The FTC posted a new release about a new scam threatening people seeking employment…
“It’s hard to believe someone would steal money from a person looking for a job. But unfortunately, no matter how bad the situation, scammers see opportunity. Many people looking for work have been ripped off by scam artists who promise a job, access to special job listings, interviews, or a way to make a big income working from home – that is, if they just pay a fee or turn over their credit or debit card information. In the end, they’re left with no job…and some are robbed of hundreds of dollars.
That’s why the Federal Trade Commission, the nation’s consumer protection agency, produced a new video warning consumers: “Don’t Pay for a Promise.” The video, which you can find at ftc.gov/jobscams features details on how consumers can spot and steer clear of job scammers, and how to report rip-offs to the FTC. Also, the FTC and its partners across the country today announced a law enforcement sweep http://ftc.gov/opa/2010/02/bottomdollar.shtm cracking down on job and work-at-home scams.”
For several consecutive years following the FTC’s original finding on “America’s fastest growing white collar crime” Javelin Strategy & Research reported that unauthorized transactions committed in another person’s name were on the wane. Then for the last two years they found it’s up sharply again–so what’s up? Unemployment and other indicators of a tough economic environment are what’s up, and fraud seems to be correlated. No one can prove such connections, but Javelin charted GNP growth against the rise and fall of ID fraud, and the two opposite curves look like these two symbols, except turned sideways: )(
Identity fraud is a combination of two crimes: theft, followed by transactional misuse of the data. Unquestionably, there are highly-sophisticated “professionals” operating from sometimes half a world away using the latest advanced technology, and there are also desperate perpetrators using whatever information they stumble across. Javelin’s separate studies (such as the Safety Scorecards) show that industry systems are actually improving a great deal (case: large FIs’ Prevention scores jumped from 51% to 79% last year, a record increase), but in these tough times it seems criminals are evolving fast too.
Desperate times make for desperate measures, and in 2009 a record 11.1million adults were victimized by ID Fraud in the US.
Identity Fraud Continues to Rise – New Accounts Fraud Drives Increase;
Consumer Costs at an All‐Time Low
ID Fraud continued to rise in 2009, with Javelin finding there are more victims than in any period since the survey began in 2003. Driving that increase was new accounts fraud, which showed longer periods of misuse and detection and therefore more dollar losses associated with it than any other type of fraud. Meanwhile the consumer costs, the dollar amounts the victim pays on average out-of-pocket, reached an all time low. The Javelin 2010 Identity Fraud Survey Report provides a detailed, comprehensive analysis of identity fraud in the United States in order to help consumers and businesses better understand the effectiveness of methods used for its prevention, detection and resolution. Read the article
Credit unions should warn members that tax-filing season brings out tax-preparation frauds. The latest scheme involves tax refunds transmitted as a direct deposit or automated clearing house credit.
“The flow chart basically walks a user through the analysis of an email. It begins by identifying the sender and then checking consecutively if the email contains links or attachments and if it requests personal information.
The red end points define potentially dangerous emails while the blue end point an email that is likely safe.”
Read the article to see the flow chart.
The article Analysis of 32 million breached passwords serves as a good reminder to use strong passwords for your accounts as it summarizes similarities in common passwords. Malicious brute force attacks would likely utilize similar characteristics in password cracking attempts, so this information is a nice reference in what to avoid.
A new article at krebsonsecurity.com has some photos of a type of hardware phishing device called an ATM Skimmer that is growing more prevalent. The devices are designed to fit onto a legitimate ATM in such a way that they look like they are meant to be there. Then when an unsuspecting user inserts their card their information and pin number are discreetly recorded. This is a good reminder to never let your guard down when your financial information is at risk. Could you identify one of these ATM Skimmer devices? Read the article to see the photos.
Understanding Encryption: Encrypting data is a good way to protect sensitive information. It ensures that the data can only be read by the person who is authorized to have access to it.
Recent surveys reveal that Americans consider financial literacy as important as any subjects traditionally taught in schools. Why then is it that most consumers graduate without basic money management knowledge and are left to learn financial skills through trial and error? To help students of all ages learn the essentials of personal finance, Visa has partnered with leading consumer advocates, educators, and financial institutions to create the Practical Money Skills program.
At www.practicalmoneyskills.com and www.whatsmyscore.org, educators, parents, and students can access free educational resources including personal finance articles, games, lesson plans, and more
Note: Practical Money Skills is sponsored by VISA.
The headline caught our eye, but the article should grab your attention too. This MSN Money Central article talks about a new scam where victims receive calls from individuals pretending to be grandkids and ask for emergency cash to be wired to their account.
MSN Money Central also provides some tips for watching out for this scam.
Read the article at MSN Money Central.