Posts Tagged ‘identity theft’
Fake Site Helps People Spot Loan Scams
April 26th, 2010
by Amy
Esteemed Lending Services
A loan for every situation…guaranteed. Loans for a new business, college, or even a vacation. Consolidating the debt you already have. The loan you need, even if you’ve been turned down by other lenders because of a poor credit history. Loan specialists waiting to help you.
The website looks reliable, the company sounds reputable, and the offer is just what many people are looking for. Unfortunately, this is the pitch for an advance fee loan scam. Scammers promise you a loan, but you soon find out there’s a fee you have to pay first. If you pay, it’s unlikely you’ll see the promised loan, and you run the risk of someone using your personal information to steal your identity.
That’s why the FTC created the Esteemed Lending Services website. The company and site are fakes, designed to tip you off to the signs of an advance fee loan scam (and an important reminder that just because a site looks trustworthy doesn’t mean it is). Click on any link, and you’ll go straight to a page letting you in on the truth behind the site and telling you what you need to know to recognize advance fee fraud.
I hope you’ll link to, write about or talk about the site with your audience, members or anyone else in your network. It’s an opportunity for people to see what an advance fee scam looks like, and avoid losing their hard-earned money.
The FTC also offers other “teaser sites.” Learn to weigh the evidence in diet products and spot claims that signal a rip-off at our phony FatFoe site, or to evaluate health claims through Glucobate, a made-up diabetes treatment. Find them all at wemarket4u.net.
Tags: advance fee, debt, diabetes, identity theft, loans, lose weight, scams
Posted in Credit and Debt, Scam Watch | 4 Comments »
Share with your network!
March 9th, 2010
by Carol
In this age of online social networking, it seems like everybody wants to stay connected and in the know. Social networking really isn’t new: people have depended on trusted family members, friends, neighbors or colleagues for centuries to help them keep up with the latest news and information. For people who like to take a leadership role in their own networks or communities, the FTC has got a myriad of free resources to share – in both the real world and the virtual one. 
For example, you can host an event to alert others to some practical ways to mitigate identity theft. The FTC’s toolkit, How to Plan & Host a ‘Protect Your Identity’ Day, can help you alert your network to how to minimize the risks and consequences of identity theft. The kit includes a video featuring identity theft victims telling their stories, a guide to talking about the crime, and tips to deter, detect and defend against it. The guide features sample materials, including a speech, presentation and templates for materials in English and Spanish. Suggestions for how to organize an event, reach out to partners and promote the event to your local media are included, as well. Consider hosting a “Protect Your Identity” Day in conjunction with your local library, house of worship, PTA or neighborhood association, and — or — posting the video and the Deter-Detect-Defend tips on your blog or website.
Order or download a copy of the ID Theft kit today.
Tags: community outreach, identity theft, library, outreach
Posted in Identity Theft and Privacy, NCPW | 5 Comments »
A Million Dollar Business Lesson from a $3 Pack of Thumbtacks
March 4th, 2010
by Lesley
All I needed was a pack of thumbtacks. As I approached the check-out counter, the clerk flipped the “next aisle” sign around to read “open.” So far so good. But then something strange happened. She insisted on my address and phone number – for a $3 cash purchase.
A few years ago, I would have reeled them off without giving it a thought. But times have changed. Fueled by a number of factors – an awareness of how data breaches can lead to identity theft, an appreciation for the National Do Not Call Registry’s gift of peace and quiet, and “green” concerns about marketing materials I won’t read – I stonewalled. When she persisted, I conducted a blistering cross-examination:
Why do you need that information?
What are you planning to do with it?
What steps will you take to safeguard it?
To whom do you intend to sell it?
With an understandable “Why do they always wind up at my register?” roll of the eyes, the clerk relented and sold me the thumbtacks. But the episode is a reminder to businesses that routine data collection from customers is “soooo 20th century.” Many shoppers find it irritating – and when combined with account numbers, financial data, or other sensitive information, customer databases are the coin of the realm for fraudsters.
Just ask the major retailers who’ve been hit by hackers. They’ll tell you the perceived benefit of “capturing” data for nebulous marketing purposes is often outweighed by the legal risks of a security breach. These days the wiser practice is for businesses to ask only for the information they need, to store safely what they have to hold on to, and to dispose of it securely when they’re finished.
Every company – from a home-based business to a multinational retailer – needs to rethink its approach to data security. It boils down to five basic principles:
- Take stock. Know what sensitive material – account numbers, health records, financial data, Social Security numbers, credit card information, etc. – you have in your files and on your computers.
- Scale down. Keep only what you need for your business.
- Lock it. Protect the information in your care.
- Pitch it. Properly dispose of what you no longer need.
- Plan ahead. Create a plan to respond to security incidents.
Looking for free resources? The FTC’s plain-language handbook, Protecting Personal Information: A Guide for Business, is a great place to start. You’ll find other practical tools at the FTC’s information security page for businesses, including a 20-minute interactive online tutorial for your employees and articles to post on your website or in newsletters.
Tags: data breach, data security, identity theft, privacy
Posted in For Business, Identity Theft and Privacy | 6 Comments »
Privacy Today
January 28th, 2010
by Nicole
When I was a kid, my definition of privacy was keeping my diary hidden from my brother. I didn’t think much about the value of my personal information, like my home address or phone number, and I didn’t have any passwords to keep safe.
My twelve-year-old niece already has a much more complex understanding of privacy than I did at her age, and she’ll need that as she begins to use social networking sites, smart cell phones, and the latest interactive games and technologies.
Because the notion of privacy is changing for everyone, the FTC is hosting a series of privacy roundtables to explore the privacy challenges posed by 21st century technology and business practices. The goal of the roundtables is to determine how best to protect privacy while supporting the beneficial uses of these new technologies.
It’s quite appropriate that we are hosting the second roundtable today, January 28, which is recognized as Data Privacy Day in the U.S., Canada and 27 European countries. To learn more about Data Privacy Day and to find resources to help you better protect your privacy, visit DataPrivacyDay.org.
One goal of Data Privacy Day is to promote privacy awareness among teens and young adults, and one resource that can help is Net Cetera: Chatting with Kids about Being Online. It’s a guide that provides practical tips to help adults help kids navigate the online world – whether they’re dealing with social networking and cyberbullying or sexting and file-sharing.
For more tips about how you can protect your privacy and stay safe online, visit OnGuardOnline.gov, where you can play games, watch videos, and read more about social networking sites, phishing, and kids’ privacy.
Happy Data Privacy Day!
Tags: children, data, identity theft, kids, privacy, teaching
Posted in For Kids, Identity Theft and Privacy | 2 Comments »
Libraries and the FTC — Check it out!
January 20th, 2010
by Carol
At the American Library Association’s conference last year, a delightfully enthusiastic gentleman was the first to approach the FTC’s exhibit, even before the hall officially opened. He cheerfully explained that he regularly uses FTC resources to help the patrons of his public library. I was flattered to learn that we were one of his “must see” stops (circled in red on the program). He carried off a load of free materials — and bricks of jazzy-looking bookmarks with tips about being a savvy consumer.
As my new friend at the ALA conference had discovered, the FTC and libraries are a great match. We’ve got free brochures, websites, videos and bookmarks — on consumer topics like credit, privacy and health — with information that can help meet your community’s needs and make your job a little easier.
Are you in Young Adult Services or a school library? Check out Net Cetera, a new booklet that covers the issues kids face online — social networking, cyberbullying, sexting and more. Or take a look at You Are Here our site that takes elementary and middle school kids on an experiential journ
ey through a shopping mall to teach them how to be smarter consumers.
Work in a public library? Host a “Protect your ID Day” with our identity theft education kit which has sample talking points, presentations, reference materials and tips to organize your own event. Or display brochures — or play videos — on mortgage foreclosure, annual credit reports, debt collection, or job scams. Cut and paste FTC content for your newsletters, use interactive quizzes in your programs, download buttons for your website, and order free copies of publications to hand out.
And don’t forget to stock up on those bookmarks!
Tags: community outreach, identity theft, kids, library
Posted in NCPW | No Comments »
Be an Info Defender: Visit the YouAreHere Security Plaza
January 11th, 2010
by Julia
The internet offers a world of opportunities to access and exchange information. You can find a local mechanic or pastry shop in a matter of seconds, purchase a plane ticket to Paris with just a few clicks, and stay in touch with your friends and family across the country and around the globe.
The sharing of personal information happens offline, too – when you’re getting a library card, for example, or signing a cell phone contract. But these opportunities come with certain risks, and – especially as kids start to interact with the broader world, online and off – it’s important for every member of the family to know how to keep their personal information safe.
The Security Plaza of the FTC’s online mall uses engaging dialogue and fun, interactive games to teach kids how to protect their personal information. At Mall Security, kids learn what ID theft is and how to help their families avoid it. In the fast-paced Arcade game Info Defender 3, players can try their hand at protecting 
the planet against Cyclorian invaders hungry for Earthlings’ identities. Relaxing in the Book Café, Emily demonstrates the importance of thinking before posting on social networking sites and elsewhere. Finally, Jim at Network Security walks kids through how to stay safe online.
To help kids use the site – and maybe even learn something yourself – check out YouAreHere’s information for parents and teachers.
Tags: children, computers, identity theft, kids, privacy, teaching, YouAreHere
Posted in For Kids | 1 Comment »