Fictitious FDIC
E-mail Alert:The FDIC has sent an alert regarding e -mails sent to
individuals titled "Important News About Your Bank." In this e-mail it reads
similar to, "As a result of Department of Homeland Security, Director Tom
Ridge, (or possibly another Federal, State or Local Government) has advised
the FDIC to suspend all deposits insurance on your account until such time as
we can verify your identity and your account information, due to suspected
violations of the PATRIOT Act by the bank. Please verify your information
below..."
Consumers should not access the link contained in the
e-mail and should not provide any personal information to the e-mail's sender.
This alert can be found on the OCC website
www.occ.treas.gov by clicking on
Issuances and then on 2004 Alerts. Anti -
Terrorist Mail Fraud Alert:
The Treasury Department has issued a warning that a copy
of an Anti-terrorist letter may be sent to customers stating that to wire
money overseas from their account, the customer has to pay a fee of $25,000
(or other amount) to be issued an ANTI-TERRORIST CERTIFICATE. The funds being
charged are said to be used to fight terrorist money laundering all over the
world. They may request account numbers and other personal information which
they will in turn use for identity fraud situations.
Credit Card theft
Alert:
Various e-mail schemes are circulating informing the
individual that "their credit card is being used by another person." It goes
on to say that in order to avoid and prevent further use and to receive
refunds for the fraudulent transactions, a "secure form" should be completed
and e-mailed to someone like "Visa services." Please beware, the websites look
very authentic with credit card logos, etc. Note: It is not the practice of a
legitimate Credit Card company to e-mail alerts or correspond in this way.
Identity Theft....How Can
I Protect Myself?
The following are a few ways you can reduce the risk of
identity theft:
-
Keep your credit cards, debit cards, PIN numbers and
other items where they will be safe. When disposing of them, do so by
shredding.
-
Limit the amount of information on your checks and do
not carry around excess credit cards.
-
Do not give any of your personal information to any
websites that do not use encryption or other secure methods to protect it.
-
Request a credit report annually from each of the
three major credit-reporting agencies to be sure they are accurate.
-
Make a prompt inquiry if bills or statements are not
received in a timely fashion - this could mean that they are being diverted
by an identity thief.
What should I do if
my identity has been stolen?
In the event that you suspect your identity has been
stolen or you are, in fact, certain that it has been stolen, follow these
simple steps:
-
Immediately contact the Federal Trade Commission:
-
www.ftc.gov
-
1-877-IDTHEFT (877-438-4338)
-
Consumer Response Center, F.T.C. 600 Pennsylvania
Avenue NW Washington, DC 2050
-
Contact the three major credit reporting agencies to
put yourself on Fraud Alert and request a copy of your credit report:
-
Equifax® - P.O. Box 740250, Atlanta, GA 30374-0250,
or call 800-525-6285
-
Experian® - P.O. Box 1017, Allen, TX 75013, or call
888-EXPERIAN (888-397-3742)
-
TransUnion - P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92634, or
call 800-680-7289
-
Cancel all accounts that have fraudulent activity or
are at risk.
-
Contact your local law enforcement agency.
-
If you know or suspect that your mail has been
stolen, contact the United States Postal Service.
-
Keep detailed records of any theft of your identity
and of your efforts to resolve the same.
-
Log the date, time, and amount of any unauthorized
activity on your accounts.
-
Log the date, time, duration, and cost of any phone
calls.
-
Log the date and cost of any mailings and keep
copies.
|