From: Smith, Yvonne (MPD) <
yvonne.smith@dc.gov>
An AARP representative asked us to forward this information to as many
people as possible.
Please help spread the word to DC's elderly population that, for no
reason, should they give their bank account information over the
telephone to anyone calling their homes. Also, they should not be
speaking to anyone knocking on their doors, claiming to be with
Medicaid. They should call the police (9-1-1) if they feel
uncomfortable with anyone who is knocking on their doors.
The most recent complaint states that a man calling himself "Mr. Davis
Abdul" called a local senior stating that he needed information. The
senior later noticed money missing from her bank account. (Exact
details regarding this act were withheld to prevent copycat crimes.)
Seniors can call the following numbers if they are uncomfortable when
dealing with strangers claiming to need financial information from them.
1) Office on Aging www.dcoa.dc.
gov
Phone: (202) 724-5622
Fax: (202) 724-4979
441 4th Street, NW, Suite 900S
Washington, DC 20001
2) Social Security Office
202-653-2035 or 202-653-5040
3) Metropolitan (DC) Police Department's Financial Crimes and Fraud
Unit (Phillipe.Moore@dc.gov)
202-727-4159
4) Metropolitan Police Department's Senior Citizen Police Academy
202-727-8809
5) AARP'S Toll-Free Phone Number 1-888-687-2277
Ask your Consumer Issues Questions Here:
http://www.aarp.org/about_aarp/contact/a2003-01-28-contact-consumerform.html
How can I get telemarketers to stop calling me at home?
What is a Reverse Mortgage?
Does AARP have information about caregiving?
What is AARP doing about predatory lending?
How do I obtain information about a Personal Emergency Response
System (PERS)?
What should I look for in a living trust?
Tips from the AARP
Scams Unmasked: http://www.aarpmagazine.org/money/scams_unmasked.html
Your Documents
Good Move: Lighten the Wallet
The most frequent source of information for ID thieves is you.
According to the Javelin survey, among victims who knew how their
numbers were pilfered, 30 percent of frauds began with a lost or
stolen wallet, checkbook, or credit card. So rule number one is "Leave
home without it." Don't carry a crib sheet with PIN codes for your
plastic; don't carry your Social Security card. And that check you
tote everywhere "just in case"? It's a needless risk. One credit card
will pull you through most emergencies—and is easy to cancel in case
of theft.
Better Move: Lock 'Em Up Here's a statistic that may surprise you: one
in seven cases of ID theft traced to a source turns up a family member
or other trusted associate the victim shouldn't have trusted. So it's
no use leaving things home if they're vulnerable there, too. Your
checkbook, cards, and any important papers (such as mortgage,
insurance, and investment records) should be under lock and key
wherever they are. A locking metal file cabinet or desk drawer may be
the answer.
Your Credit
Good Move: Monitor All Accounts
Though some banks alert you to unusual activity on a credit card, it's
more likely you'll detect a crime before your bank does. In 2005,
Javelin found, frauds first noticed by victims were uncovered a month
sooner than those financial institutions fingered. Besides regularly
checking credit card and bank statements, it's good to scan your
credit history for inquiries on existing accounts and applications for
new loans. You can get one free credit history annually from each of
the three major bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) at
www.annualcreditreport.com. By rotating your requests, you can
receive
a report every four months.
For a monthly fee you can also get credit-monitoring services to
notify you of activity. These services mushroomed in recent years as
identity theft reached critical mass, but some take a week or longer
to alert you. Sift through the competition until you find one with
daily alerts via email.
Better Move: Freeze Access
Recent laws in eight states let you freeze access to your credit file
to keep anyone—legit or not—from reviewing your standing or opening
loans in your name. A burgeoning trend, freeze laws have been under
consideration in at least 18 other states. For consumers who don't
plan to apply for new credit anytime soon, it's a mighty shield, and
convenient, too. The rest of us can benefit with just a few extra steps.
Freezes that used to be applied by credit bureaus only after ID
thieves struck are available free by law to any citizen in Colorado
(starting in July) and New Jersey. Consumers in California,
Connecticut, Louisiana, Maine, Nevada, and North Carolina can stop
credit tampering cold for a small fee—generally up to $10. And for
another $5 or $10 the same eight states allow a credit thaw when you
need a new loan. Freezes are also available by law to ID-theft victims
in Illinois, Texas, Vermont, and Washington.
Your Trash
Good Move: Shred the Evidence
Rather than merely folding, spindling, or mutilating your unwanted
mail, feed anything bearing sensitive information into a crosscut (or
"confetti") shredder. This makes it virtually impossible for garbage
divers to read your data or use credit card "convenience checks" and
new offers. While assiduous tearing by hand can do the job, $75 or
less will get you a decent shredder. Heavier-duty models run to $200.
To make sure mail isn't diverted before it reaches the shredder, get
your letters delivered to a secure location. A street-side mailbox
doesn't make the grade. Police say these boxes are favored targets of
ID thieves looking for checks to steal. A box by your door is a safety
improvement; a mail slot into the house is better still. For even more
security, consider renting a box at the local post office.
Better Move: Opt Out of Offers
Spend less time sorting and shredding by opting out of solicitations
for new credit cards, mortgages, or other loans. To eliminate future
trash at its source, call the credit bureaus' dedicated line at
888-567-8688 from your home telephone or register at
www.optoutprescreen.com.
If you call, an automated voice-response system will request your
name, telephone number, and Social Security number; don't worry, the
credit bureau has it already as part of your credit history. You can
opt out for five years or forever. (And if you haven't done so
already, by all means register your phone numbers with the National Do
Not Call Registry maintained by the FTC at 888-382-1222 or
www.donotcall.gov. Unless they're from charities, political groups,
surveys, or companies with which you have ties, telemarketers are
barred from calling registered numbers. So you'll know any call you do
get is suspect.)
Your Checks
Good Move: Frustrate Forgers
All it takes to empty your bank account, says fraud fighter Frank W.
Abagnale (the former con artist portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio in the
2002 movie Catch Me If You Can) is a signed check and a pan of
acetone, the active ingredient in nail polish remover.
Here's the scam: a crook tapes over your signature front and back,
then soaks the check in acetone to wash away everything but the
printer's ink and your John Hancock. Dried and carefully peeled,
it's—presto!—a blank check signed by you. And thanks to "bounce
protection" from banks, the scamster can even overdraw your account.
Abagnale's cure? He tested major pen brands as part of his second
career advising banks and law enforcement on how to fight check fraud
and found only Uni-ball gel pens resist washing; now the pens carry
his endorsement.
Better Move: Use a Blanker Check
Even tamperproof checks offer thieves valuable tidbits—various account
numbers—if you obligingly add them at the payee's behest. "A check can
be handled by dozens of people from the payee's company, its bank,
your bank, and various vendors who process checks," Abagnale notes.
The solution: skip the numbers or just write the last few. "If you
return that payment stub—and you always should—there's no reason to
write your account number," he says. Crooks can use the information to
acquire cell phones and open utility accounts at other addresses,
helping them establish an entire separate identity with your name.
Your printed checks can also say less. When you order a new batch,
have just your initials and last name printed, and keep phone numbers
off them altogether. Order checks from your bank, not from independent
vendors, and seek out security features such as paper that acetone
stains.
Your Monthly Bills
Good Move: Mail Safe
As you've probably gathered by now, there's a lot not to like about
checks. Mari J. Frank, a California attorney who became an
identity-theft expert after being victimized herself, suggests you
stop writing checks altogether. Even if you don't, drop bill payments
at a post office or U.S. Postal Service mailbox. That's safer than
just putting the flag up on your own box or leaving letters in an open
mail bin at your workplace.
Better Move: Bank Online
Here's another, possibly stronger, incentive for reducing your
dependence on checks: they're on their way out. More than a third of
U.S. households with bank accounts bank online, and because paperless
transactions are cheaper, expect banks to do everything in their power
to launch your accounts into cyberspace, too. The benefits aren't just
the savings on postage, the ease, and the convenience. Financial
services are adding more security—and protections from liability for
customers in the case of fraud—as electronic payments of all kinds
become more common.
Your Computer
Good Move: Scrub That Software
Some measures against online ID thieves are high tech and some are
common sense. All are best applied early and often. Every home
computer should have security software that updates regularly; every
user needs to resist the bait from con artists "phishing" for suckers
via email.
The unseen danger comes from "spyware," which sneaks onto your
computer to track your actions online. One kind, known as adware,
merely gauges your interests to help websites predict what advertising
might grab your attention. A more sinister sort of spyware monitors
your every keystroke and reports back to a waiting attacker.
How does spyware infiltrate your computer? By hiding inside a
downloaded program. It can even worm its way in from an email you open
or Web link you click on.
"You should think twice about installing freebie software, no matter
how enticing it appears," says Doug Tygar, a professor of computer
science at the University of California, Berkeley, "and scan your
computer once a week or more with a good anti-spyware program."
Tygar recommends Ad-Aware, itself a free download—but one you can
trust. In an impromptu test I conducted, Ad-Aware quarantined more
than ten intruders that had escaped the notice of a brand-name $50
anti-spyware program.
To avoid helping crooks invade your computer, remember that messages
from strangers always pose a risk—and that strangers sometimes pose as
friends. Real banks never send emails asking for your account
information. Nor will an Internet service provider. Rather than click
on a Web link within email, type the address yourself or link to it
from a search engine. Secure sites display the padlock icon in the
frame surrounding the Web page, not within it, and have addresses
preceded by https—the s stands for "secure."
Better Move: Evade and Escape
he most popular Web browser is Microsoft's Internet Explorer, which
comes installed on most personal computers along with Microsoft's
Windows operating system. Small wonder, then, that most viruses and
spyware are geared to infiltrate it. One way of ducking the scamsters,
Tygar suggests, is using other browsers such as Firefox or Opera.
(Download these for free at www.getfirefox.com and www.opera.com.)
Another maneuver that leaves thieves in the lurch is to get a second
(and sometimes third) free email account from MSN's Hotmail, Yahoo!'s
Mail, or Google's Gmail so you can segregate your online shopping from
banking and private correspondence. And don't use your name or a
familiar word as part of any address. Scramble some letters and
numbers instead. These measures will make it a lot harder for phishers
to find you by chance and lure you to scam websites.
Your Pass Codes
Good Move: Guard the Cards
About 9 percent of traceable ID thefts in 2004 occurred during
transactions offline, the cyberspace term for being out and about.
Perhaps you sent a credit card away with your waiter, who skimmed its
numbers in a magnetic reader, noted the security code on the back, and
duplicated the plastic later. Or maybe the skimmer was installed over
the card slot of a cash machine. Or a perp behind you in line peeked
at your card—that's known as shoulder surfing.
Though I can tell you to never let a credit card out of your sight,
paranoia has its own costs to your quality of life. While it's good to
be alert to unnecessary risks, let your liability be your guide.
Credit (though not debit) card issuers must by law pick up any fraud
tab over $50; monitoring your monthly bill will limit any damage.
At cash machines the basic defense is physical—obstruct the view. When
possible, go inside the bank branch to use the automated tellers—or
the human ones. To reduce the hazard posed by a pirated cash card,
call your bank and request a per-day limit on ATM withdrawals from
your accounts.
Better Move: Try Disguises
Two can play at switching identities. While you can't slough off your
Social Security number, you can and should obscure other facts,
because using your real birth date as a PIN code, or reciting your
mother's maiden name to every bank, invites trouble. Thieves can
ferret out public records online, notes ID-theft expert Mari Frank.
Instead, she says, "fabricate a maiden name and pick a bogus
birthday—ones you can easily remember, of course."
The same goes for your listing in the telephone directory (it can be
changed with a quick call to your phone carrier). Just as dropping
your name from email addresses helps you fly below thieves' radar, a
listing under a name other than your own allows you to spot junk mail
and telemarketing calls in a snap—as I did with the "mortgage lender"
who had my name wrong when she phoned.
Sometimes a good offense really is the best defense.