Tag Archives: identity theft scams

Jury scam leads one woman to ID theft victimization

December 7, 2011 – 9:17 am

A Plainfield, Ill. resident became the victim of identity theft after she filled out what turned out to be a bogus jury commission questionnaire.
The woman received the questionnaire Oct. 28, which required that she provide her Social Security number. She complied and later discovered the theft. After reporting the theft to the police, the woman [...]

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Smishing is becoming rampant – Don’t get fooled

October 31, 2011 – 6:27 am

Thanks to all the smartphones out there, criminals have found a much quicker way to scam identity theft victims – smishing.
Smishing involves sending a text message to someone, asking the person to visit a website or reply with confidential information, either of a personal or financial nature. All too often, the text appears [...]

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Look out for Facebook scams

October 28, 2011 – 8:30 am
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Don’t be shy – report identity theft scams

October 12, 2011 – 7:44 am

We’ve all heard about the scam where you get an e-mail claiming your help is needed to help transfer a fortune out of Nigeria. The scam is widespread and has been around a while – so why are people still falling for this scam and others like it?
There are a multitude of answers to that [...]

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Don’t be fooled by offers of free ‘audit’

August 17, 2011 – 8:28 am

Picture this: You receive a phone call during which the caller tells you that you can get a $3,000 federal grant if you allow the caller’s company to do an energy audit of your home. The caller asks for your Social Security number and bank account information in order to check your credit. What do [...]

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Oregon man fools car insurers over and over in elaborate scam

August 1, 2011 – 8:32 am

One of the most creative scams seen by investigators in a long while has spawned change in the insurance industry.
Timothy Devon Huntley Jr., of Eugene, Ore., bilked 11 national insurance companies for $196,854 using an elaborate scheme. The incident has challenged car insurance companies like Geico, one of the companies scammed by Huntley, to revamp [...]

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IRS issues warning about electronic payment scam

June 29, 2011 – 7:58 am

The IRS has issued a warning to consumers to be aware of a scam e-mail regarding electronic federal tax payments.
The e-mail states that tax payments made by the recipient through the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System have been rejected. The recipient is the directed to a bogus link that downloads malware, which infects the victim’s [...]

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Couple caught for using job applications to steal IDs

June 15, 2011 – 7:38 am

A couple from Canada has been accused of misleading people into believing they were applying for a job, but they were really stealing applicants’ identities.
Danielle Addington and Lyle Barfett allegedly set up a dummy company, and when people came in to apply, they asked them for their driver’s licenses for identification purposes. Then, either Addington [...]

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South Korean ID theft ring leader caught in Hawaii

May 18, 2011 – 8:17 am

A grand jury in Honolulu has indicted a man accused of leading an identity theft ring that prosecutors say stole information from 145 people on Oahu. The ring used stolen information to set up credit cards and checks with fake IDs. The information was obtained through home invasions and auto thefts.
The ring leader, Pyong Pak, [...]

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Global ID theft scam focused on Florida businesses

September 20, 2010 – 7:00 am

Dozens of Florida businesses have fallen prey to corporate identity thieves, reports a South Florida newspaper.
The scam was uncovered when a Winter Garden businessman said he received multiple calls from people interested in applying for jobs they saw posted on his company’s Web site. There were no such job postings.
After investigating the calls, [...]

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