Scams and Frauds Information From the Government

Hi All,

I'm back again with another blog entry - courtesy of the United States Government. This time I'll discuss a part of the government website (USA.gov) that deals with Scams and Frauds.

The Scams and Frauds section of the site helps consumers learn how to protect themselves and respond to scams and frauds that can occur.  There are a lot of links on the page - pay special attention to the following:

Telephone Scams

Financial Fraud

IRS Imposter Scams

Charity Scams  

Lottery and Sweepstakes Scams

Pyramid Schemes 

Tax-Related Identity Theft

Census Related Fraud

An important part of the website deals with how to identify and report scams and frauds.  Click on this link to find more information on these topics. 

Some very useful parts of this page include information on Common Types of Fraud, Most Popular Scams and How to Report Frauds and Scams. 

The page also has information on Identity Theft and Online Safety.  Both of which deserve of a whole blog entry of their own since they are so prevalent and important to understand.

As a matter of fact, look for a future blog entry or two on just these two topics!

Enjoy the links and hopefully the information is helpful to you!

Regards,
Stu

Eight Tips to Protect Taxpayers from Identity Theft

Hi All,

Long-time readers know that I have a 'thing' for identity theft and how to prevent identity theft. I think its pretty important for people to know about.  And I get to write about it every so often on this blog. Especially when a new article appears that it crisp, concise, and well well-written.  The fact that the article comes from a very reputable source is an added bonus! 

What article am I talking aout?  The IRS (reputable for sure!) published an article titled 'IRS Summertime Tax Tip 2017-16 on August 7th - just a few days ago. 

The article - which is mercifully brief but chock filled with information - discusses protection personal and financial records, reporting tax-related id theft (this is the IRS after all), using PIN number and special section that the IRS has to assist victims of identity theft.  Click here for that additional special section link!

Click on this link to find out how IRS Identity Theft Victim Assistance Works. 

Finally, I used this link to have e-News Subscriptions from the IRS emailed to me.  That's where I found these identity theft tips that I discussed in today's blog entry.  Subscribing is easy and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Enjoy the links and hopefully you'll never have to use them!

Regards,
Stu 

More on Identity Theft

Hi All,

The statistics are telling - and daunting:

approximately 15 million US residents have their identities used fraudulently each year

From 2005 to 2010, the percentage of all households with one or more type of identity theft that suffered no direct financial loss increased from 18.5% to 23.7%.    

about 7% of persons age 16 or older were victims of identity theft in 2014, similar to findings in 2012  

For even more identity theft and fraud statistics, click on this link from StatisticBrain.com...

So...what to do about identity theft?

First, visit IdentityTheft.gov - which is part of the Federal Trade Commission. 

As they say IdentityTheft.gov can help you  report and recover from identity theft.  Their step-by-step plan is quick, easy and very, very effective.  

1. Tell them what happened - they ask questions about your situation.  The more information that you can provide the better the outcome. 

2. You get a recovery program.  They use the information you furnished in step one to help develop a personal recovery plan. 

3. Put the plan into action.  If you create an account, they (IdentityTheft.gov) will walk you through each recovery step, update your plan as needed, track your progress pre-fill forms and letters for you. 

If id theft has already happened, click on this link which explains 'what to do right away'. This particular page has links for contacting additional offices for certain accounts (utilities, phones, government benefits, checking accounts, student loans, investment accounts and more)

Hopefully id theft never happens to you, but if it does, these links might help. 

Regards, 
Stu                     

Scams, Fraud and Scheme's: A How-To Avoid Them

Hi All,

I just found a very helpful site on the web from the Federal Trade Commission.  The previous link is for the Consumer Information section of the site - which is tremendously valuable to consumers - trust me...you'll see why in a minute.

There are other links on the site with information on Money & Credit, Homes & Mortgages, Health & Fitness, Jobs & Making Money, Privacy & Identity, Blog, and Video & Media.

The FTC homepage has a rotating set of highly relevant consumer videos and links when you visit the site: topics include: Hijacked Computer? What To Do, IRS Imposter Scams, Checking Your Credit Report and Cobradores De Dueda (Scams Targeting the Latino Community information).
 
The section of the site that I want to discuss in detail is the Privacy and Identity section.  When you click on the Privacy and Identity section you have a bunch of options: Limiting Unwanted Calls and Emails, Computer Security, Kids' Online Safety, Protecting Your Identity and Repairing Identity Theft.  Click on any of the prior links to go to that particular subject.

The section on Protecting You Identity discusses Active Duty Alerts, Credit Freezes, Financial Readiness,  Keeping Your Personal Information Secure, Identity Theft Protection Services and a link to Signs of Identity Theft.

As is usual for many federal government websites, there is a search box at the top right side of the page on all pages on the website.  The site is available in Spanish as well.

There are also links on the page for Related Items, the FTC Privacy Policy, About the FTC and links to Contact the FTC. Users can stay connected with the FTC by getting email updates, viewing the FTC blog feed, using Facebook, YouTube and/or Twitter.

Hopefully you won't need to use the resources on the site - but if you do...I hope they are helpful and easy to use.

Regards,
Stu

Identity Theft

Hi All,

Well, now that the holidays are in full swing, you might want to learn a bit more about identity theft.  What is identity theft you ask?  Click here for an article from Wikipedia about identity theft.

Click on this link for the article that I read that got me thinking about identity theft as a possible topic for this blog.  Interesting article - entitled, '5 Ways Identity Thieves Are Targeting You', courtesy of CNNMoney - a very useful financial related website. 

As you probably know, Target has reported a breach that resulted in over 40 million credit cards have been compromised by hackers.  Click on this link to learn more about how this credit card breach affects you and your credit card.

For a quick peak at what individuals can do to try to stop identity theft, click on this link.

And now...for a whole host of links about identity theft and fraud, click on the following links from various governmental, university and 'think tank' agencies.

FTC - Identity Theft - what to do right away when you find that you're identity has been compromised.
President's Task For on Identity Theft - Report identity theft and victims' rights.
Open Directory Project - DMOZ - link to Identity Theft - all about fake identification and phishing
Carnegie Mellon University - all about identity theft - protective measures, legal issues and more links.
FTC Consumer Information -  privacy and identity links
Dateline from MSNBC - 'To Catch an ID Thief' - video from an episode about hunting for id thieves
Free Credit Report.com - official site to request a free credit report

Hope the links are helpful - especially the last one (Free Credit Report.com).

Regards and Happy holidays,
Stu