Nat

iona

l Cri

me

Pre

vent

ion

Co

unci

l10

00 C

onn

ectic

ut A

venu

e, N

W •

13t

h F

loo

r •

Was

hing

ton,

DC

2003

6 •

ww

w.n

cpc.

org

Sca

ms

and

sche

mes

are

a c

rim

inal

’s “

brea

d an

d bu

tter

.” I

f yo

u ha

ve a

com

pute

r, a

tele

phon

e, o

r a

mai

lbox

, yo

u co

uld

beco

me

a vi

ctim

. Yo

ur b

est

defe

nse

is t

o kn

ow a

sca

m w

hen

you

see

(or

hear

)on

e. F

ollo

win

g ar

e a

few

com

mon

sca

ms

that

cri

min

als

pitc

h to

inn

ocen

t pe

ople

eve

ry d

ay:

■ C

redi

t-re

late

d S

chem

es:

You

are

prom

ised

a c

redi

t ca

rd r

egar

dles

s of

you

r cr

edit

his

tory

, fo

r an

adva

nce

fee.

Or

you

are

prom

ised

cre

dit

card

pro

tect

ion

or c

redi

t re

pair

ser

vice

s, a

lso

for

a fe

e.Yo

u pa

y, b

ut t

he c

ard

or s

ervi

ce i

s ne

ver

deliv

ered

.

■ M

agaz

ine

Sal

es S

cam

s:Yo

u ar

e of

fere

d a

mag

azin

e su

bscr

ipti

on a

t a

very

low

pri

ce b

y so

meo

new

ho c

laim

s to

wor

k fo

r th

e m

agaz

ine

com

pany

. Th

e pr

ice

is m

isre

pres

ente

d an

d is

act

ually

muc

hhi

gher

, or

the

mag

azin

e is

nev

er d

eliv

ered

.

■ In

vest

men

t Fr

aud:

You

are

invi

ted

to p

arti

cipa

te i

n an

inv

estm

ent

oppo

rtun

ity

and

prom

ised

spec

tacu

lar

prof

its

wit

h no

ris

k. I

nste

ad o

f m

akin

g m

oney

, yo

u lo

se i

t.

■ O

verp

aym

ent

Sca

ms:

You

adve

rtis

e so

met

hing

you

wan

t to

sel

l, an

d a

pote

ntia

l bu

yer

offe

rs t

opu

rcha

se i

t. T

he b

uyer

sen

ds a

che

ck f

or m

ore

than

the

ask

ing

pric

e an

d as

ks y

ou t

o w

ire

back

the

diff

eren

ce.

You

do,

but

late

r th

e bu

yer’s

che

ck b

ounc

es.

■ W

ork-

at-h

ome

Sca

ms:

Adv

erti

sem

ents

pro

mis

e bi

g ea

rnin

gs f

or p

eopl

e w

ho w

ant

to w

ork

atho

me.

You

sen

d a

chec

k fo

r tr

aini

ng o

r m

ater

ials

and

rec

eive

a k

it w

ith

chea

p cr

aft

mat

eria

ls a

nddi

scov

er t

here

are

no

clie

nts

to p

ay f

or y

our

wor

k.

■ Va

catio

n/Tr

avel

Fra

ud: Y

ou a

ccep

t an

off

er f

or a

fre

e or

ver

y ch

eap

trav

el p

acka

ge b

ut e

nd u

p pa

ying

hidd

en c

osts

, su

ch a

s re

serv

atio

n fe

es o

r ta

xes,

or

liste

ning

to

a hi

gh-p

ress

ure

sale

s pi

tch

for

ati

mes

hare

or

club

mem

bers

hip.

■ Ph

ishi

ng:Yo

u ge

t an

em

ail o

r po

p-up

mes

sage

tha

t sa

ys y

our

acco

unt

mus

t be

upd

ated

imm

edia

tely

or it

will

be

clos

ed. Y

ou c

lick

on a

link

to

a w

ebsi

te t

hat

look

s lik

e it

bel

ongs

to

your

ban

k or

oth

erin

stitu

tion

and

“upd

ate”

you

r ac

coun

t by

ent

erin

g pe

rson

al id

entif

ying

info

rmat

ion.

Soo

n yo

u di

scov

eryo

u ar

e a

vict

im o

f id

enti

ty t

heft

.

■ Ph

arm

ing:

Als

o ca

lled

dom

ain

spoo

fing,

thi

s te

chni

que

is u

sed

by c

rimin

als

to r

edire

ct W

eb t

raff

icfr

om a

leg

itim

ate

serv

er t

o th

eir

own

serv

er,

whe

re t

hey

can

stea

l an

y pe

rson

al i

nfor

mat

ion

that

the

user

typ

es in

. Pha

rmer

s “p

oiso

n” t

he D

omai

n N

ame

Ser

vice

in o

rder

to

“foo

l” a

use

r’s b

row

ser

into

lin

king

to

a bo

gus

web

site

.

■ N

iger

ian

Mon

ey S

cam

:Yo

u ar

e co

ntac

ted

by s

omeo

ne f

rom

Nig

eria

and

off

ered

mill

ions

of

dolla

rsif

you

will

tra

nsfe

r m

oney

fro

m a

for

eign

ban

k to

you

r ba

nk a

ccou

nt f

or s

afek

eepi

ng.

Whe

n yo

uag

ree,

you

are

ask

ed t

o pa

y hu

ge t

rans

fer

fees

or

lega

l ex

pens

es b

ut r

ecei

ve n

o m

oney

.

■ P

rize

and

Sw

eeps

take

s S

cam

:Yo

u ar

e to

ld t

hat

you

have

won

a f

abul

ous

priz

e bu

t m

ust

buy

som

ethi

ng o

r pa

y ta

xes

up f

ront

in

orde

r to

cla

im i

t. T

he p

rize

is

a ch

eap

trin

ket,

wor

th f

ar l

ess

than

the

mon

ey y

ou p

aid

to c

laim

it.

■ Fo

reig

n Lo

tter

ies

Sca

m:

You

are

offe

red

tick

ets

to e

nter

a f

orei

gn l

otte

ry a

nd s

end

mon

ey,

but

eith

er t

he lo

tter

y do

esn’

t ex

ist

or t

he t

icke

ts n

ever

arr

ive.

It

is il

lega

l to

prom

ote

a fo

reig

n lo

tter

yby

tel

epho

ne o

r m

ail

in t

he U

nite

d S

tate

s.

■ P

yram

ids

and

Mul

tile

vel

Mar

keti

ng:

For

a fe

e, y

ou a

re p

rom

ised

big

pro

fits

in

exch

ange

for

recr

uiti

ng n

ew m

embe

rs.

Pla

ns t

hat

prom

ise

prof

its

for

recr

uitm

ent

of m

embe

rs r

athe

r th

an f

orse

lling

goo

ds a

nd s

ervi

ces

are

illeg

al a

nd u

sual

ly c

olla

pse.

■ S

chol

arsh

ip S

cam

s:A

com

pany

gua

rant

ees

scho

lars

hip

mon

ey f

or a

n up

fron

t fe

e, b

ut i

t on

lyhe

lps

loca

te s

chol

arsh

ips

rath

er t

han

awar

ding

the

m.

■ Ch

arity

Sca

ms:

A n

atur

al d

isas

ter

is d

omin

atin

g th

e ne

ws

and

you

get

a le

tter

/em

ail/p

hone

cal

las

king

you

to

dona

te f

unds

to

help

its

vic

tims.

You

sen

d m

oney

, bu

t th

e vi

ctim

s ne

ver

rece

ive

your

dona

tion

or r

ecei

ve o

nly

a tin

y po

rtio

n—th

e re

st g

oes

to c

over

adm

inis

trat

ive

cost

s lik

e sa

larie

s.

■ B

ogus

Mer

chan

dise

Sal

es:Y

ou p

urch

ase

som

ethi

ng a

dver

tise

d fo

r sa

le o

n th

e In

tern

et o

r th

roug

ha

tele

mar

keti

ng c

all.

You

pay

for

the

mer

chan

dise

but

nev

er r

ecei

ve i

t or

rec

eive

an

infe

rior

or

coun

terf

eit

prod

uct

in i

ts p

lace

.

■ Te

leph

one

Cra

mm

ing:

Una

utho

rize

d ch

arge

s fo

r go

ods

or s

ervi

ces

appe

ar o

n yo

ur p

hone

bill

, bu

tyo

u m

iss

seei

ng t

hem

bec

ause

you

r ph

one

bill

is c

ompl

icat

ed w

ith

auth

oriz

ed c

harg

es s

uch

asvo

ice

mai

l an

d In

tern

et s

ervi

ce.

■ Te

leph

one

Sla

mm

ing:

Your

tel

epho

ne s

ervi

ce i

s sw

itch

ed f

rom

you

r cu

rren

t co

mpa

ny t

o an

othe

ron

e w

itho

ut y

our kn

owle

dge

or p

erm

issi

on, r

esul

ting

in h

ighe

r ch

arge

s fo

r lo

ng d

ista

nce

and

othe

rse

rvic

es.

Don’

t Be

Scam

med

!

Scam

s an

d sc

hem

es a

rea

crim

inal

’s “b

read

and

butte

r.” If

you

hav

e a

com

pute

r, a

tele

phon

e,or

a m

ailb

ox, y

ou c

ould

beco

me

a vic

tim.

steal your Social Security or account numbers and credit

card information. They may send you an email message

asking you to “update” your account information and

link you to a bogus website so they can steal your

personal information.

How To Prevent Identity Theft• Do not give out personal information over the phone,

through the mail, or over the Internet unless you have

initiated the contact or know with whom you’re dealing.

• Shred all documents, including preapproved credit

applications, insurance forms, bank checks and statements

you are discarding, and other financial information.

• Protect your computer from Internet intruders—use

“firewalls.” Also use anti-virus software and keep it

up-to-date.

• Create hard-to-guess passwords that cannot be found in

any dictionary. Select passwords with at least eight

characters and that include a mix of numbers and both

uppercase and lowercase letters.

• Minimize the identification information and the

number of cards you carry. Take only what you’ll

actually need.

• Do not put your Social Security number on your checks

or your credit receipts. If a business requests your Social

Security number, give an alternate number.

• Be careful when using ATM machines and long-distance

phone cards. Someone may look over your shoulder

and get your PIN numbers.

• Make a list of all your credit card account numbers

and bank account numbers with customer service

phone numbers, and keep it in a safe place.

• If you request a new credit card and it doesn’t arrive

in an appropriate period of time, call to make sure

someone has not filed a change of address for you.

• Never submit your credit card number to a website

unless it is encrypted on a secured site. Look at the

bottom of the screen for a padlock symbol. Do not

select to save your information on the site for future

transactions.

• Pay attention to your billing cycles. Follow up with

creditors if bills don’t arrive on time. A missing credit

card bill could mean an identity thief has taken over

your credit account and changed your address.

• Cancel all credit cards you have not used in the last

six months.

• Order your credit report at least twice a year from the

three major credit bureaus: Equifax (www.equifax.com),

Experian (www.experian.com), and Trans Union

(www.transunion.com). The Fair Credit Reporting

Act allows you to get one free credit report from each

of the three major credit bureaus once per year. Visit

www.annualcreditreport.com.

• Correct all mistakes on your credit report in writing.

Send a letter to the credit reporting agency identifying

the problems item by item, include a copy of the credit

report, and send the letter return receipt requested.

In the course of the day you may write a check at the

drugstore, charge tickets to a concert, rent a car, call

home on your cell phone, or apply for a credit card.

Chances are you don’t give these routine transactions

a second thought. But others may.

Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America,

affecting half a million new victims each year.

Identity theft is the taking of a victim’s identity to obtain

credit and credit cards from banks and retailers, steal

money from a victim’s existing accounts, apply for

loans, establish accounts with utility companies, rent

an apartment, file for bankruptcy, or obtain a job using

the victim’s name. Thousands of dollars can be stolen

without the victim knowing about it for months or

even years.

How Identity Theft OccursAll an identity thief needs is any combination of your

Social Security number, birth date, address, and phone

number. This makes it possible to create a fake driver’s

license and then pose as you in order to apply for credit.

The identity thief might put in a change of address with

a credit card company so you will not know that someone

else is running up charges. Once an identity thief opens

one account, opening a second and a third is easier.

Identity thieves can get information about you from

doctors, lawyers, schools, health insurance carriers, and

other places. They may pick up your discarded personal

information, such as utility bills, credit card slips, and

bank statements. They may hack into your computer and

®