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Types of ID TheftUnderstanding these scams can help you avoid being victimized.
Phishing
According to the Federal Trade Commission, phishing is a scam in which thieves request personal and financial information using pop-up windows or e-mail to deceive you into disclosing your personal or financial information. The message may claim to be from your ISP, bank, online payment agency or government agency.
However, legitimate companies do not ask for this information via e-mail, phone or the web. If you do receive a request of this nature, do not reply to it or click any link in the message.
For directions on how to avoid specific ID Theft scams, read the PDF to your right, "ID Theft and Fraud Protection 2006."
For additional information, read "Scams Continue to Trip Up Consumers" in Home & Family Finance Resource Center.
Your credit union will never initiate a request for personal or financial information from you by email or telephone.
If you clicked on a link in a suspect email message, please update your antivirus software and then run a full system scan. If you entered any sensitive information from a link in one of these messages, please contact SLFCU as soon as possible by calling 800-947-5328 or 505-293-0500. We also recommend that your computer is updated with the latest Microsoft patches by running Automatic Updates from Microsoft’s website at www.windowsupdate.com
The typical phish scam has three steps:
- The phisher deploys a website that mimics part of a legitimate financial institution or other e-commerce website.
- With spam, the phisher e-mails hundreds of thousands of potential victims and pretends to be the legitimate institution or organization. The message notifies recipients of a "problem" with their account and instructs them to log into a linked site to "verify" account information.
- The information is collected by the phisher and used to commit credit card fraud and identity theft-related offenses.
- Now, there's a fourth step.
The phisher captures the victim's login credentials when he enters an authentic website and downloads unique identifying information, such as the victim's first and last name. The phisher uses this data to populate parts of the "fake" website. By doing so, the phishing site appears more legitimate and the victim is more likely to divulge sensitive information.
Never click on a link in such an e-mail or open a file attachment. Instead, delete the e-mail. Legitimate companies and financial institutions will never ask for personal financial information through an e-mail.
Recipients of phishing e-mails can file a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center. Fake Telephone Caller ID Names and Numbers
Scammers posing as representatives of credit card companies and financial institutions are using fake caller ID numbers to trick unsuspecting account holders into divulging their account numbers, PINS, passwords, and other sensitive personal and financial information.
Advance fee fraud
Advance fee fraud takes several different shapes. The one thing that they all have in common is that they request personal information and money in advance. They may promise major credit cards with high limits, money to loan regardless of credit history, or a portion of the money if only you will help recover some lost fortune. According to Seth Shiesel of the New York Times, “It might be $25 million spirited away during the fall of an obscure African regime. All you need provide is a helping hand (ideally your bank account) and a few small fees, and perhaps a quarter of the money will be yours.” Don't believe it. If it sounds too good to be true, it is.
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