Identity Thieves Continue to Develop New Scams
Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, has issued a consumer alert warning of a dangerous identity theft scheme. This new scam involves e-mails to consumers asking them to call a specific phone number in order to confirm personal information and secure their accounts. |
When consumers call the phone number, they are asked for personal information, that if given, can lead to theft of their accounts and possibly ruining their credit. If this sounds familiar to you, it should. Many of us have already been warned about a similar scam called
"phishing". Phishing is when the scam involves an e-mail requesting information from you about your accounts, and a link to the company's web site is attached. When you click on the link, you are taken to an imitation site. Although it resembles the original web site it is really just a ploy to get consumer information.
The new scam,
"vishing", is similar but different enough to confuse consumers into giving their information. It involves an e-mail sent to people about their accounts and giving them a phone number to call. These numbers are set up through a VoIP which is an Internet-based telecommunications service. Even though the phone number appears U.S. based or even local, the scammers are probably in other countries and nearly impossible to track down. This scam is working on some, because consumers have a tendency to be less guarded with their information when encountering a live person.
In addition, these identity thieves have added information to their e-mails to make them look more official or safe. They might list identity theft tips or links to the Federal Trade Commission's identity theft prevention web site. Don't let them trick you with this material.
Financial institutions should never contact you to confirm your account information.
If you're contacted by e-mail that there is a problem with your account, and you're told to respond by e-mail or toll-free number, do not do it. Instead, contact the financial institution directly using a phone number listed on original account papers.
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