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Reporting Suspicious Activity |
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Census Cautions |
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2010 Census Cautions
by Susan Johnson - August 3, 2009 12:07 pm
Be Cautious About Giving Info to Census Workers
With the U.S. Census process beginning, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) advises people to be cooperative, but cautious, so as not to become a victim of fraud or identity theft. The first phase of the 2010 U.S. Census is under way as workers have begun verifying the addresses of households across the country. Eventually, more than 140,000 U.S. Census workers will count every person in the United States and will gather information about every person living at each address including name, age, gender, race, and other relevant data. The big question is - how do you tell the difference between a U.S. Census worker and a con artist? BBB offers the following advice:
** If a U.S. Census worker knocks on your door, they will have a badge, a handheld device, a Census Bureau canvas bag, and a confidentiality notice. Ask to see their identification and their badge before answering their questions. However, you should never invite anyone you don't know into your home.
** Census workers are currently only knocking on doors to verify address information. Do not give your Social Security number, credit card or banking information to anyone, even if they claim they need it for the U.S. Census. While the Census Bureau might ask for basic financial information, such as a salary range, it will not ask for Social Security, bank account, or credit card numbers, nor will employees solicit donations.
Eventually, Census workers may contact you by telephone, mail, or in person at home. However, they will not contact you by Email, so be on the lookout for Email scams impersonating the Census.
Never click on a link or open any attachments in an Email that are supposedly from the U.S. Census Bureau.
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Posted by mfnw on Sunday, August 30 @ 10:46:24 CDT (171 reads)
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Forclosure Fraud |
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Buyer Beware: Tips from the FDIC on How to Protect Against Foreclosure Frauds, Easy Money Schemes and Other Costly Deals
Many people concerned about their mortgage, their job or their finances may be especially vulnerable to scams and other costly "fixes" for their problems. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation today issued a variety of tips to help consumers be on guard financially in the current economy. The advice was published in the Spring 2009 issue of FDIC Consumer News, the agency's quarterly newsletter for consumers.
Among the topics covered:
Our latest tips for protecting against foreclosure rescue and loan modification scams that target homeowners having difficulty making their monthly mortgage payments;
A warning about frauds promising easy money -- supposedly from the government's economic stimulus package or from lenders or employers -- but ending with the victims losing money instead;
Examples of financial services that sound good but may come with heavy fees, such as certain programs to cover overdrafts (bounced checks or other withdrawals that would deplete a bank account) and credit cards advertised to help repair a damaged credit history;
Potential risks and costs associated with blank "convenience checks" that credit card companies send to their customers offering a quick way to write a loan, pay bills or transfer another debt to their account; and
Why an advertised interest rate on a short-term certificate of deposit (CD) that is far above the competition could be a marketing ploy by a non-bank company trying to sell uninsured, long-term investments that may not be in the consumer's best interest.
The latest issue also notes that, on May 19, Congress extended the temporary federal deposit insurance limit of $250,000 per depositor through December 31, 2013. This is important news, especially for people who have or plan to place long-term deposits, because the insurance limit would have reverted back to $100,000 per depositor on January 1, 2010, if Congress did not authorize the extension.
Other timely articles describe the Obama Administration's program for lowering monthly mortgage payments through refinancing opportunities and loan modifications; various tips on shopping for a CD; and an FDIC legal opinion clarifying the deposit insurance coverage of a pre-paid card if the bank holding the money for the card fails.
The Spring 2009 issue can be read or printed at www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/news/cnspr09.
The goal of FDIC Consumer News is to deliver timely, reliable and innovative tips and information about financial matters, free of charge. Current and past issues, including special editions, are online at www.fdic.gov/consumernews.
There are two ways to subscribe to the quarterly FDIC Consumer News. To receive an e-mail about each new issue with links to stories, go to www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html. To receive the newsletter in the mail, free of charge, call the FDIC toll-free at 1-877-275-3342, send an e-mail to publicinfo@fdic.gov or write to the FDIC Public Information Center, 3501 North Fairfax Drive, Room E-1002, Arlington, VA 22226.
The FDIC encourages financial institutions, government agencies, consumer organizations, educators, the media and anyone else to help make the tips and information in FDIC Consumer News widely available. The publication may be reprinted in whole or in part without advance permission. Organizations also may link to or mention the FDIC Web site.
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Congress created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in 1933 to restore public confidence in the nation's banking system. The FDIC insures deposits at the nation's 8,246 banks and savings associations and it promotes the safety and soundness of these institutions by identifying, monitoring and addressing risks to which they are exposed. The FDIC receives no federal tax dollars – insured financial institutions fund its operations.
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Posted by mfnw on Tuesday, June 02 @ 11:04:47 CDT (266 reads)
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Crime Prevention - Internet Scam - Jury Duty Scam |
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JURY DUTY SCAM : This has been verified by the FBI (their link is also included below).
Most of us take those summons for jury duty seriously. A new and ominous kind of fraud has surfaced.
The caller claims to be a jury coordinator. If you protest that you never received a summons for jury duty,
the scammer asks you for your Social Security number and date of birth so he or she can verify the information and cancel the arrest warrant.
Give out any of this information and bingo, your identity was just stolen.
The fraud has been reported so far in 11 states, including Oklahoma , Illinois , and Colorado.
This (swindle) is particularly insidious because they use intimidation over the phone to try to bully people into giving information by pretending they are with the court system.
The FBI and the Federal Court System have issued nationwide alerts on their web sites, warning consumers about the fraud.
CHECK IT OUT YOURSELF at the following sites:
Snopes site: says this is real fraud.
http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/juryduty.asp
FBI site: warns about the fraud.
http://www.fbi.gov/page2/june06/jury_scams060206.htm
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Posted by mfnw on Friday, January 18 @ 08:57:14 CST (625 reads)
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CRIME PREVENTION - IRS Phishing Scam |
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Last night at the Neighborhood Watch meeting a member handed me an email his wife had received from what looked to be the IRS. It was very official looking using the IRS's logo and it stated that the IRS had recalculated their last year's tax return and they now had an additional $203.59 coming to them. The email then had a link in which they were to go to in order to claim this refund. Fortunately they did not. I'm sure that this link was going to request personal information that could then be used for identity theft purposes. I contacted the IRS and was informed that they NEVER contact taxpayers via email. I've directed this member to contact the IRS with this complaint. Should you ever get emails from companies, organizations, people, etc. which appear suspicious, ask for personal info, state you have won something, claim that's there's been some sort of error in your account, etc., please do not respond or reply to them. This is a common ploy of thieves on the internet in an attempt to get your $$$$.
If you would like additional information on Identity Theft and other popular scams, check out or web site at www.fallspolice.org.
As always, pass this on to anyone you know and if you have any questions I can be reached at 262-532-8723.
Officer Jim Kirchberger
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Posted by mfnw on Wednesday, November 14 @ 09:12:09 CST (712 reads)
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Local Missing Children |
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