FREE CD # 217.  Consumers need to be aware of the covert dangers of IDENTITY THEFT, especially with the upcoming holidays. 

THESE THUMB NAIL'S ARE FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PUBLIC. THE LATEST SCAMS WILL BE POSTED ON A MONTHLY BASIS.

 Dangerous Receipt; The consumer should be aware that many retailers now use the receipt as a means of identification.  The "bar code" contains enough information about the customer that if the receipt falls in to the wrong hands it can be devastating.  Several retailers also have the signature of the customer imprinted on the same receipt.  This makes the receipt twice as dangerous to your financial security.  DON'T THROW YOUR RECEIPTS AWAY.  SAVE THEM OR DESTROY THEM.

 This thumbnail has some of the information that is on a standard credit report.  As you can see, there is more than enough valuable information to do great damage to the individual.

      Latest scam. The "CALL ME BACK" scam. You will receive a phone call where the caller tells the victim something along the lines of " We have been trying to get in touch with you. Please call 877-123-4567. It's important that you call." 99% of the times this is a scam. The caller want's your personal information or they will charge you an exhorbatant phone fee as the number you were given is an off shore line.  Use caution and common sense.

The Internal Revenue Service is warning taxpayers to avoid
falling for another new variant of an IRS email scam in which
victims receive a fake email claiming they are the subjects of
a criminal probe by "IRS Criminal Investigation."

The email states that the recipient filed a false tax return
to the California Franchise Tax Board, and must click on a
link in the email -- or download an attachment -- to learn
more about the complaint.

Anyone clicking on the link or opening the attachment will
unleash a Trojan Horse that can take over the person's hard
drive and allow scammers to gain remote access to the
computer.

"The IRS [urges] people not to click the link in the email or
open the attachment. "Similar email variations suggest a
customer has filed a complaint against a company and the IRS
can act as an arbitrator. The latest versions appear aimed at
business taxpayers as well as individual taxpayers.

"The IRS does not send out unsolicited emails or ask for
detailed personal and financial information. Additionally,
the IRS never asks people for the PIN numbers, passwords or
similar secret access information for their credit card, bank
or other financial accounts."

http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=170894,00.html

The IRS asks that anyone receiving such emails forward them to
phishing@irs.gov

Action: If you receive ANY unsolicited email supposedly from
the IRS, DELETE it.

It's 100% guaranteed phony!

Discover more IRS email scams, including an IRS audit scam and
scam regarding checking for refunds here.

http://www.scambusters.org/irsaudit.html

http://www.scambusters.org/irs.html

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Fake Red Cross Telephone Scam Targets Military Spouses
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In a particularly insidious scam, telephone callers pretending
to be Red Cross representatives are contacting military
families with relatives overseas, claiming that a family
member has been hurt, and that personal and financial
information must be supplied before treatment can begin.

Although many people are aware that identity thieves request
this kind of information over the telephone, military spouses
are certainly more vulnerable when they receive this kind of call.

Therefore, scammers have found that this is an effective way
to get military spouses to give personal and financial
information that they would not usually consider giving out.
After all, they want to make sure their spouse is treated as
quickly as possible.

The Red Cross has issued a press release about this scam here.

http://www.redcross.org/pressrelease/0,1077,0_314_6732,00.html

It reads, in part:

"The American Red Cross has learned about a new scam targeting
military families. This scam takes the form of false
information to military families as described below:

"The caller (young-sounding, American accent) calls a military
spouse and identifies herself as a representative from the Red
Cross. The caller states that the spouse's husband (not
identified by name) was hurt while on duty in Iraq and was
med-evacuated to a hospital in Germany.

"The caller stated they couldn't start treatment until
paperwork was accomplished, and that in order to start the
paperwork they needed the spouse to verify her husband's
Social Security number and date of birth. In this case, the
spouse was quick to catch on and she did not provide any
information to the caller.

"The American Red Cross representatives typically do not
contact military members/dependents directly and almost always
go through a commander or first sergeant channels. Military
family members are urged not to give out any personal
information over the phone if contacted by unknown/unverified
individuals, to include confirmation that your spouse is
deployed."

Action: Do NOT give out personal information if you receive
this type of call. If you have a family member serving
overseas, remember that the American Red Cross will NOT
contact you directly, unless you first contact them.

This isn't the first time scammers have posed as members of
the Red Cross or other charitable organizations -- and sadly
we know it will not be the last time.

You can find out more about how to protect yourself from other
fake charity scams here.

http://www.scambusters.org/charity.html

That's a wrap for this issue. Wishing you a great week!
 

END