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 Fraud and Privacy Rights    blog comments powered by Disqus Protecting Your Money, Personal Information, and Your IdentityHandout—Remar Sutton's Privacy Presentation, October 2009
Protecting your personal and financial privacy means educating yourself to take on a complex challenge. You might say that fighting for your privacy rights is like taking on an octopus with many arms (one issue, lots of manifestations). The resources in this information sheet will help you stay informed about privacy issues and take steps to protect your personal and financial privacy.
Read More... Staying Informed and Making Yourself Heard
There are lots of sites on the Internet that "cover" consumer privacy. How can you determine which sites deserve your trust? Here are a few tips:
Phishing and Pharming for Your Personal and Financial Information
What is phishing (pronounced fishing)? These are scams that are trying to steal your personal and financial information. Phishing has primarily been online in the form of email or pop-up messages but can also occur over the phone or through the mail. Phishers have even started using text messages. Phishers impersonate legitimate financial institutions—banks, credit unions—and businesses. The phishers cast a wide net that's bound to find persons that do business with the impersonated financial institution or company. Email and pop-up messages may have a link to click or a phone number to call; text messages have included a toll-free phone number to call. In the case of a link, it usually goes to a fake website that mimics a legitimate site. Read More...Other Scams to Watch Out For
Besides phishing, various other scams also arrive in your inbox. Here are brief descriptions of some of the most common. The "Nigerian" Scam also called "Advance Fee" ScamThe email is requesting help to get large sums of money out of a foreign country. They promise you big profits in exchange for your help. Before you receive any money, you'll have to provide money to cover transaction and transfer costs and attorney fees plus you'll need to provide them with your bank account numbers. The "Nigerian" Scam: Costly Compassion from the FTC has more information. Advance-Fee Loan ScamThese emails promise that a loan or credit will be approved even if you've been turned down many times already. But in order to get this loan you have to pay a fee. Advance-Fee Loan Scams: 'Easy' Cash Offers Teach Hard Lessons from the FTC has more information. Read More...Enhancing Your Computer and Online Privacy
The many products mentioned in this section are good examples of those that are available in the various categories. You should research these and other products and decide which products fit your needs. An important way to help enhance your computer privacy is to install and keep up to date these types of programs: Read More...Five Steps to Protect Your Privacy and Identity
These five steps allow you to opt out of certain information sharing. These steps usually take an hour or less to complete. The reduction in marketing will be significant. 1. Opt out of prescreening by visiting OptOutPrescreen.com or by calling 1-888-5-OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688). Opting out of prescreening should reduce the volume of those "preapproved" credit card offers by as much as 90%. This will also opt out of "mortgage triggers." 2. Opt out of "CPNI" sharing by calling your phone companies. CPNI stands for customer proprietary network information (CPNI) and is the information about a consumer's telephone calls that telecommunications companies collect. This information includes the time, date, duration and destination of each call, the type of network a consumer subscribes to, and any other information that appears on a consumer's phone bill. Read More...Make a Complaint
In addition to reporting fraud or identity theft to your state attorney general’s office you can file a complaint with the appropriate federal agency.
Information Specifically for Seniors
Seniors are a favorite target of scam artists and others who want to make a quick buck. For example, seniors are at risk of losing money in fraudulent investment schemes and are also at risk of losing their homes when they are used as security, in some instances unknowingly. These 2 articles from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) describe some of the pitfalls. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has assembled some resources to help seniors avoid fraudulent investments. Read More...Scammers Target Educators!
By Remar SuttonEducators’ Consumer Spokesperson Here’s the bad news:Scam artists have called some of our members. There have been various scenarios, ranging from vacation prizes to time-share presentations to telling members that their account has been compromised. Scammers have asked members to tell them their personal financial details. The scammers even called from phone numbers that appear to be real Educators phone numbers.
Fraud and Protecting Privacy Resources
The recent phone scam targeting Educators members is an example of a phishing scam. In these types of scams, the scammers are after your financial account information and/or personal information. Take a look at these articles on scams and identity theft. Phishing Scams — Don't Be Hooked Reduce Your Risk of Identity Theft Do you or anyone you know use WiFi Hot Spots? Know the Dangers? Here's a story by Educators' youth spokesperson, Will from Holland Read More...Phishing Scams — Don't Be Hooked
What is phishing? These are scams that are trying to steal personal and financial information. Phishing has primarily been online in the form of email or pop-up messages but can also occur over the phone or through the mail. Phishers impersonate legitimate financial institutions—banks, credit unions—and businesses. The phishers cast a wide net that's bound to find persons that do business with the impersonated financial institution or company. Email and pop-up messages may have a link to click or a phone number to call. In the case of the link, it usually goes to a fake website that mimics a legitimate site. Here are some tips to avoid being caught by a phishing scam. Reduce Your Risk of Identity Theft
How big a problem is identity theft? It's an epidemic. The Javelin Strategy and Research/Better Business Bureau 2006 Identity Fraud Survey Report indicates there were 8.9 million adult victims in the U.S. in 2005 and that the total one year fraud amount was $56.6 billion. Having one's personal identity stolen can be costly and frustrating. Taking steps to learn about the dangers of ID theft and to prevent becoming a victim makes smart sense. This brief report shares the basics of what you need to know and provides links to other excellent resources. ID Theft at Wi-Fi Hotspots
By Will from Holland Ever heard of ‘Evil Twins’? I don’t mean your neighbor’s evil twins who target you with snowballs in the wintertime… Ever heard of Phishing? Phishing describes several varieties of Internet-based scams that try to steal your personal and financial information. Ever used a wireless hotspot to connect to the Internet? More Information about Your Financial and Personal Privacy
Financial Privacy ResourcesThese articles from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) describe the consumer provisions in the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA). The GLBA applies to banks, savings and loans, credit unions, insurance companies and insurance firms. It also applies to retailers and automobile dealers that collect and share personal information about consumers to whom they extend or arrange credit. Tips on What Not to Do with Your Social Security Number
Protecting your social security number is very important. With only your name and social security number, an identity thief can impersonate you and apply for credit cards and loans, buy merchandise, lease an apartment or car. Here are some tips on how to keep your number safe.
Online Privacy Resources
There are lots of sites on the Internet that "cover" consumer privacy. How can you determine which sites deserve your trust? Here are a few tips:
Online Security Tips
Your online privacy and the safety of your personal information is in your hands. The following sites have lots of good online security tips and information. They are easy to understand — no tech speak. Take the How Cyber Safe Are You? quiz from the National Cyber Security Alliance to determine how savvy you are about online security. Besides the quiz, their site, staysafeonline.org, has cyber security and safety tips for consumers, small businesses, and educators. |
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