Fraudsters Bring Back Old Scams With New Tricks

By Laura Bruck in Breach and Scam News 1 Comment

New Channels, Old Scams 

In an age where the latest technology is available to the everyday consumer, it may be hard to believe people still fall for classic scamming methods. However, fraudsters that utilize scare tactics continue to be highly effective – especially in online, mail, or phone scams. 

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) found millennials to be more at risk for online scams than seniors. At first glance, this may sound surprising given that younger generations often are more digitally aware. 

But with the increasing number of people using connected technology and Internet-enabled devices, it also means that more information about you is now available to the public – consumers, businesses and fraudsters alike.   Continue reading

Beware of Phone and Mail Scams

By Laura Bruck in Breach and Scam News 0 Comment

Scammers Still Call & Mail Victims

With the increasing numbers of connected devices, social media platforms and other digital services, we’ve become accustomed to the threats that target us online. But two not-so-new phone and mail scams prove that fraudsters are still using traditional scamming methods to facilitate their crimes.

Unfortunate but true, our Resolution Center gets calls about phone and mail scams all the time. This new wave of malicious phone and mail scams reminds us just how effective traditional social engineering and scare tactics can be. Continue reading

National Consumer Protection Week Kick-Off

By Laura Bruck in Personal Protection 0 Comment

This Week is All About You

Happy National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW)! We’re going to dedicate this year’s National Consumer Protection Week to spreading awareness about the importance of securing your identity from the threats you face every day. 

Your identity is at the core of who you are. But criminals see your identity as money in their pockets. Let’s kick off NCPW 2018 by diving into some of the identity risks out there today, and ways you can combat them in your daily lives.

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File Taxes Early to Avoid Tax Fraud and Identity Theft

By Laura Bruck in Personal Protection 0 Comment

Get Ahead of Tax Fraud and Identity Theft 

Filing your taxes can be a pain, but dealing with tax fraud and identity theft can be even worse. As we scramble to compile our W-2s and file our returns by the April deadline, we often forget that tax season is also considered open season for identity thieves. 

Many of last year’s large-scale data breaches (like Equifax and Alteryx) have already given identity thieves a leg-up in the tax fraud and identity theft game. These breach events exposed a multitude of personal and financial information that experts predict will be used to fraudulently file tax returns this year. 

Fraudsters also effectively cover their bases by using a variety of tax-related scams that play on a victim’s fears. Scammers hope they can convince you to hand over personal and financial information to be used in other crimes. 

What should you look for? What can you do? Find all the answers to your tax crime-related questions concerning your personal information, the scams targeting you and best tax-filing practices.     Continue reading