FRAUD PREVENTION TIPS


Learn How to Protect Your Information
Phishing - pronounced fishing - is the latest form of identity theft. It’s when thieves act as if they are representing an organization and try to "hook" the consumer into providing personal information. They can dupe consumers into providing their Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, PINs, mother’s maiden name and other personal information. Once the consumer is "hooked", the thieves can do lasting damage to a consumer’s financial accounts.

NEVER provide your personal information in response to an unsolicited request, whether it is over the Internet or over the phone. Forward all suspect phishing emails to reportphishing@antiphishing.org.

How Does Phishing Work?
The most common form of phishing is by e-mail. Most e-mails ask recipients to follow an embedded link that takes them to an exact replica of a well-known legitimate business, financial institution or government agency – to deceive users into disclosing financial account information or other personal data such as usernames and passwords. Graphics on the counterfeit sites are so convincing that even experts often have a hard time distinguishing the fake site from the real one.

The e-mail typically includes bogus appeals such as problems with an account or billing errors, and asks the consumer to confirm his/her personal information. Different approaches include things such as "We’re updating or records", "We’ve identified fraudulent activity on your account," or "Valuable account and personal information was lost due to a computer glitch." To encourage people to act immediately, the e-mail usually threatens that the account could be closed or canceled.

Despite the convincing appeals, consumers should not respond to unsolicited e-mails that direct them to divulge personal identifying information. Reputable organizations that consumers legitimately do business with DO NOT request account numbers or passwords unless the consumer initiated the transaction.

Tips to Help Avoid Being Trapped:

• Be wary of e-mail! Never click on any link to a bank, eBay, or other merchants. Instead, open a browser (not just a new window) and type in the URL yourself. When in doubt, call the institution using the number listed in the phone book, not one provided in the e-mail or link.
• Nobody needs to verify your passwords. Ever.
• Practice good computer hygiene. Don't click on attachments. Run both anti-virus and anti-spyware applications. Firewall and privacy protection software are also a good idea. Update this software, as well as your operating system, on a regular basis.
• If asked to call someone, use the listed telephone number and ask for that person's extension. Criminals often give scam telephone numbers to intended victims.
• Consider the single-use credit cards available from VISA, American Express and other institutions.
• Only provide personal information when you initiate the transaction and never when someone requests it, whether online or over the telephone.
• If a resident of Texas or California, consider a credit freeze.
• Order credit reports yearly and review them carefully. Free annual credit reports will be available in Florida starting June 1, 2005 at www.annualcreditreport.com.
• Watch credit card and bank statements for small withdrawals. These are sometimes used to take small amounts of money that customers don't consider to be worth reporting. But 10 cents a month from 100,000 accounts really adds up.
• Encrypt it or shred it. Use a cross-cut shredder (makes confetti, not long strips which are too easily reassembled) or burn documents containing personal information. Do not store PINs on your computer; lock them up or encrypt them.
• Don't provide (or offer) unnecessary information. Ask yourself, "Why do these people need my information?"
• Lying is OK. At least, in some circumstances, such as questionnaires which require an answer. Make something up. (A friend of mine has both a real birthday and a fake one that she usually gives out.)

If you follow these tips, you will avoid many of the scams and traps that criminals create to gather personal information, which they then turn, into cash. You will also help protect yourself against the accidental release of information, as well as against unscrupulous marketers and other lower life forms.

Helpful Links:
Federal Trade Commission Identity Theft Web site