,
July 1, 2023
Midland County Sheriff Myron Greene
Midland Daily News
Every year, millions of people have their identities stolen or fall victim to phone, email or internet scams. Billions of dollars are lost to these illegal activities every year!
Unfortunately, many of the victims are our seniors because many grew up in a time without the technology available today, when someone could be trusted with a handshake or just their word. Unfortunately times have changed. We must be alert at all times.
Scams often occur through direct phone calls, while identity theft can occur when someone obtains personal information from public sources, via email, phone calls, or from various discarded personal documents. Hopefully by providing this information you can prevent yourself from becoming a victim of identity theft, fraud or fraud.
What scams are currently happening?
- The most common phone scams we see in Midland County are when someone poses as a law enforcement officer or officer and says you have a warrant or owe a fine for missing court. Another popular case is when someone claims to be from the IRS and says you owe money for taxes. Scammers urge you to pay with a credit card over the phone or ask you to go to the store to purchase gift cards and provide the card codes. This is a scam! Don’t give out credit card information or buy gift cards to someone who requests payment over the phone – just hang up! No law enforcement agency will ever call you and ask for money.
- Scammers pretend to be a relative and need money to get out of prison, or say they’ve been in an accident and need money for a tow truck or a ride home. It’s a scam!
- Online/email scams sometimes have someone claiming that your computer is infected with a virus and asking you to contact them so they can log in remotely to “fix” the computer . Don’t allow anyone to log into your computer remotely!
- Occasionally, scams have occurred in which a fake check is mailed to someone with instructions to cash it, keep some of the money, and then return the rest to the sender. We also see people entering online relationships on social media or dating sites and their “new boyfriend” asking for small amounts of money, which then leads to requests for larger amounts of money. Don’t give money to someone you just met online.
- Beware of entrepreneurs looking for investors who will invest their money upfront. Don’t fall for it and don’t pay with cryptocurrency (Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Ethereum, etc.). Once you have done this it is very difficult or impossible to get it back.
To protect yourself from fraud and identity theft:
- Always know or check who you are communicating with online, via email and on phone calls!
- Beware of unsolicited emails and phone calls asking for money, personal information (dates of birth, social security numbers), or account information (bank account numbers, passwords, etc.). Contact the applicant directly.
- Use strong passwords to keep your computers and mobile devices safe and confidential! Also, do not use the same password for multiple accounts.
- Keep antivirus software programs up to date. Updates provide patches for software vulnerabilities.
- Check your monthly statements and bills for unauthorized charges.
- Invest in a good general purpose shredder to get rid of old papers, bills and ‘junk mail’.
- Obtain a copy of your credit report each year, review it, and dispute any errors in the credit report.
What to do if you are a victim of fraud or identity theft?
- First, contact the relevant financial institutions or credit card companies and apply for new accounts/cards.
- Change your password(s).
- Contact local law enforcement to file a report.
- For more information, see the Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov and the Federal Trade Commission at Consumer.ftc.gov or Identitytheft.gov.
Myron Greene is the Midland County Sheriff.
Written by
Sheriff Myron Greene
Learn Crypto Trading, Yield Farms, Income strategies and more at CrytoAnswers
https://nov.link/cryptoanswers
Comments are closed.