Tips & Topics - Identity Theft and Scams
Identity Theft and Scams Overview
Identity theft is a crime that involves someone else using your name, Social Security number and/or other personal information to steal. The theft can involve using your existing credit cards to purchase expensive items, opening new credit accounts in your name, making purchases or cash advances, or draining your financial accounts. Identity theft can even allow someone to use your name when he or she is arrested for criminal acts. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) estimates that approximately 9 million individuals in the United States are victims of identity theft each year.
Identity theft is a crime that leads to tremendous financial losses each year for consumers and businesses. Each year, criminals find new ways to steal your identity. If your identity is stolen, it can not only cost you countless hours of work to restore your identity, it can also result in a significant loss of your assets and damage to your credit score.
Federal resources
The Federal Trade Commission has created an Identity Theft Web site to serve as a one-stop national resource to learn about identity theft. Click here to learn more.
You may also want to visit the website onguardonline.gov which provides tips from the federal government and the technology industry to protect yourself while online. The website addresses topics such as computer security, broadband, cross-border scams, email scams, identity theft, online shopping, wireless, and computer disposal. The website also provides videos and games to help Internet users learn what to watch out for while online to avoid being a victim of computer scams and frauds.
The Spring 2009 FDIC Consumer News offers Tips on How to Protect Against Foreclosure Frauds, Easy Money Schemes and Other Costly Deals.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) issued Special Alert in October, 2009, regarding a fraudulent email claiming to be from the FDIC. They have received hundreds of reports of this email, and believe that it is being very widely distributed. If you receive this email you should not execute any of the links and delete it immediately.
State resources
The New York State Banking Department has compiled an extensive list of the most common ways a criminal can steal your personal data. This includes descriptions of the following scams: Phishing, Advance-Fee Loan Scams, Fake Check Scams, Disbursement of Will or Charitable Donation Scams, Fraudulent Goods Order Scam, ATM Skimmers, Deed Transfer or Foreclosure Scams, Wrong Number, Online or e-mail Scams, Ponzi or Pyramid Scheme, Unclaimed Funds Scam, and the Prescription Drug Scam. These are just a few examples of the dozens of methods scammers have created to separate you from your money.
The New York State Consumer Protection Board (CPB) administers the State’s Identity Theft Prevention and Mitigation Program. To learn more about identity theft prevention and response, privacy, security freeze, recent scams, and other identity theft-related topics, please visit the CPB website. File complaints by calling 1-800-697-1220 or by filling out a complaint form, either online or by mail.
This section of Your Money New York is designed to help you avoid identity theft and to give you information on what to do if you discover your identity has been stolen. Topics addressed include:
- How Your Identity Could Be Stolen
- How to Protect Yourself
- Signs of Identity Theft
- What to Do if an Identity Thief Strikes