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
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