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Fraud Prevention
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Don’t Be an Online Victim: How to Guard Against Internet Thieves and Electronic Scams
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Articles
IRS Warns
of New Scams Against Taxpayers (April 24, 2008)
IRS Issues
Warning About
Tax-Filing
Scams (February 1, 2008)
Check Washing Gains Popularity
Again (2007)
IRS Issues Warning About email
Scam (April 3, 2007)
Reloading Scam Targets
Previous Victims (2007)
Jury Duty Scam (March 2007)
Phishing Scams Are Morphing Into a New Level of Sophistication
(2006)
E-mail, Phishing
and Security Tips
(April 2005)
April 24, 2008 —
The IRS has posted new warnings about phone and e-mail scams, both tied
to this year’s economic stimulus payments and tax season, by fraudsters seeking
to acquire taxpayers’ financial institution account numbers and other sensitive
data.
In one of the scenarios, people have been contacted by phone and told by the
caller that they need to provide their account numbers in order to get the
stimulus payments. But IRS isn’t calling or e-mailing people for this
information; it’s making the payments based on information in taxpayers’ tax
returns.
In another case, people are receiving an e-mail with a link to a form where
recipients are told they must provide information to receive their payments by
direct deposit. IRS says the senders are probably really trying to get
recipients’ personal and financial information so they can clean out their
accounts. And taxpayers that want to receive tax refunds, or stimulus payment,
by direct deposit are already instructed to provide the required information on
their tax returns, it notes.
Feb. 1,
2008 — Credit unions should be aware that several e-mail and telephone scams are
using the IRS name and one is aimed specifically at tax-exempt organizations
that distribute funds to other organizations or individuals.
In issuing a
warning on its Web site Wednesday, the IRS said the scams are taking several
different forms. One scam claims to be an advance payment or rebate check from
the IRS even though an economic stimulus package that would authorize such
payments has yet to be enacted. The IRS says there has been at least one
reported incident of a telephone call version of this scheme where the victim is
asked to reveal his or her bank account information in order to receive a
rebate.
Scammers are
also using e-mails to target victims. In one such scam, the recipient is
instructed to click on a link to access a refund claim form. The form asks the
recipient to enter personal information that can then be used by the
perpetrator.
Another e-mail
scheme which specifically targets tax-exempt organizations that distribute funds
to other organizations or individuals contains the name and supposed signature
of the director of the IRS’s exempt organizations business division.
Other scams that
are currently being used include an audit e-mail and a changes-to-tax law
e-mail. While the former contains a salutation addressed to the recipient
stating they are being audited and asks the recipient to enter personal
information, the latter addresses businesses, accountants and “Treasury”
managers, instructing them to download information on tax law changes by
clicking on a series of links.
In light of
these attacks, the IRS reiterated that it does not send unsolicited e-mails
about tax account matters to individual, business, tax-exempt or other
taxpayers. The IRS says it expects the scams to continue through the tax-filing
season and is advising consumers to refrain from clicking on links in e-mails
that claim to be from them.
Those who have
received a questionable e-mail claiming to come from the IRS are encouraged to
forward it to: phishing@irs.gov.
Check Washing Gains Popularity Again
As reliance on technology increases, so does the
complexity of scams. However, some scammers are reverting to more primitive
methods of fraud.
There has been a resurgence of check washing -the process
of taking a legitimate check that has been filled out and signed, using a basic
solvent; available at any drug or hardware store, to dissolve that dollar amount
and recipient. The scammer then rewrites the check as they choose. Checks are
obtained in a variety of ways, but mailbox theft is still one of the most
common.
Protect yourself from check washing fraud:
-
Write Checks with a gel pen, solvents cannot dissolve
them. A good option is the Uni-Ball 207 (sells for about $2).
-
Shred old checks and important documents you no longer
need.
-
Do not put outgoing bills in the mailbox -take them in
the post office or to a collection box.
-
Do not put the flag up on your mailbox, particularly if
you are mailing bills that contain account numbers.
-
Consider buying a mailbox with a lock, available at
hardware stores, to protect incoming mail.
-
Buy checks with security features.
-
Do not have your checks sent to you through the mail;
pick them up at your credit union.
-
Fill out your checks completely, including a squiggly
line in blank areas.
-
Inspect your statements thoroughly and report any
suspicious activity immediately.
Source: Baltimoresun.com, Forbes.com, and CUNA News Now
IRS Issues Warning About
E-mail Scam
April 3, 2007—IRS has been targeted again by phishers and is warning
taxpayers about a series of fraudulent e-mails sent in its name in an effort
to obtain sensitive information.
According to a notice posted on the IRS
Web site, there are slight variations to the bogus e-mails. For example:
One version claims that the recipient is eligible to receive a federal tax
refund for a given amount (often $63.80) and sends the recipient to a phony
Web site address where they can complete a form to “submit the tax refund
request.” The form then asks for the personal and financial information.
Another states that the IRS’s “Antifraud
Commission” (sic) has discovered that a third party has attempted to pay the
recipient’s taxes but some of the funds have been lost or blocked. The
recipient must enter personal information to unblock the funds.
A third e-mail asks the recipient to wire
thousands of dollars in order to retrieve the winnings from a lottery.
The IRS said it does not initiate contact with taxpayers via e-mail or
handle lottery distributions. Also, there is no such thing as an antifraud
commission, it noted.
“Don’t be fooled by these shameless scam
artists,” warned IRS Commissioner Mark Everson in a statement on the
agency’s Web site. “Always exercise caution when you receive unsolicited
e-mails or e-mails from senders you don’t know, and always verify the
source.”
The IRS is advising recipients of
questionable “IRS” e-mails against opening and attachments or clicking on
any links in the e-mails. Instead, they should forward the e-mails to
phishing@irs.gov or notify the Treasury Inspector General Tax
Administrations toll-free hotline at 800.366.4484.
Since the establishment of the e-mail box last year, the IRS has received
more than 17,700 e-mails from taxpayers reporting more than 240 separate
phishing incidents.
The IRS and TIGTA work with the U.S.
Computer Emergency Readiness Team and various Internet service providers and
international CERT teams to take down phishing sites as they are reported.
"Reloading" Scam Targets
Previous Victims
If you've been a victim of a scam,
chances are pretty good you're on a "sucker list" and vulnerable to a new scheme
called "reloading."
Here's how it works:
After you've been scammed, someone—perhaps posing as a law enforcement
officer—shows up at your door and offers to help recover lost money. You are
embarrassed that you fell victim in the first place, yet relieved that someone
is finally offering to help. But
there's a catch: You're asked to write a check for this so-called help.
Officials warn that the fee should serve as a red flag.
According to the Federal Trade Commission,
reloaders—scammers who use the reloading scheme—know that anyone who's been
duped once is more likely to fall for a scheme a second time. As a result,
crooks create sucker lists that include names, addresses, phone numbers and
other personal information of consumers who have already fallen prey to the
scams.
You can fall victim to a scam whether you've been tricked before or not. But if
you are a victim, watch for signs of a reloading scam:
-
No fee required. Don't
give money to anyone who asks for a fee to recover money. Legitimate law
enforcement officers, consumer enforcement agencies and non-profit
organizations have no reason to charge for this kind of assistance.
-
Beware urgent requests.
Be suspicious of solicitors and telemarketers who demand immediate payment.
If you have any doubts about an organization, contact the Better Business
Bureau (bbb.org) to verify credentials.
-
Use common sense.
Think carefully before handing over money too quickly. If it sounds too good
to be true, it probably is.
-
Fess up. If you do get
scammed a second time, don't be too embarrassed to report it. Information
you provide could save another person from the same fate.
-
Follow up. To learn
more or to file a complaint, visit ftc.gov or call 1-877-FTC-HELP.
For more information, read "If It Looks Too
Good to Be True ... Recognizing and Preventing Mail Fraud" in
Home & Family Finance Resource Center.
Source: CUNA News Now
Jury Duty
Scam
If you get a call asking why you
didn't show up for jury duty, hang up—even if the caller says he's an officer of
the court and threatens you with a warrant for your arrest.
A new scam is cropping up in several states in which the so-called officer
offers to straighten out the mess in exchange for your birth date and Social
Security number. Don't bite. If you hand over the information, the identity
thief can drain your financial accounts or max out your credit cards. Court
officials use regular mail—never e-mail or the phone—to contact jurors. Report
this fraud to the local office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Source: Consumer Reports March
2007
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Phishing
Scams Are Morphing Into
a
New Level of Sophistication
The
typical phishing 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.
Source: CUNA News Now
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E-mail,
Phishing and Security Tips
Simple
ways to stay safe
Minimize your exposure to theft and scam
risk by familiarizing yourself with the following email security tips and
information.
Basic email advice
Never send payment information via
email. Information that travels over the Internet (such as email) is
not fully protected from being read by outside parties. Most reputable
merchant sites use encryption technologies that will protect your
private data from being accessed by others as you conduct an online
transaction.
Stay clear of emails from businesses
that alert you to customer account problems and request financial
information verification. Fraudsters are sending out official-looking
email messages designed to trick consumers into divulging financial
and personal information such as account numbers, passwords, user
names, Social Security numbers, and other sensitive data. In some
cases, the email includes a link to a fake Web site that has been set
up to mimic the legitimate online business.
If you receive an email that appears to
be from your card issuer requesting financial information or any other
personal data:
- Treat the email with suspicion.
- Do not reply to the email or respond
by clicking on a link within the email message. Your card issuer
will never ask you to provide any kind of confidential or
financial details via an email request. Your card issuer may,
however, send a confirmation email after activating your Verified
by Visa enrollment.
- Contact your card issuer as soon as
possible to report the suspicious email. Use the number or Web
site address on the back of your card or on your monthly
statement.
- NOTE: If you have received an email
that appears to be from Visa requesting financial information or
other personal data, please email phishing@visa.com
to notify Visa of the specifics of the fraudulent email.
What is a “Phishing”
scam?
“Phishing” is an email scam that
attempts to trick consumers into revealing personal information—such as
their credit or debit account numbers, checking account information,
Social Security numbers, or banking account passwords—through fake Web
sites or in a reply email. Typically the emails and Web sites use
familiar logos and slick graphics to deceive consumers into thinking the
sender or Web site owner is a government agency or a company they know.
Sometimes the phisher urges intended victims to “confirm” account
information that has been “stolen” or “lost.” Other times the
phisher entices victims to reveal personal information by telling them
they have won a special prize or earned an exciting reward.
Phishing scams are among the fastest
growing forms of fraud on the Internet. According to the Anti-Phishing
Working Group, phishing scams grew by 52 percent from December 2003 to
January 2004.
How to recognize
potential phishing scams
While phishing emails can be quite
sophisticated in appearance, the following features are often indicators.
An email could be a scam if it:
- Asks you to provide personal information
such as your bank account number, an account password, credit card
number, PIN number, mother's maiden name, or Social Security number.
- Fails to address you by your name.
- Fails to confirm the company does
business with you, such as referencing a partial account number.
- Warns that your account will be shut
down unless you reconfirm your financial information.
- Warns that you have been the victim of
fraud.
- Has spelling or grammatical errors.
Visa USA/Better Business
Bureau/Call for Action “Cut the Line on Phishing” campaign
Visa and the Better Business Bureau are
launching a campaign to educate consumers on: how to identify phishing
scams; how to avoid becoming a victim; and how to report a suspicious
email. Comprehensive phishing resources are available at www.bbb.org/phishing
and www.callforaction.org.
In addition to Web content on phishing,
Visa USA and the Better Business Bureau will reach consumers by:
- Working with Visa card-issuing banks to
provide cardholder statement inserts
- Issuing consumer and business alerts
through local Better Business Bureaus
- Encouraging BBBOnLine
participating merchants and other BBB members to link from their Web
sites to anti-phishing resources on the bbb.org site.
Don’t be a phishing
victim
To maximize your email security, take note
of these simple tips.
- View any email request for financial
information or other personal data with suspicion. Do not reply to the
email and do not respond by clicking on a link within the email
message.
- Contact the actual business that
allegedly sent the email to verify if it is genuine. Call a phone
number or visit a Web site that you know to be legitimate, such as
those provided on your monthly statements.
- Do NOT send personal information (e.g.
credit or debit card number, Social Security number, or PIN) in
response to an email request from anyone or any entity.
- Be cautious. Check your monthly
statements to verify all transactions.
- Forward any emails claiming to be from
Visa or your Visa card issuer asking you to provide your personal
account information to phishing@visa.com.
You can also forward any suspicious email to the BBB at nophishing@cbbb.bbb.org,
and immediately call your issuing financial institution.
Additional resources
Visa USA has partnered with the Better
Business Bureau and Call For Action to educate consumers through its
“Cut the Line on Phishing" campaign. The links at the top of the
right column serve as additional resources to help identify phishing
scams, avoid becoming a victim, and to report a suspicious email.Source: www.usa.visa.com,
April 2005
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