Friday, September 5, 2014
Hootsuite is great
Wow… with this new hootsuite app I can really share important information with all my social media; so stay tuned for some great stuff coming from me.
Richard Bentley
http://www.Richardbentley.us
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Every three seconds there is a new victim
The ITRC data breach report
As of July 22, 2014 there have been 411 data breaches with 11, 059, 749 records exposed. The Ponemon Institute estimates the average cost per records breached is $145.
http://www.idtheftcenter.org/images/breach/ITRC_Breach_Report_2014.pdf
http://www.idtheftcenter.org/images/breach/ITRC_Breach_Report_2014.pdf
What is a breach?
An event in which an individual name plus social security number
, driver's license number, medical records or a financial record/credit/debit card is potentially at risk
The financial ripple effect
The financial impact on the companies that have been breached is immediate and long-lasting, executives have lost their jobs, there have been layoffs and some companies have even gone out of business because of it. It is estimated it can take up to two years for these companies to rebuild trust and confidence in their brand. If you go to the ITRC data breach report you will see a broad spectrum of businesses, government websites, hospitals and other health care providers that have been victimized.
Visit the ITRC website and go to the victims help tab you'll find a wealth of guides, tips and tools to help educate you on how to protect yourself and what to do if you are a victim of identity theft.
http://www.idtheftcenter.org/Help-for-Victims/document-
catalogue.html
What's in your car?
If your car is ever stolen or broken into it could be a treasure trove for identity thieves. Most people have their automobile registration, insurance cards, bill of sale for the car and sometimes the repair bills with a credit card receipt attached. We sometimes leave our laptops, tablets, wallets and mail in plain view inside the car. In the wrong hands these items and documents could make your life miserable trying to rebuild your identity.
We all should be very aware of what we leave in our car and don't leave these items in plain sight as an invitation to break into your car or steal it. Most cars have a separate key to lock the glove boxes, make sure it is locked before you leave your car and if you valet park it make sure that the key is with you and don't leave any valuables or any information in plain view. It takes just a few seconds to take these precautions.
How smart is your smart phone ?
The smart phones have changed our lives forever. You can text, email, surf the web, watch movies, and manage our finances through your smart phone. Which means if it is lost, stolen or hacked into it provides the identity thieves with a tremendous amount of your personal information.
Make sure you always password protect the phone so if it has been stolen the locked phone will slowdown the thieves access to your information which will give you time to protect your other accounts.
Other links of interest
Visit this link to hear our weekly small business Mastermind pod casts
http://101smallbusinessmastermind.com/Master_Mind_Pages.html
My website and my LegalShield hub site
http://richardbentley.us/
https://w3.legalshield.com/aasites/Multisite?site=hub&assoc=rdbentley
http://www.101marketingpodcast.com
http://www.seniorscamspodcast.com
http://www.selfdefenseweaponssite.com/
http://www.idtheftcenter.org/Help-for-Victims/document-
catalogue.html
What's in your car?
If your car is ever stolen or broken into it could be a treasure trove for identity thieves. Most people have their automobile registration, insurance cards, bill of sale for the car and sometimes the repair bills with a credit card receipt attached. We sometimes leave our laptops, tablets, wallets and mail in plain view inside the car. In the wrong hands these items and documents could make your life miserable trying to rebuild your identity.
We all should be very aware of what we leave in our car and don't leave these items in plain sight as an invitation to break into your car or steal it. Most cars have a separate key to lock the glove boxes, make sure it is locked before you leave your car and if you valet park it make sure that the key is with you and don't leave any valuables or any information in plain view. It takes just a few seconds to take these precautions.
How smart is your smart phone ?
The smart phones have changed our lives forever. You can text, email, surf the web, watch movies, and manage our finances through your smart phone. Which means if it is lost, stolen or hacked into it provides the identity thieves with a tremendous amount of your personal information.Make sure you always password protect the phone so if it has been stolen the locked phone will slowdown the thieves access to your information which will give you time to protect your other accounts.
Other links of interest
Visit this link to hear our weekly small business Mastermind pod casts
http://101smallbusinessmastermind.com/Master_Mind_Pages.html
My website and my LegalShield hub site
http://richardbentley.us/
https://w3.legalshield.com/aasites/Multisite?site=hub&assoc=rdbentley
http://www.101marketingpodcast.com
http://www.seniorscamspodcast.com
http://www.selfdefenseweaponssite.com/
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Data breach alert
Small retailers are especially vulnerable
When hackers breach a large national retail chain their getting the private information on millions of customers. If you think you have less security issues to worry about when doing business with a small business think again.
Results of a survey taken by the Ponemon Institute in 2013 showed that more than 50% of the small businesses surveyed have experienced a data breach, it also pointed out that only a third of the consumers have been notified that their personal information had been breached. The trend in 2014 is showing similar hacking activities.
Typically the hackers are using cyber thief robots searching the Internet 24 hours a day looking for weaknesses in websites,and they are finding many weak spots to hack into.
Many small businesses cannot afford the expense it would take to patch the weak spots in their systems.
What can you do
If you do a fair amount of business with the same small business and you have concerns about the safety of your private information ask the small business owner to provide documentation that their business has undergone a security assessment by a third-party. Most have not.
To protect your bank account from being siphoned off by a breach it is best to use a credit card rather than a debit card which will limit your liability. And as I've mentioned previously limit the amount of personal information you share with any business that you're doing business with big or small
To protect your bank account from being siphoned off by a breach it is best to use a credit card rather than a debit card which will limit your liability. And as I've mentioned previously limit the amount of personal information you share with any business that you're doing business with big or small
Scams and alerts
The following information are excerpts from the IR TC web page I mention them in pretty much every blog I have published. That is because the information provided by this web page is invaluable and I am trying to get it to as many people as possible.
Scam introduction
****You have not won the lottery in some foreign country that you never bought a ticket for.
****No one is going to ask you for your help to move money from a dead person's account to another place
****the IRS is not electronically auditing you
****when you get called for jury duty no one is going to ask for your so security number
It is imperative to know the scams that these thieves use to gain access to your personal information and in turn steal your hard-earned money and retirement funds. You must be on high alert at all times and use good common sense when someone tries to get you involved in these phony schemes.
Scam detector--- a new mobile and web-based application
This new app is filled with easily accessible educational tools and resources to find crime prevention partners and has the ability to instantly share news of fraudulent activities at the click of a button. Scan detector is considered the go to app in the fight against identity theft. If you go to the ITRC website you can see the amazing capabilities this app provides. You will see nine buttons that categorizes the different types of scams such as auto, employment, social networking, financial, real estate and more. Click a button and it will give you a list of every conceivable scam in that category. I know most everyone is involved with one of the social networks, I clicked on that button and found a hundred and forty two different scams related to social networks.
Support the Identity Theft Resource Center
The IdentityTheft Resource Center has been a lifeline to consumers and victims by providing its FREE services for 15 years. Consumers just like us are reaching out to them more and more both for assistance when they have become a victim and also to arm
themselves with the necessary information to prevent them from becoming a victim. it is important that we do what we can to support their efforts. If you would like to donate please go to the website listed below and click on the donate button, you will also see an address to mail checks to if you prefer to donate in that way. I am sure your help will greatly appreciated.
http://www.idtheftcenter.org/
http://www.idtheftcenter.org/
Other Links of Interest
richardbentley.us
http://seniorscamspodcast.com/index.html
http://101smallbusinessmastermind.com/Master_Mind_Pages.html
http://infocard.cc/101_Marketing_Podcasts.html
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Why you need to protect yourself from identity theft
If you have been following the news for the last couple of weeks you may have read about two major security breaches that have been going on for months and years and nobody was aware that their private information was at risk. I will talk briefly about both of them.The Heart Bleed Bug
The heart bleed bug is a flaw in the encryption standard used by a majority of websites. They recently found a programming error that would allow a hacker to trick the computer at the other end into sending your
confidential information to a bogus computer. This made it possible for hackers to steal the encryption keys, the codes used to turn encrypted data into readable information, allowing the hackers to intercept encrypted data moving to and from a site's servers. Which gave them access to your information.
Most of the articles that I've read about the Heart Bleed Bug are very technical in nature but the bottom line is this is potentially a very serious problem that we all may have been facing for two years and not realized it.
What can you do to protect yourself
Since the vulnerability has been going on for about two years and using it leaves no trace, assume that your accounts may be compromised. You should change your online passwords especially for services where privacy and security are major concerns.
Michael's arts and craft stores are hacked
Michael's stores incorporated said Thursday about 2.6 million credit and debit cards about 7% of all debit and credit cards used at its namesake stores may have been affected in a security breach.
The compromised data includes customer information such as payment
Aaron brothers is a subsidiary of Michael's and they also reported that they were attacked with about 400,000 cards potentially affected. About 3 million customers have been impacted by the data breach that lasted over eight months.
ITRC
I've mentioned in previous blogs the Identity Theft Resource Center and the report they produce that lists every company or organization that has had a security breach this year. As of April 15 there have been 233 companies or organizations that have had security breaches. That has resulted in 5,171,507 records that have been compromised. If you open up the link below you will be able to review the affected companies and see if you have done business with any of them.
The message I am trying to deliver in this blog is that everyone in this day and age should have a identity theft protection program.
As you can see the two incidents mentioned above were going on for months and years and you have either no or very little knowledge of them. If you will take the time to review the ITRC report I believe you'll be shocked when you see the names of the companies, charities and agencies listed there. The first link is to their homepage, the second link takes you directly to the report.http://www.idtheftcenter.org/
http://www.idtheftcenter.org/images/breach/ITRC_Breach_Report_2014.pdf
Other links of interest
richardbentley.us
https://sites.legalshield.com/aasites/Multisite? site=hub&assoc=rdbentley
http://seniorscamspodcast.com/index.html
http://infocard.cc/101_Marketing_Podcasts.html
http://101smallbusinessmastermind.com/Master_Mind_Pages.html
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Five ways to protect yourself from identity theft
There are a number of ways for you to become a victim of identity theft, sometimes it's accidental such as you lose your wallet or the theft of your pocketbook and sometimes it's the devious route through fictitious emails requesting personal information over the phone. And then there is the much-publicized hacking of major corporations billing systems to get your credit card information and other personal information. Identity thieves are getting more sophisticated in their attempts at stealing our identities.
The information I am providing you today comes from the Identity Theft Resource Center website. I have spoken of them in previous blogs and their website is one of most comprehensive sites on identity theft that I have read.
http://www.idtheftcenter.org/
Protect your personal information
Social security number, health insurance policy number, and other pieces of key data are unique to you. Before you give them to anyone whether you know them or not verify the reasons for needing the information.Don't toss it in the mail
Do not use your curbside mailbox for mail that contains sensitive personal information (checks, health insurance statements or tax documents) drop them off at your local post office.
Don't make it easy to steal from you
Make sure to review your financial statements thoroughly each month or if you can, set them up online so you can review them a minimum of once a week. Shred everything, if possible sign up for paperless billing if that service is offered to you.
A password is only as good as you make it
When developing a password you should avoid using the obvious such as birthdays,street addresses, names of family members or the infamous 1234 or password. There should be a minimum of eight characters using uppercase, lowercase, numbers or symbols. You should change your passwords frequently and try not to use the same password on different accounts.
Because they ask, doesn't mean you have to tell them.
Finally don't fall for the oldest trick in the book: the direct question if you get an email or you are speaking with someone on the phone and they ask you directly what is your social security number don't give it to them. It doesn't matter if it's a company you
I hope you find this to be informative and beneficial. I encourage feedback and would like to have this blog become more interactive.
Richard Bentley
richardbentley.us
Other websites of interest
http://seniorscamspodcast.com/index.html http://infocard.cc/101_Marketing_Podcasts.html
Monday, March 31, 2014
IRS dirty dozen tax scams for 2013
In my last blog I covered a press release the IRS had put out at the end of last week, dealing with what they called the largest scam of this kind. It informed us they had received over 20,000 calls from people complaining they were receiving calls from individuals claiming to be with the IRS and they owed back taxes that needed to be payed immediately to the IRS via prepaid debit cards or money order or face substantial punishment. This blog will deal with a couple of the dirty dozen scams for 2013 that I have not talked about before.
Phishing
A phishing scam usually contacts you via an unsolicited email or a fake website that poses as a legitimate site. It will try to entice you to provide valuable personal and financial information. If you provide them this information you will be
opening the door to identity theft and financial fraud. Keep in mind the IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email to request personal or financial information. This includes text messages and social media.
If you receive an unsolicited email that appears to be from the IRS or an agency closely linked to the IRS such as the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System( EFTPS) you can report it by sending it to
phishing@IRS.gov.
Return Preparer fraud
When hiring an individual or firm to prepare your return you should choose carefully. The IRS wants to remind all taxpayers that they should use only preparers who sign the return they prepare and enter their IRS tax identification number. Most
return preparers provide honest service to the clients but there are some unscrupulous preparers who prey on unsuspecting taxpayers and results can be refund fraud or identity theft.
Remember taxpayers are legally responsible for what's on their tax return even when prepared by someone else.Therefore make sure that the preparer you hire is up to the task.
The IRS has created a new webpage to assist taxpayers in choosing a preparer, red flags to look out for and details on preparers qualifications and information on how to file a complaint by visiting the website below.
http://www.irs.gov/
New Scam update
I want to share with you a couple of new scams that I received this week via email.
The first one is from the Powerball Lottery Board
Subject line says " winners list"
The email or website says please check the attached file for details. It doesn't have my name on it as the recipient, that is a red flag to proceed with caution.If I were to open up the attachment I will have compromised my personal information.
The second one is addressed to dear account user
we noticed your email account has been opened in one other location with the network IP address of 93.210.13.68 with instructions to click here
The next sentence says please log out your email account within the next 24 hours or your account will be locked by our webmail administrator which you will not be able to send or receive emails.
Finally my failure to carry out the above as soon as possible could result in new incoming emails being blocked
Signed regards
webmail support
Then it leaves this do not reply message
*Please do not reply to this message. Mail sent to this address cannot be answered.
As you can see there are errors in grammar which is a big clue that this is a bogus email. Even without the grammatical errors common sense would dictate that you would want to delete this email and not respond or open it and put your personal information in jeopardy.
If anyone has been a victim of identity theft and would like to discuss it or would like to talk about a scam that I have not discussed please send me the information at rbentleygiant@gmail.com. Also any comments you may have, good or bad I welcome.
Richard Bentley
richardbentley.us
http://seniorscamspodcast.com/
Phishing
A phishing scam usually contacts you via an unsolicited email or a fake website that poses as a legitimate site. It will try to entice you to provide valuable personal and financial information. If you provide them this information you will be
If you receive an unsolicited email that appears to be from the IRS or an agency closely linked to the IRS such as the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System( EFTPS) you can report it by sending it to
phishing@IRS.gov.
Return Preparer fraud
When hiring an individual or firm to prepare your return you should choose carefully. The IRS wants to remind all taxpayers that they should use only preparers who sign the return they prepare and enter their IRS tax identification number. Most
Remember taxpayers are legally responsible for what's on their tax return even when prepared by someone else.Therefore make sure that the preparer you hire is up to the task.
The IRS has created a new webpage to assist taxpayers in choosing a preparer, red flags to look out for and details on preparers qualifications and information on how to file a complaint by visiting the website below.
http://www.irs.gov/
New Scam update
I want to share with you a couple of new scams that I received this week via email.
The first one is from the Powerball Lottery Board
Subject line says " winners list"
The email or website says please check the attached file for details. It doesn't have my name on it as the recipient, that is a red flag to proceed with caution.If I were to open up the attachment I will have compromised my personal information.
The second one is addressed to dear account user
we noticed your email account has been opened in one other location with the network IP address of 93.210.13.68 with instructions to click here
The next sentence says please log out your email account within the next 24 hours or your account will be locked by our webmail administrator which you will not be able to send or receive emails.
Finally my failure to carry out the above as soon as possible could result in new incoming emails being blocked
Signed regards
webmail support
Then it leaves this do not reply message
*Please do not reply to this message. Mail sent to this address cannot be answered.
As you can see there are errors in grammar which is a big clue that this is a bogus email. Even without the grammatical errors common sense would dictate that you would want to delete this email and not respond or open it and put your personal information in jeopardy.
If anyone has been a victim of identity theft and would like to discuss it or would like to talk about a scam that I have not discussed please send me the information at rbentleygiant@gmail.com. Also any comments you may have, good or bad I welcome.
Richard Bentley
richardbentley.us
http://seniorscamspodcast.com/
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Dirty dozen tax scams for 2013
Largest ever U. S. Tax – fraud phone scam targets thousands:
If you get a call and the caller says he represents the IRS be suspicious.
In case you haven't seen it in the news, federal authorities are warning the public about a nationwide phone scam that has stolen millions from thousands of unsuspecting people. They are claiming to be an IRS service representative and tell their intended victims they owe taxes and they must pay these taxes immediately via prepaid debit card or wire transfer. They are threatening the people who refuse to pay with arrest, loss of business, deportation or loss of their driver's license.
The Treasury Department is calling it the largest scam (of it's kind) that they have ever seen. With more than 20,000 callers complaining of receiving phone calls from the IRS demanding payment of back taxes.
Technology has made it easy to manipulate the numbers being displayed on your phone. So you can't always trust the numbers displayed.
The IRS is doing its best to make the public aware of the scam. They have notified major phone companies as well as voice - over- the- Internet call services and are providing news bulletins to all major news outlets. People who receive such calls or other suspicious requests should contact the IRS.
The best advice we can give you is the same as we have advised in the past do not provide personal information or financial information to anyone over the phone or online unless you are absolutely certain that you know who you are speaking with.
You can be sure that major banks and financial institutions plus government agencies do not and will not call and ask for this information or payment over the phone via debit card or wire transfers.
This tax related phone scam as well as phishing emails, preparer fraud and claims a preparer can offer you free money are all part of the dirty dozen tax scams of 2013. I will discuss the dirty dozen tax scams in more detail in future blogs. The deadline to file your taxes is less than a month away so please take the steps to securely file this year.
California is the number one target
This segment is for the readers who are California residents. I received an email today from Peter Brusso who produces marketing podcasts on http://infocard.cc/101_Marketing_Podcasts.html referencing an article from the Drudge Report, the headlines are "California is the top target in the U.S. for international crime enterprises that operate from safe havens in Eastern Europe, Africa and China." This is according to a report released Thursday.
When you read this you'll think of trafficking in drugs, guns and humans. But cyber crimes targeting the wealthy and financial institutions has become their fastest-growing targets.
Los Angeles region is vulnerable to digital piracy due to the fact it produces much of the nation's movies and other mass-market media.
California leads all states in the number of computer systems hacked or infected by malware; victims of Internet crimes and identity theft. The impact is in the hundreds of millions of dollars from small businesses, mom-and-pop operations and individuals who can lose their life's work and savings to the schemes that have originated from the far corners of the world.
Although this report is based on California being the leading state in the union for these crimes it doesn't mean that the other 49 states should feel that they are immune from these crimes.
Richard Bentley
richardbentley.us
If you get a call and the caller says he represents the IRS be suspicious.
In case you haven't seen it in the news, federal authorities are warning the public about a nationwide phone scam that has stolen millions from thousands of unsuspecting people. They are claiming to be an IRS service representative and tell their intended victims they owe taxes and they must pay these taxes immediately via prepaid debit card or wire transfer. They are threatening the people who refuse to pay with arrest, loss of business, deportation or loss of their driver's license.The Treasury Department is calling it the largest scam (of it's kind) that they have ever seen. With more than 20,000 callers complaining of receiving phone calls from the IRS demanding payment of back taxes.
Technology has made it easy to manipulate the numbers being displayed on your phone. So you can't always trust the numbers displayed.
The IRS is doing its best to make the public aware of the scam. They have notified major phone companies as well as voice - over- the- Internet call services and are providing news bulletins to all major news outlets. People who receive such calls or other suspicious requests should contact the IRS.
The best advice we can give you is the same as we have advised in the past do not provide personal information or financial information to anyone over the phone or online unless you are absolutely certain that you know who you are speaking with.
You can be sure that major banks and financial institutions plus government agencies do not and will not call and ask for this information or payment over the phone via debit card or wire transfers.
This tax related phone scam as well as phishing emails, preparer fraud and claims a preparer can offer you free money are all part of the dirty dozen tax scams of 2013. I will discuss the dirty dozen tax scams in more detail in future blogs. The deadline to file your taxes is less than a month away so please take the steps to securely file this year.
California is the number one target
This segment is for the readers who are California residents. I received an email today from Peter Brusso who produces marketing podcasts on http://infocard.cc/101_Marketing_Podcasts.html referencing an article from the Drudge Report, the headlines are "California is the top target in the U.S. for international crime enterprises that operate from safe havens in Eastern Europe, Africa and China." This is according to a report released Thursday.
When you read this you'll think of trafficking in drugs, guns and humans. But cyber crimes targeting the wealthy and financial institutions has become their fastest-growing targets.
Los Angeles region is vulnerable to digital piracy due to the fact it produces much of the nation's movies and other mass-market media.
California leads all states in the number of computer systems hacked or infected by malware; victims of Internet crimes and identity theft. The impact is in the hundreds of millions of dollars from small businesses, mom-and-pop operations and individuals who can lose their life's work and savings to the schemes that have originated from the far corners of the world.Although this report is based on California being the leading state in the union for these crimes it doesn't mean that the other 49 states should feel that they are immune from these crimes.
Richard Bentley
richardbentley.us
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Identity Theft Still Number One
Each week in
preparation for my blog I spend a fair amount of time doing research and
reading on the subject of identity theft and fraud. I do this to educate myself
and in turn make the content of my blog informative, meaningful and timely. This week in one of the groups that I am in I had a discussion with a person
from the nonprofit organization Identity Theft Resource Center.
I have found
their website to be one of the most comprehensive and informative sites that I have ever
visited.
Their mission is to:
* Provide best in class victim assistance
at no charge to consumers throughout the United States.
*Educate corporations, consumers, government agencies and other organizations on the best practices for fraud and identity theft detection, reduction and mitigation.
Their mission is to:
*Educate corporations, consumers, government agencies and other organizations on the best practices for fraud and identity theft detection, reduction and mitigation.
* Serve as a relevant national resource on
consumer issues related to cyber security, data breaches, social
media, fraud, scams and other issues
Since 2006 the ITRC has recorded more than 43,000
victim cases and consumer calls from it's San Diego call center.
I strongly
recommend that everyone reading this blog visit this website and you can also sign-up
for their e – newsletter. This is a must read tool in your battle against being
an identity theft victim and if you do become one, a resource to guide you
through it. This is the link to their website
One of their more comprehensive reports deals with data breaches of companies and agencies. The 2014 Breach List shows 130 companies and agencies were breached and 2,835,534 records were exposed. If you go to the link below you will get a detailed report on each one of these breaches. I find these numbers mind-boggling.
I would like to give you one last look at the detailed information that the ITRC provides on it's web pages. What I have shown here is a fraction of the information that is available to all of you and again I recommend you take advantage of it.
Data breaches are a significant risk that requires advance preparation. It's not a question of if but when. Enterprises with the most mature security organization and advanced security controls can't prevent every single breach. The link below will provide you with some interesting facts on the costs of data breaches
Data breaches are a significant risk that requires advance preparation. It's not a question of if but when. Enterprises with the most mature security organization and advanced security controls can't prevent every single breach. The link below will provide you with some interesting facts on the costs of data breaches
http://www.idtheftcenter.org/id-theft/incident-response-best-practices.html
14 years at the top
What was the leading consumer complaint in '13 ?
ID Theft ranked #one in the number of complaints filed with the Federal Trade Commission for the 14th year in a row. For over a decade the FTC's Consumer Sentinel Network has received more consumer complaints about ID theft than any other concern. A review of the complaints filed gives insight into the types of identity theft taking place in the US. The link below will take a look at various complaint categories and examples of what each might look like.
http://www.kroll.com/library/MEM-
084_Investigator_Insight_2013_Complaints.pdf
You get a call from an unknown number and the voice claims to be from the local police department. They say they're investigating a crime and they want to verify your information, your name, date of birth and address to rule you out as a suspect. You are not stupid, so you Google the number and you find it is the local police department. No big deal right? They are actually scammers who fooled your smart phones robust caller ID with a web service, and now they've got all your info.
14 years at the top
What was the leading consumer complaint in '13 ?
ID Theft ranked #one in the number of complaints filed with the Federal Trade Commission for the 14th year in a row. For over a decade the FTC's Consumer Sentinel Network has received more consumer complaints about ID theft than any other concern. A review of the complaints filed gives insight into the types of identity theft taking place in the US. The link below will take a look at various complaint categories and examples of what each might look like.
http://www.kroll.com/library/MEM-
084_Investigator_Insight_2013_Complaints.pdf
Dispute the Unauthorized
Unapproved charges on your credit card bill?
According to the Federal Trade Commission, telephone scam artists have recently been calling consumers to offer "credit card loss" or "loss protection" coverage as an add-on benefit to a credit card. The FTC's advice: don't buy it! It is worthless. The fact is: you are never responsible and should never pay for charges you did
not authorize.
Read these Investigator tips to learn the steps to follow if you find unauthorized charges to your credit card.
As I have mentioned I am an Independent Associate with LegalShield and we provide identity theft protection through Kroll and Associates. This information and tips have come from Kroll and Associates, to help in the fight against identity theft.
Caller ID scams
I have never heard of this scam. I don't believe I've talked about it in any of my blogs.
You get a call from an unknown number and the voice claims to be from the local police department. They say they're investigating a crime and they want to verify your information, your name, date of birth and address to rule you out as a suspect. You are not stupid, so you Google the number and you find it is the local police department. No big deal right? They are actually scammers who fooled your smart phones robust caller ID with a web service, and now they've got all your info.
This works because people don't really want to mess with the police, the government, or any other intimidating agency.
Caller IDs are easy to spoof. Other versions of the scam include calls from government agencies, banks and utility companies. If someone calls you asking for personal information upfront hang up immediately. There is not a government agency or corporation on the planet that will ask for your personal information over the phone,you should only provide that type of information if you call the number directly yourself.
The two links below will take you to podcasts that are related to senior scams and internet marketing tools.
http://seniorscamspodcast.com/index.html
http://infocard.cc/101_Marketing_Podcasts.html
I wish everyone a productive and safe week. Your comments are welcome.
Richard Bentley
richardbentley.us
The two links below will take you to podcasts that are related to senior scams and internet marketing tools.
http://seniorscamspodcast.com/index.html
http://infocard.cc/101_Marketing_Podcasts.html
I wish everyone a productive and safe week. Your comments are welcome.
Richard Bentley
richardbentley.us
Sunday, March 9, 2014
I would like to start out this week's blog by giving you some background about myself and why I am doing this blog.
I am retired and I live in the Coachella Valley. I became a full-time resident about a year ago. I was born and raised in Connecticut and I had a 40 year career in electronics distribution, sales, marketing and executive management. About a year ago I started a home-based business as an Independent Associate for LegalShield. As part of our product portfolio we have a comprehensive identity theft protection program
.
I started blogging about identity theft because some of my closest friends have been victims of it. As I started doing research I saw just how widespread and destructive it can be. So I started this blog with the hopes that eventually I will reach enough people and make them aware of the potential to have their identity stolen and give them some advice as to what they can do to protect themselves. I feel it is important for the readers of my blog to understand my motivation for publishing it. With that said here comes my 11th blog and I hope you will find it informative and useful.
AARP recently released a report titled
Caught In The Scammers Net.
The report tried to define the profile of a scam victim. The report found there are 15 online behaviors and life situations that dramatically increase your probability of online fraud and one in five American adults engage in at least seven of them.The report finds that it is not just risky online behavior putting you at risk. But anyone who is going thru a difficult life experience could be vulnerable to identity theft. Going through a difficult time makes you more vulnerable to fraud, just as a weakened immune system lowers resistance to disease, negative life events lowers resistance to fraud.
The AARP commissioned a survey of 11,000 adults in the United States and surveyed their online actions, behavior and the life experiences of both fraud victims and non victims. They have developed a detailed profile of those who are most vulnerable to Internet-based scams.
In the seven days prior to being surveyed respondents admitted to:
*clicking on pop-up advertisements: 26% of victims open the pop-up while non-victims opened at the rate of 10%.
*Opening emails from unknown sources: 27% victims compared to 17% of non victims.
*Downloading apps: 35% of victims versus 28% of non victims this is another way to install malware, to steal computer files, passwords and accounts.
* Selling products: 23% of victims versus 7% of non-victims are active on online auction sites. Scammers posing as buyers, paying with counterfeit checks.
* Purchasing a product through a money payment business: 47% of victims versus 30% of non victims use this service which becomes particularly risky when you link it to a checking or debit card account. If those systems are hacked or someone gets your payment transfer information, your bank account is now exposed to the scammer.
* Signing up for free trial offers: 18% of victims versus 8% of non victims engaged in these traps, which lock buyers into hard to cancel contracts and merchandise may not arrive until after the trial ends.
The key negative life experiences include:
* Feelings of isolation, reported by two of three victims, compared to a minority of non victims.
* Loss of job: 23% of victims versus 10% of non victims .
* Negative change in financial status: 44% of victims versus 23% of non victims.
* Being concerned about debt: 69% of victims versus 57% of non victims.
I am retired and I live in the Coachella Valley. I became a full-time resident about a year ago. I was born and raised in Connecticut and I had a 40 year career in electronics distribution, sales, marketing and executive management. About a year ago I started a home-based business as an Independent Associate for LegalShield. As part of our product portfolio we have a comprehensive identity theft protection program
.
I started blogging about identity theft because some of my closest friends have been victims of it. As I started doing research I saw just how widespread and destructive it can be. So I started this blog with the hopes that eventually I will reach enough people and make them aware of the potential to have their identity stolen and give them some advice as to what they can do to protect themselves. I feel it is important for the readers of my blog to understand my motivation for publishing it. With that said here comes my 11th blog and I hope you will find it informative and useful.
AARP recently released a report titled
Caught In The Scammers Net.
The report tried to define the profile of a scam victim. The report found there are 15 online behaviors and life situations that dramatically increase your probability of online fraud and one in five American adults engage in at least seven of them.The report finds that it is not just risky online behavior putting you at risk. But anyone who is going thru a difficult life experience could be vulnerable to identity theft. Going through a difficult time makes you more vulnerable to fraud, just as a weakened immune system lowers resistance to disease, negative life events lowers resistance to fraud.
The AARP commissioned a survey of 11,000 adults in the United States and surveyed their online actions, behavior and the life experiences of both fraud victims and non victims. They have developed a detailed profile of those who are most vulnerable to Internet-based scams.
In the seven days prior to being surveyed respondents admitted to:
*clicking on pop-up advertisements: 26% of victims open the pop-up while non-victims opened at the rate of 10%.
*Opening emails from unknown sources: 27% victims compared to 17% of non victims.
*Downloading apps: 35% of victims versus 28% of non victims this is another way to install malware, to steal computer files, passwords and accounts.
* Selling products: 23% of victims versus 7% of non-victims are active on online auction sites. Scammers posing as buyers, paying with counterfeit checks.
* Purchasing a product through a money payment business: 47% of victims versus 30% of non victims use this service which becomes particularly risky when you link it to a checking or debit card account. If those systems are hacked or someone gets your payment transfer information, your bank account is now exposed to the scammer.
* Signing up for free trial offers: 18% of victims versus 8% of non victims engaged in these traps, which lock buyers into hard to cancel contracts and merchandise may not arrive until after the trial ends.
The key negative life experiences include:
* Feelings of isolation, reported by two of three victims, compared to a minority of non victims.
* Loss of job: 23% of victims versus 10% of non victims .
* Negative change in financial status: 44% of victims versus 23% of non victims.
* Being concerned about debt: 69% of victims versus 57% of non victims.
The survey asks questions about Internet safety, neither victims nor non victims scored particularly well.There were two questions in a specific areas where victims were significantly less likely to answer correctly.
* Unaware that banks do not send emails to customers asking them to click on a link to verify personal or account information. Two thirds of the victims compared to just 38% of non victims believe that banks do this as a common ruse used by scammers to download malware or collect details for likely identity theft.
* Unaware that a privacy policy does not mean that websites will not share information from users.50% of victims, compared to 40% of non victims, answered this correctly. However such information may be sold to either legitimate vendors or scammers posing as such and used to compile "sucker lists" to identify possible future victims
About the research
The report was commissioned by the AARP Fraud Watch Network as part of a national campaign to connect people with experts and law enforcement who could help them spot and avoid scams. Available free of charge to AARP members, non members and people of any age, the Fraud Watch Network provides:
* Watchdog alert emails that deliver breaking scam information,
* Prevention tips based on the latest information from experts,
* an interactive map with the latest law enforcement warnings from each state,
*a phone number people can call to talk to volunteers trained to help fraud victims, and access to a network of people who are sharing their experiences with scams so they can help others protect themselves.
The AARP is one of the most prestigious organizations in the United States, the fact that they taken the time and gone to much expense to do such an in-depth survey, shows how significant they believe that identity theft and fraud has become. They have made this available to members and nonmembers of any age. I therefore think it would be a very big mistake not to take advantage of the service they are offering you.
As I have mentioned before we have a website that is devoted to helping our seniors be more aware of the various identity theft scams and frauds that are being perpetrated against our senior citizens and we have a series of podcasts that deal with senior citizen identity theft.
Also for anyone who is interested in developing a website or having a website reviewed. Also how to use social media correctly for business or learn how to use SEO's to drive people to your websites. You should visit the website listed below and I think you'll find it most informative and educational.
In closing as I mentioned in the beginning of the blog it is important to me that these blogs that I have produced are meaningful , informative and helpful to those who read it. That is why I solicit your feedback in order to help me produce a high quality blog.
Thank you
Richard Bentley
Sunday, March 2, 2014
The US government is reporting that identity theft has costs the American public over $1.5 billion in 2013
This staggering number points out the need for all of us to take whatever precautions are necessary to prevent this from happening to you. As I've said in the past do not give any personal information such as social security number, bank account numbers or credit card numbers to anyone over the phone or online less you are absolutely sure that they are legitimate and you are familiar with them. I know this doesn't protect you when the thieves hack into corporations such as Target and Neiman Marcus but it is prudent to follow this advice..
Small – amount scams can cost you plenty
When you are reviewing your monthly credit card statement I am sure you scan down the column looking for large amounts to make sure they are legitimate. If you see a relatively small amount say under $20 you may not pay any attention to it as it is to small an amount to take the time to call your credit card company.
Recently the Better Business Bureau released a notice that the credit card numbers that were stolen over the holidays have had a fraudulent charge of $9.94 on millions of credit cards.
Some are calling this a new scam but in reality it's not. The small amount scam has been around for years. In the beginning scammers would charge a small amount to an online site and cancel the order when it was verified that the card was good.
Because of the enormous amount of credit card accounts that were hacked over the holidays, it has been extremely lucrative for the scammers (3 million credit card charges that were three dollars each equals $9 million) and because of the small dollar amount it makes it more likely the charges will go unnoticed for a longer period of time.
I know it takes time to call the bank on these small unfamiliar charges but do it because as I mentioned above if they get away with the small charges it is just a matter time before they hit you with a major charge.
Better Business Bureau advice
you should heed
<I f you find bogus charges on your card cancel it immediately.
> If you lose your card you should report it immediately. By doing this you won't have to pay the > $50 fee if your card gets used by the thief
> Do not leave your cards or statement out in plain sight
>After reading the statement shred it or store it in a secure location
>As I've mentioned many times before when ordering over the phone or online know who's on the other end before you give your card number
> If you pick up your mail on the way out to go shopping and you leave your mail in the car do not leave it in plain sight put in the glove box or covered up
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> Also review your landline phone bill each month. There's is a scam where people are getting charged for three way calls they didn't make. Call your provider if you find you have been billed for this service
I believe the take away from all of this is you should take the time to sit down and review every bill you receive. Make sure that all the charges are legitimate and accurate to protect yourself from identity theft but also from legitimate human error, it will be time well spent
.
Everyone Needs a Will…Even You
I know this is a subject that people generally don't like to discuss. But it is very important for everyone to provide their loved ones with a will at their most stressful time. The link below will give you some very valuable information on the structure of your will.
I've mentioned in the past that Peter Brusso and I have developed a website dedicated to bringing awareness to the senior citizens of the potential for identity theft and scams that they may encounter. I live in the Coachella Valley and because of the demographics it is Ground Zero for these senior oriented scams. We have posted new podcasts on our website and I invite all of you to check them out.
Also Peter is an engineer and has many years of experience in marketing and web development. He has a marketing site that anyone who is interested in Internet marketing,or how to use social media to develop your business should take the time to review the site..
http://infocard.cc/101_Marketing_Podcasts.html
And in closing I once again ask for your comments be they positive or negative, My mission for this blog is to try and alert people of the threats to their identity and provide common sense tips on how to protect yourself.
richardbentley.us/
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