Scams are
repeated because they work. The ones that work are often driven by financial
life moments such as taxes, holiday shopping, and utility scams. Identity
thieves and scammers often try new twists on old scams that worked in the past.
So far this year, a number of different and new scams have made the news,
listed here in alphabetical order, not by ranking.
Porting Scams
The scam called “porting” involves criminals
stealing your phone number and your phone service in order to get access to
your bank account through confirmation text messages. Scammers start by
collecting your name, phone number and then gather any other information they
can find about you such as your address, Social Security number, and date of
birth.
Then they contact your mobile carrier and
state that your phone has been stolen and ask that the number be “ported” to
another provider and device. Once your number has been ported to a new device,
scammers can then start accessing your accounts that require additional
authorization such as code texted to your phone.
Romance Scams
Though Valentine’s Day is over, romance scams
will continue to pop up throughout the year. A romance scam typically involves
a criminal setting up an account on a dating site with fake information and
photos for a profile that is too good to be true. Once a target has been established, the scam
usually escalates to the thief’s unveiling of a money problem. Typical
scenarios include the request for funds so he or she can travel to meet you in
person or to help a sick relative.
Unfortunately, seniors are the primary targets
for romance scams, since they often spend more time alone as they age. Romance
scams cost Americans more than $230 million as nearly 15,000 people were conned
in 2016, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Secretary of State Scam
This scam starts when you receive an email
claiming to be from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who says you’re owed a
payment he knows about because of an investigation by the FBI and CIA. The scam reportedly states that you will
receive an ATM card with more than $1 million dollars on it, but first you have
to send $320 along with personal information to receive it. The Federal Trade
Commission (FTC) says this is false—warning Americans to not fall for this—or
anytime you’re told you have won a prize, owe money, or may go to jail.
Shimmer Scams
A shimmer scam is an update on skimming except
that thieves are using “shimmers” to target chip-based credit and debit cards.
A shimmer is a very thin piece of paper that can read your card number and
access your credit or debit card’s EMV chip—the chip designed to help make your
card more secure.
A thief will put a shimmer into an ATM and let
it collect information from each card that is used, allowing them to then
create a non-chip version or magnetic strip credit card. Shimmers have been
showing up more recently despite first being reported on in 2015. In 2017, the
number of debit cards compromised at ATMs and merchant card readers—typically
via skimming devices that capture card data—rose 10%, according to FICO.
Tax Arrest Scam
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently
warned the public about “sophisticated phone scams” targeting taxpayers by
claiming to be IRS employees. The scammers demand that the victims owe money to
the IRS and to pay them promptly or be arrested, deported or have their
driver’s license suspended.
No comments:
Post a Comment