Fraud Prevention

Identity Theft Awareness Week is January 27-31. This week, we’re covering all things Identity Theft and offering up ways to protect yourself. Did you know, fraud and identity theft cases have nearly tripled over the last decade? Identity thieves are crafty and always coming up with new ways to scam unsuspecting victims. It’s important to …

Our identities are more than just our names. They represent who we are, where we live, and the accounts that power our financial lives. Unfortunately, they have become a prime target for the fastest-growing crime in America: identity theft. Today marks the start of Identity Theft Awareness Week, which sheds light on this invasive type …

Imagine this scenario: You receive a phone call that, according to your caller ID, appears to be from the Internal Revenue Service. Anxious, you answer the call and are told by a representative that there’s a problem with your taxes and that you must pay immediately to avoid costly penalties or even arrest or deportation. …

The holiday season is a joyous time. Unfortunately, with increased gift-giving and charitable donations come prime opportunities for scammers to defraud you. Here are some common scams and how to protect yourself. Gift Card Scams It’s a popular time for purchasing gift cards—and scammers know it. They also know that gift cards don’t offer the …

Scammers love to prey on the kindness and compassion of people. That’s why they are using fake charities to try to defraud victims of Hurricanes Helene and Milton and those willing to help them. They send unsolicited emails, texts, phone calls, and social media messages that may even appear legitimate and from a well-known charity. …

Though Halloween gets all the fanfare and excitement, there’s another event that also happens in October. It’s National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, an annual event created to bring government and industry together to help protect American consumers from the scary threat of cybertheft. The theme for this year’s event, Secure Our World, focuses on four key …

What would you do if your Social Security number and other highly personal information were compromised? Unfortunately, that situation could be a harsh reality for hundreds of millions of unsuspecting people who may have been impacted by a massive data breach of National Public Data. The organization, which houses data that employers, investigators, and other …

How romance scams work With romance scams, which can happen to people of all genders, fraudsters create fake online dating or social media profiles to attract and earn the trust of unsuspecting users. Their goal is to trick users into sending money or providing personal information that they can use for nefarious purposes.  Here’s how …

Has this happened to you?  You’re on your computer surfing the internet when a pop-up message appears on your screen. The message warns you that your computer has been infected with a serious virus and instructs you to call a phone number immediately to get technical support.  While that pop-up may look official and real, …

June is Elder Abuse Awareness Month. And, unfortunately, the number of scams targeting seniors is rising rapidly. That’s because scammers believe those 60 and older have more money, are more willing to trust people, and are less willing to report crimes against them. Here are some common elder scams and how you can stop them …