One of the Top Internet Fraud Scams Exposed
One of the fastest growing crimes in the country is identity theft. It’s a terrible crime that can wreak havoc on not only the financial lives but also the emotional and mental well-being of its victims. One of the reasons this crime is growing so quickly is that the Internet makes it easier for the criminals to obtain other people’s personal information.
Before the proliferation of the Internet identity theft still occurred. There are many off-line ways to obtain peoples personal information like stealing people’s mail or going through their trash to find discarded financial documents. The Internet offers these thieves easier access to their victims sensitive information. There are websites and forums where people actually buy and sell things like credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers etc.
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read moreWhy is Identity Fraud Theft Rising
A study by Javelin Strategy and Research in 2005 showed that 9.3 million Americans are victims of identity theft each year. This is about 4.25% of adults. The Home Office in the United Kingdom also claims that this crime is reaching epidemic proportions, although they do not actually collect data and statistics. But why is this becoming such a problem This article hopes to help answer some of your questions.
In the USA today, about $52.6B is the annual cost of identity fraud, which works out at about $5,686 per victim. These statistics from the Javelin study also highlighted that anyone who has been a victim of identity fraud spends about 28 hours trying to sort out the problems. Although the financial cost is met by banks and other institutions, these costs then get passed onto consumers.
In this age of modern technology, it is possible for you to extend your credit without ever having seen your customer. There has also been a massive increase in the use of the Internet and telephones to buy goods and make payments in this way, as well as an increase in the volume of personal information help by third party companies.
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read moreTax Season Alert – The 3 Big Myths That Can Make You a Victim of Identity Fraud
The continued popularity of electronic tax filing has made this annual burden incredibly simple for many taxpayers. As a result, these individuals mistakenly equate ease-of-use with safety. This assumption too often leads to the #1 most-committed crime in the world – identity theft. The opportunities for your personal information to unwittingly fall into the hands of thieves wanting to commit fraud has grown exponentially along with the explosion of online tax return submissions. Do not falsely presume that your identity is protected.
Here are the 3 biggest myths that risk your identity during tax season, as well as important security tips to avoid the time, money and hassle related to identity theft.
Myth #1 Documents, PDFs and personal information used in the creation of your tax returns are safe just sitting on your computer.
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read moreCredit Frauds You Can’t Resist
File Segregation Scam
If you have filed for bankruptcy or have bad credit generally, you could be the target of a fraud the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) calls file segregation. In this scheme, you are promised a chance to hide unfavorable credit information by establishing a new credit id. That may sound perfect for your circumstance, except that file segregation is illegal and you could face fines or even a prison sentence.
It often starts out as an innocent ad from a credit repair company promising to eliminate all negative remarks on your credit file including a bankruptcy and establish a new credit file to use when you apply for credit. If you sign up for the service (which you pay for), you may be directed to apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Typically, EINs, which resemble Social Security numbers, are used by businesses to report financial information to the IRS and the Social Security Administration.
After you receive your EIN, the credit repair service will tell you to use it in place of your Social Security Number when you apply for credit. They’ll also tell you to use a new mailing address and some credit references.
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read moreAvoiding Fraud by Shredding Documents
Businesses have become much more susceptible to stolen information and fraud than ever before. Many business owners underestimate the value of documents and are not cautious enough from prying eyes.
“Businesses work very hard to get their clients, but then they don’t take the basic steps to protect those clients from being exposed to criminals and fraud.” An outsourced document shredding service can certainly take away the liability and the hassle of destroying and protecting vital documents that needs to discarded. It can be as simple as having a locked plastic receptacle placed in the office specifically for documents that need to be shredded. A service will place the receptacle and come and exchange it for an empty one whenever the business needs it. This can cost as little as $1 per day to the business. It’s cheaper than a cup of coffee per day, but can save you a lifetime of headache, had any documents been leaked.
The fines and civil damages for exposing someone’s social security numbers or credit applications are staggering. Not to mention the bad publicity that your firm can receive if it is proven that your firm exposed their information. A little planning can save a major problem down the road.
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