According to the Federal Trade Commission’s latest numbers 25 million adults were victims of consumer fraud with losses amounting to close to $1.5 billion.
Turn on your computer and voila the scams and spams will find you. The scammers go phishing for their victims. They send out a blanket e-mail that looks very official in hopes of trapping a few victims into sending personal banking information.
The newest scam has to do with the economic stimulus rebate checks that have begun to arrive. Over 130 million Americans will receive rebates over the next couple of months. This newest e-mail scam looks like it comes from the IRS with instructions to the recipients to visit a linked web site and provide bank account and routing numbers to speed up the process of a direct deposit.
Don’t do it! Do not give out your Social Security number, PINs or account numbers The IRS, your bank, credit union, Mutual Fund Company or Credit Card Company are not going to correspond with you via e-mail regarding your accounts. They will send a letter.
Here are some more phishing messages that have popped up on my screen this month. “We suspect an unauthorized transaction on your account. To ensure that your account is not compromised, please click the link below and confirm your identity.”
Or something like this? “During our regular verification of accounts, we couldn’t verify your information.
Please click here to update and verify your information.”
And I loved this one, “If we do not receive the appropriate account verification within 48 hours your account will be locked down and then suspended.”
Scary sounding stuff and something that would make you immediately think you better do something quick.
In the last month, I have received such e-mails from institutions claiming to be the Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Credit Unions Bank, PayPal, Ohio Savings Bank, the IRS and Charter Communications. All with official looking logos and web pages. They are definitely blanket e-mails for I don’t have accounts with any of them except the IRS.
If you do get an e-mail that is phishing or spam, forward it to the FTC at spam@uce.gov . They are actually trying to catch the bad guys!
And then there is all of the other junk mail. Here the spammers have figured out how to send out blanket e-mails in hopes of getting a few victims to buy their Viagra pills, green tea or colon cleansing drinks. If they slip by your spam filters just delete them. I had a 120 in my junk mail file this morning. There is a reason they are called junk mail!
More e-mail scams:
Beware of the e-mail with a heading that reads: IRS Notification. Please Read This. It says you have a tax refund waiting for you. It looks official and you begin to wonder if you messed up your return. They ask for your bank account number or credit card number so you can get the refund on your Visa or Master card. Don’t! The IRS would never contact you via e-mail.
If you get an e-mail claiming it is from a hit man and for $30,000 he will spare your life. Do not respond. That will validate your address. Call the FBI and report it 617-742-5533.The phones are staffed 24 hours.
Beware if someone calls about your account as well. Again don’t give out any information. Call the credit card company’s number on the back of your card and ask about your account. A scam that is going around is someone will call and identify themselves as an employee of your credit card company and they will tell you there has been some unusual activity on your card such as someone buying a flat screen TV.
They offer to issue you a credit and then they ask you to confirm that you are in possession of the card by giving them the security code on the back of the card. The last 3 numbers! They had already stolen your card number but did not have the numbers on the back. Now they can get online and shop till they drop. And you may not notice activity on your card until you get your bill or are told you are over your limit.
Another scam making the rounds is a call from someone stating they are from your mortgage company and offering you a better rate. You take the bait and ask what the lower rate is but they can’t give it to you unless you give them your social security number and bank account numbers to be sure you match their records.
One more, you get a call telling you failed to show up for jury duty and they are issuing a warrant for your arrest. They ask you for your social security number, address, legal name etc. Do not, I repeat, do not fall for that and do not give out your social security or account numbers to anyone who calls you! http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/juryduty.asp
Resume on line: beware of this scam. Someone calls calling to be a recruiter with the right job. They want to do a security check on you first. They ask for your Social Security number. They have all of the information they need. Your address, phone number, work and education histories. Check that the recruiter is for real.
Featured Audio
Monday May 12, 2008 - Scams & Spams: Phishing
According to the Federal Trade Commission’s latest numbers 25 million adults were victims of consumer fraud with losses amounting to close to $1.5 billion.
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