Unfortunately there is no one way in which identity
thieves operate. Rather, they engage in multiple scams
to con people out of private information that can then
be used to steal their identity.
Awareness of the types of ID Theft discussed in this
book will help you protect yourself. Here are some of
the more common scams used by identity thieves:
-
VISA/MasterCard Scam – Someone calls you claiming
they are from VISA or MasterCard. They’ll tell you they
need to confirm unusual or unauthorized spending
activity on your credit card. Typically they will ask
you for the 3 digit code on the back of your credit
card. They may tell you about how scams work to gain
your confidence. Don’t fall for it—credit card companies
never solicit personal information from you over the
phone or by e-mail.
-
Shoulder Surfing – An identity thief may look
over your shoulder as you use an ATM or may listen in
when you phone a company to pay a bill and write down
your private information or record it. One of the new
ATM scams is a false front that thieves put on top of an
ATM card slot. It takes your card and doesn’t give it
back. Then the thieves come back when no one’s around
and retrieve their whole apparatus, cards and all.
Another variant is a “card cleaner” placed next to an
ATM that instead of cleaning your card, records your
information for the credit card thief to use.
-
Mailbox/Dumpster Diving – Many identity thieves
simply dig through the dumpsters of large office
buildings or private homes, particularly if the garbage
is left out overnight. They may also filter through your
incoming mail taking anything that looks like financial,
insurance or other personal documents.
-
Phishing Scams – Also called account verification
scams, the offender sends out emails asking you to click
on a link to verify your account information or social
security number. Verification scams may use well-known
names with a twist, such as E-Bay, Best Buys, Discovery
Card. Or they may use the exact names and logos, as
they’ve done with Washington Mutual. Many well-known
companies have been victims of this scam including AOL,
Bank of America and Discover. Again, well-known
companies don’t verify through e-mail. You’ll also know
it’s a scam if you’ve never provided them with your
e-mail.
-
Sign in Rosters – Some places will ask you write
your social security number down when you sign in,
including state-sponsored programs or government
agencies. You may have to provide your social security
number when signing in at your doctor’s office. A thief
could easily run away with your confidential
information.
-
Nigerian 419 Scam – This scam nets more than $100
million dollars each year and accounts for approximately
12 percent of all scam offers. An email is sent out from
a “representative” of a foreign government asking for
money to help them retrieve millions of dollars that
someone stole from them that’s just sitting in account.
They offer to cut you in for a percentage. Don’t fall
for it.
-
Canadian/Netherlands Lottery – Scams, typically
from a Promotions Manager, tell you have you won
something even when you haven’t entered a lottery. A
twist on this is free gift offers or other awards that
claim you have won something, but require you to provide
a credit card number or other identifying information to
claim your prize.
-
Free Credit Report – There are many emails that
offer a free credit report. However, many of these are
scam services trying to get your social security number.
In one case, the credit repot server was being generated
by a porn server.
-
Applications or resumes – Some people actually
place false help-wanted ads online or in the paper and
then have people fill out an application that includes
their social security number. Other people simply
unknowingly place their social security number on their
resume.
