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Beware of smishing ploys
The following fraud alerts are brought to you from the Clark Howard Website.
Have you been "smished" yet? Smishing is when a criminal goes phishing for
your personal info via text message. This year, Americans will face an estimated
1.5 billion spam text messages.
Those who use eBay, do online banking or access a brokerage account online are
at the greatest risk of getting smished. So watch out for those urgent text
messages seeking your personal banking info. The Washington Post reports even
sophisticated people are falling for these ploys.
Text messaging is a big growth area for cons and legitimate advertisers alike. The
cell carriers aren't interested in slowing down the traffic. After all, they're making
money on every text you receive, unless you're on an unlimited texting plan.
Meanwhile, there's a new level of security coming to your online brokerage
account. Soon, you'll be able to use your mouse to put in a password on a soft
screen -- instead of typing it on your keyboard. This will help minimize keylogger
infiltration, where every keystroke can be remotely sent to a hacker.
The following fraud alerts are brought to you from the Clark Howard Website.
Have you been "smished" yet? Smishing is when a criminal goes phishing for
your personal info via text message. This year, Americans will face an estimated
1.5 billion spam text messages.
Those who use eBay, do online banking or access a brokerage account online are
at the greatest risk of getting smished. So watch out for those urgent text
messages seeking your personal banking info. The Washington Post reports even
sophisticated people are falling for these ploys.
Text messaging is a big growth area for cons and legitimate advertisers alike. The
cell carriers aren't interested in slowing down the traffic. After all, they're making
money on every text you receive, unless you're on an unlimited texting plan.
Meanwhile, there's a new level of security coming to your online brokerage
account. Soon, you'll be able to use your mouse to put in a password on a soft
screen -- instead of typing it on your keyboard. This will help minimize keylogger
infiltration, where every keystroke can be remotely sent to a hacker.
| Copyright ConsumerFight.com 2007, 2008 All rights Reserved. |
| FRAUD ALERT April - 2008 |
| PIPEs scheme highlights danger in a down economy In times of economic uncertainty, you're more likely to be taken in investment scams. With CDs, treasuries and stocks all hurting, people are desperately searching for a safe and profitable place to stash their money. Even Schwab is being sued over its YieldPlus Fund…and that's a legitimate company that made an honest mistake. In a separate instance, The Los Angeles Times recently reported on a duo selling private investments in public equities (PIPEs) with the promise of returns of about 40% a year! The duo stands accused of conning more than $40 million out of everyone from retirees to sophisticated investors. One of the alleged cons bought 2 multi-million dollar homes in Nevada, jewelry, clothing, cars and more. People trusted them and they were able to exploit that trust. Meanwhile, Clark was recently approached by someone at the studio asking him about foreign CDs promising a "guaranteed" return of 18% a year. Anyone promising a number beyond 4% or 5% annually for a "safe" investment is suspect. "Safe returns" and "decent returns" are mutually exclusive. People just have to get used to the idea that right now you can't keep up with inflation. For long-term investors, Clark's advice is to get past your fear of the stock market and diversify your portfolio -- that's the key to creating wealth in the long run. |
Tax ID theft.
The latest scam involves someone using your Social Security number to provide
false tax info and apply for a refund as if they're you. Then when you go to file
your taxes, you're told that you can't file twice.
The ways people get our Social Security numbers are myriad, and there's not
enough attention paid to this area.
Another scam involves getting a notice from the IRS saying you owe money
because you did not report all income for a prior tax year. What actually happens
is that someone working illegally files a W-4 in your name and that income gets
reported by the employer.
The latest scam involves someone using your Social Security number to provide
false tax info and apply for a refund as if they're you. Then when you go to file
your taxes, you're told that you can't file twice.
The ways people get our Social Security numbers are myriad, and there's not
enough attention paid to this area.
Another scam involves getting a notice from the IRS saying you owe money
because you did not report all income for a prior tax year. What actually happens
is that someone working illegally files a W-4 in your name and that income gets
reported by the employer.
