You CAN Prevent Yourself from Becoming a Victim of Identify Theft

Online Internet Fraud is Growing – Internet fraud can be any type of scheme that uses the Internet – e-mail, websites, chat rooms or message boards – to deceive prospective victims.  These scams and frauds take advantage of the Internet’s unique capabilities – sending e-mail messages worldwide in seconds – to carry out fraud quicker than ever thought possible.  Common internet scams and frauds use deceptive and creative ways to obtain sensitive, confidential information about you or your financial records.  In the worst case, you could find yourself a victim of identity theft.  With the sensitive information that could be obtained about you, a successful scam artist could take out loans or obtain credit cards in your name, loot your bank account or run up bills on your credit card accounts.  Internet thieves can do damage to your financial history and personal reputation that can take years to rectify.  As a bank customer, you need to be especially vigilant in recognizing internet scams in order to protect yourself from becoming a victim.

 

PHISHING – One of the more common internet scams involves “phishing”.  Phishing involves fraudulent e-mails, often appearing to be from a trusted source or reputable company that you recognize and may do business with.  They may even appear to be from your bank or a government regulatory agency.  The fraudulent e-mail will probably warn you of a serious problem with your account that requires immediate attention.  The e-mail will then encourage you to click on a button that redirects you to a phony web site.  It is often hard to detect that the web site is bogus, as it may look very similar to a legitimate web site.  Once there, you are asked to “verify” personal information such as your name, Social Security number, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, passwords or PINs.  If you provide the requested information, you may find yourself the victim of identity theft.  Fortunately, there are a number of things you can do to protect yourself:

Ø       Never provide your personal information in response to an unsolicited request, whether over the internet or telephone.  If you did not initiate the communication, you should not provide any information.

Ø       If you believe the contact may be legitimate, contact the financial institution or company yourself, using telephone numbers on your account statements or from the phone book.

Ø       Never provide your password over the phone or in response to unsolicited          e-mail.

Ø       Review account statements regularly to ensure all charges are correct.

 

GENERAL TIPS AGAINST CYBER-FRAUD

Ø       Never click on the link provided in an e-mail if you believe it may be fraudulent.  It may contain a virus that will contaminate your computer.

Ø       Be wary of e-mails which attempt to conceal the sender’s true identity.

Ø       Be careful for “Advance Fee” demands.  Look carefully at any online seller of goods or services that may ask you to send a check or money order immediately to a post office box before you receive the goods or services you’ve been promised.

Ø       Use common sense.  Remember the old adage “If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is!”   Many con artists are preying on victims by claiming that the victim has won an international lottery (Canada is a common source for these scams) or sweepstake, promising huge cash awards.  The victim is asked to send an advance money order or check to cover the “fees and costs” involved with the prize.  Once the victim sends the check, nothing more is heard from the scam artist.

Ø       When selling items, be wary of buyers that send you a cashiers' check or money order in an amount well above your asking price of the merchandise.  The buyer may ask that you send back the difference in the form of a check or money order.  The buyer’s check usually ends up being no good, and the victim is out both the merchandise and the money he sent to the scam artist.

Ø       NEVER agree to assist someone in transferring money out of a foreign country into your bank account!  In these scams, traditionally originating from Nigerian or African countries, the scam artist promises that you will be paid a handsome fee for allowing money to be transferred to your account.  They will often ask you to first send a cashier’s check or money order to handle “shipping fees” or “excise taxes”, or better yet (for the thief), they will ask for your bank account number so they can transfer the funds directly.   Once they have your bank account information, the scam artist drains your bank account.

Ø       Your personal information can be obtained by thieves the old-fashioned way as well – dumpster diving.  Make sure your unused checks, bills, statements and anything with personal information about you is shredded before discarding.

 

WHAT TO DO IF YOU BECOME A VICTIM – Act immediately to protect yourself.

Ø       Contact your financial institution immediately and alert them to the situation. 

Ø       Report all suspicious contacts to the Federal Trade Commission through the Internet at www.consumer.gov/idtheft, or by calling 1-877-IDTHEFT.  At this website, you will find valuable information should you become a victim of identity theft, including instructions on how to contact the three major nationwide credit bureaus to place a fraud alert on your credit file and how to receive a free copy of your credit report.

Ø       Report internet-related fraud to the Internet Fraud Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.

Ø       Visit the FirstGov (Your First Click to the U.S. Government) website at www.firstgov.gov.  This free-access website is a centralized place to find information from local, state and U.S. Government Agency websites.  Consumers may also call the toll-free number 1-800-FED-INFO.

 

The Internet is a great tool for information, and to conduct online business, as long as you take appropriate cautions and are aware of the possibility that someone may be trying to take advantage of you.  If you ever have any questions regarding an e-mail message or phone call that you receive from Reliance Bank, please contact us at (814)949-6260 or (800) 570-0876.