up phishing attacks, hoping to trick the unsuspecting into revealing just enough personal information to allow the thief to steal his identity. Once the information is in hand, a thief can commit crimes, apply for credit cards, mortgage loans, car loans, get a job, secure an apartment or even obtain medical care.

Don’t be a sucker. Make sure your personal information is protected 24/7 with the proactive services of LifeLock. You may think you can do it on your own, but can you watch your information online every minute of every day? LifeLock can and does. LifeLock works to make your information useless to a thief – even if he does get his hands on it, he won’t be able to use it because LifeLock will detect the theft immediately, and notify you, before the damage can be done.

There is a sucker born every minute. But there’s also a lot of savvy consumers out there. And hundreds of thousands of them are LifeLock customers.

Put LifeLock’s commitment to relentlessly protect its customers to work for you.

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FBI agent gives advice on how to protect your identity

Monday, March 21st, 2011

Want to know how to protect your identity? Just ask an FBI agent.

Craig Sorum, who oversees the Minnesota Cyber Crimes Task Force, protects his identity by using some basic and quite low-tech practices.

• He doesn’t carry a lot of credit cards in his wallet, and he uses a low-limit card to make his online purchases.

• He protects his computer with spyware, anti-virus software and downloads the latest updates and patches to keep his security up to date.

• He saves any sensitive material on an encrypted hard drive or thumb drive stored away from the computer, which he turns off when it’s not in use.

• He picks his mail up each day.

• He uses a shredder on all documents that contain his personal information.

• He steers clear of social networking, and cautions that if you are online using social media, don’t reveal anything you use as a password or security question. You should also make sure your privacy settings are set properly as well.

• Sorum cautions that if you must write your passwords down, which he doesn’t like to do, make sure that you don’t list what account they’re for. And he says you must remember to regularly change your passwords.

The best word of caution Sorum or anyone else, expert or not, could pass on would be to not take anything at face value and be overly cautious. It’s better to err on the side of caution than spend months, or even years, cleaning up after an identity thief.

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LifeLock’s WalletLock can give you peace of mind in a circumstance like this

Friday, March 18th, 2011

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Survey indicates people generally willing to pay for identity theft protection service

Wednesday, March 16th, 2011

A new four-state survey conducted by Florida State University criminologists shows that two-thirds of the survey respondents said they’d be willing to pay for a government-sponsored identity theft protection program. Those surveyed said they’d be willing to pay about $87 per year.

The hypothetical program would promise to reduce identity theft by about 75 percent. Even when offered an option that only reduced it by 25 percent, 40 percent of respondents still said they’d be willing to pay for the service.

The respondents were located in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Louisiana and Washington.

The study’s leader, Nicole Leeper Piquero, said most of those surveyed would agree to a small increase in taxes in order to support a government-sponsored identity protection effort. Piquero is an associate professor in the FSU College of Criminology and Criminal Justice.

The fee certainly appears to be a bargain when compared to the average amount paid by a victim of identity theft during recovery – an amount estimated to be between $2,800 and $5,100.

The Federal Trade Commission reported recently that although the incidents of identity theft seem to be down in 2010, people shouldn’t become apathetic. You shouldn’t sit back and wait for a fictional government program to become reality – you have to become proactive today.

Your best bet is to call LifeLock. LifeLock provides services beyond anything you can do on your own, and is reasonably priced. In fact, you just can’t put a price on peace of mind.

Call LifeLock today. Receive 30 days free and get a 10 percent discount on enrollment with the LifeLock Promo Code “Defense.”

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Even if you ‘do it right,’ you could be an ID theft victim

Monday, March 14th, 2011

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Oil spill-related ID theft scam hits Gulf Coast

Friday, March 11th, 2011

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Work at home? Scam or legit employment offer?

Wednesday, March 9th, 2011

We’ve all seen them – the ads that promise opportunities to make extra money or work from home and make a fortune. But the fact is that many of these are scams that take an applicant’s money up front and then never delivers what was promised.

But how do you know if an ad is bogus? It’s often not easy to tell if an ad is fraudulent, but there are certain clues that give it away. One is the type of business opportunity being advertised. Fraud is most often associated with vending machine, display rack, medical billing, mystery shopping, work at home and some Internet-related business opportunities.

Fraudulent opportunities are quite common – you can find them in newspapers, magazines and online every day. The bait is similar in all of them: excellent pay and the ability to set your own hours, be your own boss and work from home.

If you are considering a business opportunity, be sure to thoroughly check it out first. Read the ad carefully. If it claims you can earn a certain income, it must also give the number and percentage of previous employees who achieved these earnings. The seller is violating the law if this information isn’t there.

Get information in writing about how much money you can make. Be sure to study all the materials about the opportunity. Ask to speak with other employees, at their place of business.

You should contact the Better Business Bureau, attorney general’s office, and state or county consumer protection agency to find out if there is any record of unresolved complaints on the company. Do an Internet search on the company name and the CEO or president, along with words like “complaints” and “scam.”

If a business opportunity involves selling products from well-known companies, call the legal departments of the companies behind the merchandise and find out if the company is truly affiliated with the promoter.

Be sure to consult an attorney, accountant or business adviser before you sign anything or hand over any money. If the promoter requires a deposit, ask your attorney to establish an escrow account where the deposit can be maintained by a third party until the deal is closed.

Take your time. Promoters behind fraudulent offers will often try to push you toward signing on the dotted line. Don’t rely on a money back guarantee or refund policy as your get out of jail free card. If the business is legit, it will be there after you’ve done your homework and are ready to make a decision.

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