Consumer complaints about identity theft are rising from across the country followed by debt collection complaints and impostor scams. This is a sure sign that people need to continue to pay attention and closely monitor their monthly credit card statements, credit reports and credit scores.
It is important that consumers are aware of their ability to take advantage of accessing one free credit report per year from each of the three credit reporting bureaus. Logging on to www.annualcreditreport.com will provide steps in acquiring your free credit reports. You can read more about how to access your free annual credit report by reading our previous blog post titled:
"Credit Reports - How to Get Your Annual Credit Report"
Below are four steps consumers should take if they become a victim of identity theft. Click on each tab to learn more about the topic.
While not everyone may be a news junkie, it is important to identify trends and understand news article/segments in a manner to protect ourselves and loved ones to the best of our ability.
SafeAmerica Credit Union’s blogs are provided to inform our members of all things financial. With that being said, the recent spike of identity theft related crimes brought on by the pandemic, has resulted in more and more articles, reports and news segments informing people of what can be done to prevent themselves from becoming a victim of identity theft.
The latest Bay Area identity theft trend making the rounds, shows scammers posing as Comcast representatives convincing users their internet speed has slowed down and maintenance is required to “troubleshoot” the problem. The criminal process used to perform the “troubleshooting” is done by obtaining remote access to the victim’s computer. They do this with the victim’s permission after successfully gaining the victim’s trust. While “troubleshooting”, the scammer accesses the victim’s personal information and before the victim notices, their bank accounts have been compromised.
The Alameda Police Department has shared the following tips via Patch.com:
SafeAmerica understands the level of security needed to stay secure while on the internet and during National Cyber Security Awareness Month, we want to help inform our members of the best practices for staying safe online and keeping sensitive information secure. Keep an eye out every week this month for new blog posts on the best practices during the time you spend online. Safe for surfing the web.
Sources:
Helpful links for Comcast Users:
Common Phone Scams and How to Protect Yourself
Comcast Resources for Fraud and Identity Theft Resolution
