ID Theft and the Lottery

 

real stories of ID theft

Real stories from victims of ID theft and advice on how you can protect yourself.

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No, You Didn’t Win the Lottery

Posted on Thursday, January 26th, 2012 by Nikki Junker
 

Have you ever received an email from the United Nations compensation Fund about a large sum of money that you are entitled to? The author may have had some incredible title with far too many words like, President Executive Director of International Compensation and Recovery, which makes the author sound mighty important. Maybe it is an urgent message from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service or Secret Service stating that you are under investigation for money laundering, or even that there is a problem with your income tax returns? At one point or another, we have all received these types of emails. The content of the emails may change, however, the ultimate goal of those behind the scenes remains the same – to get you to give them money or your personal information… which of course they will then use to get your money.
When you received these emails, have you ever stopped and checked the email address? The President of Nigeria does not have an email address containing 32 numbers and letters. The FBI, DHS, and IRS do not send emails from Gmail, Yahoo, or Hotmail. These are government agencies whose email addresses end in .gov. In addition, it is important to note that government agencies do not use internet correspondence as a primary form of communication for the issues depicted in the emails. If you are under investigation by any of these agencies, or there is a relative issue with your information – they will send you a notice via postal mail, for example.
In order to avoid becoming one of the countless victims of these ploys by scam artists and identity thieves there are a few things you can do. Keep an eye out for things like the email address the message is being sent from, any gross grammatical or spelling errors. You can be fairly certain that the Central Intelligence Agency would use spell check if they ever were to send you an email. Simple errors are an indication of a scam email.
Alleged government agency emails are not the only scam emails out there. Watch out for any emails that may contain any of the following:

• ‘Click here’ for more details
• Hiring Immediately / Open vacancies
• Quick Cash / Approval Department
• Altered banking institution name
• An email that never address you by name, but by ‘recipient,’ etc.
• Secure business proposal
• Inquiring your help with a sum of money from another country
• Your Western Union Money Transfer is available
• You’ve won the Lottery

There are a lot of scam emails out there and a million variations on each of them. The above list does not cover every scam email out there. Therefore, you need to be careful with all emails.  Do not click on any unknown links – you may just be giving a scammer access to your personal computer. Key-logger programs have been known to have been installed this way.  Once the link is clicked on, malware is installed allowing a thief to gain your personal information.
Furthermore, if you have not bought a lottery ticket or entered a raffle – you cannot win anything. England or Nigeria do not have lotteries. Also, if someone is requesting your assistance to transfer money from their account to yours – especially from another country, don’t do it. You will find that your dreams of making a quick fortune turn into an empty bank account very quickly.
Other scam emails you may find are job emails, payday loan or quick cash emails. These can be extremely dangerous as most require handing over your Social Security number, and copies of your personal documentation. Those who fall for such scams may sometimes find themselves receiving threatening calls from alleged collection agents, such as attorneys. These “attorneys” threaten to put you in jail, to set a warrant for arrest, etc. They require payments for a loan, you may have never accepted.
If an unrequested email asks you to provide any of the following pieces of information, there is almost always a good chance it is a scam:

• Full Name
• Date of Birth
• Address
• Social Security number
• Copies of personal documents
• Driver’s License information
• PINs
• Account Numbers
• Passwords

Always verify the source, and remember if you did not request information you should not be providing any in return. Also, if you are receiving correspondence from an institution, such as bank or government agency, their primary means of communication will never be electronic, especially, when it involves personal identifying information. Bottom line is that you should never provide personal information  via email. So, be careful and do not fall victim to scam emails!

No ID Theft Plan can prevent your ID from being stolen but when is does happen we can make the process of recovery much easier.....Go Here

Richard Figley
Independent Associate
614.395.2313
www.800-DO-A-WILL.com

What are Pre-Paid Legal Services?

 

Prepaid Legal Services Possibility Analysis

Posted on January 29, 2012

 

Precisely what are prepaid legal plans? A prepaid legal plan is a type of arrangement the place that the person pays or even an employer pays with respect to his employees for legal services they may need in advance. Think of it as a medical benefit plan or any prepaid service. A consumer pays certain quantity monthly or annually for specific legal services which can be used when of course, if needed.
Why the requirement of a prepaid legal service? Though it is predicted for every citizen to know their rights, many of us only make reference to them while we are in danger. So unless you have a personal or family lawyer, a prepaid legal plan’s your better defense against anything that is due to the law.
Prepaid Legal – A Critical Review
Based on your chosen prepaid legal plan, the legal services available to you could be limited. Any basic prepaid legal plan may include office consultations, legal advice and review and preparation of some legal paperwork like a will or contract. More comprehensive prepaid legal services can cover trials, bankruptcy, deciding marital disputes and stuff like that.
Is it worthwhile to own a prepaid legal plan? Well, with America having dozens of legal cases filed on their courts everyday and people increasingly alert to their legal right, it’s good to be cautious. Prevention surpasses the cure. When we understand their rights under the law, they can avoid turning minor problems from exploding out of proportions.
Plenty of prepaid legal services made it more convenient for plan owners to contact them from the telephone. This not only helps to make the lawyers offered to the prepaid legal plan owners it makes them more more comfortable with asking legal advice.
A prepaid legal service clearly benefits its owner as it removes the hassle of having to mistakenly select a bad lawyer to an honest one. Often, the firms who offer prepaid legal plans screen their lawyers prior to hiring them, being sure that you get value for your investment.
There are 2 types of prepaid legal plan available to consumers. The very first is the basic access plan for employees. That’s where a member can simply
access legal services through the telephone.
Although the package provides a select few of services, the member can be assured of making better decisions with the proper legal consultation from a lawyer. Should a member from this plan need services beyond what exactly is included in the package, they must pay late charges.
The 2nd type is the comprehensive prepaid legal plan. Besides the consultation services, a comprehensive plan has member can receive employer-funded benefits including negotiations with parties, preparing legal documents and representation in the courtroom. Some companies offer legal service coverage for families too.
We live in a world the location where the law has a firm hand in everything. If you know you have ability to get legal advice before doing anything consequential is a great way to avoid plenty of trouble on the courts. A prepaid legal plan might actually be among the best decisions you’ll ever make for your family.


Richard Figley
614-395-2313
www.800-DO-A-WILL.com

1.5 Million Americans were Victims of Medical ID Theft

 

Identity fraud continues to be occurring more frequently . Protecting against identity fraud has fast become more increasingly important nowadays due to this.  It’s estimated that millions of hard working individuals are affected each and every single year from this crime.

The synthetic id theft happens to be more widespread these days. Such type of identity fraud inflicts heavy financial losses upon the victim. Since the victim has simply no other way than manage to pay for the fraudsters credit, medical identity thefts could cause deadly consequences towards the victim. Protection against identity fraud is essential if you would like to keep your finances in order. There are some simple steps that you can do to help prevent someone from wrongly using your information as their own.

The best defence against identity fraud to suit your needs including fraud resolution assistance, ATM and visa card protection, child monitoring services in case that your children ever are victims of Identity fraud. Essentially  financial guarantees to cover you should you ever are a victim from this silent crime. Protecting against identity fraud is definitely an significant step you’ll want to take in guarding your reputation together with your funds.

While id theft is actually a global issue that garners much media attention, most don’t realize that medical identity fraud is truly a serious and growing threat. Many respective authorities consider medical identity fraud to be the fastest growing crimes in the country. Because of the digital era of healthcare, the dangers are expected to increase as digital medical documents are more prevalent and the exchange of this data over expanding networks becomes more pervasive. Heightened concern over personal data security and privacy highlight the importance of having secure electronic medical identities.

If you find that you may have been a victim of identity fraud, what is important to act quickly. The more you delay, the greater financial damages which is going to occur, also the more challenging it’s going to be to correct those damages for future years. Relating to a recent Ponemon Institute study, nearly 1.5 million Americans are now victims of medical identity fraud having an estimated sum total of $28.6 billion – or approximately $20,000 per victim.  Further proof of the importance of the medical fraud trouble is the allocation of $1.7 billion for fraud detection within the 2011 U.S. Health and Human Services Department budget.  In 2009 In 2009, 68 reported healthcare data breaches within the U.S. put over 11.3 million patient records susceptible to exposure. Two notable instances include the Health Net breach as well as the Virginia Department of Health Professions breach.

The ARRA provides incentives for many doctors to use electronic health records (EHRs), so when health information exchanges (HIEs) gets to be more a commonplace, individuals are all the more in danger of medical identity fraud, from an intentional or unintentional breach of healthcare records, or even the “loss” or theft of any Medical Associates laptop. When this data is digitized and available via interconnected EHRs and HIEs, the opportunity of exposure grows exponentially.

Patients whose healthcare identities are compromised face severe lingering effects. Fraudulent healthcare events can leave misguided data in medical records. This incorrect information – like particulars about tests, medical determinations and procedures – can greatly have an affect on future healthcare and insurance packages and charges. Patients in many cases are unacquainted with medical identity fraud until a curious bill or even a surprising series of questioning from a doctor exposes the matter. Then, the responsibility of proof is usually on the patient and it may be a challenge to help get the patient’s legitimate medical records cleared up. The outcomes can even be life-threatening and may bring about significant medical mistakes and deaths.

In Closing: According to U.S. Department of Justice statistics, Id theft will soon replace drug trafficking as the Number One crime in the nation. In fact, every 60 seconds, more than 28 people become a victim of identity theft, costing companies an estimated $56.6 billion annually. No matter the cause or how it is discovered, for the victim, identity theft typically leads to many lost hours of work and sleep dealing with creditors to clean up the mess and restore accounts.

ID Theft Protection

 Richard Figley

Independent Associate

1-614-395-2313

www.800-DO-A-WILL.com

Man indicted on ID fraud charges in ‘skimming’

Arrest first of its kind in Franklin County

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A man arrested last week in a scheme to steal customer-account information from ATMs has been identified and indicted.
A Franklin County grand jury yesterday indicted Ernino P. Perez, 30, on two counts of identity fraud, two counts of possessing criminal tools and two counts of unauthorized use of property.
Perez is accused of placing credit-card “skimmers” on US Bank ATMs at 688 High St. in Worthington and 270 E. Main St. in New Albany, Prosecutor Ron O’Brien said.
New Albany police said they arrested Perez on Jan. 9 when he returned to the E. Main Street machine to remove the skimmer. A bank employee had noticed the device and notified authorities.
At the time of the arrest, investigators were trying to determine the man’s identity and referred to him as “John Doe.” O’Brien said yesterday that the man claims his name is Enrico P. Perez and that he is from Toronto, but there is no documentation to verify his claim.
Skimmers are designed to access card numbers and account information and often include a transmitter to relay the information to an off-site computer, investigators said.
O’Brien said his office was aware of skimmer use by thieves elsewhere around the country, but this is the first such case prosecuted in Franklin County.
Investigators said last week that they are seeking a second suspect, possibly from New York, who they think was working with the man arrested in New Albany.

jfutty@dispatch.com

Reducing employee Costs

 Reducing Employee Costs

It is well documented that stress is one of the driving forces behind the rising rate of costly unscheduled absenteeism. A recent study by CCH, Inc. shows that almost two thirds of all unscheduled absences are for reasons other than Personal Illness. But exactly what is stress, where does it come from, and how does that relate to employee legal needs?

Job Stress Defined

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) defines job stress as "the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when job requirements do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the employee.”

Stress and Absenteeism

Today's fast-paced life-style exacts its toll. A recent CCH survey indicates the reason most employees call in sick at the last minute is driven more by personal issues than physical illness. Personal Illness remains the leading reason for unscheduled absences (33 percent), but two out of three absences were for other reasons. An increasing number of employees missed work at the last minute because of Family Issues (24 percent) and Personal Needs (21 percent) – with Personal Needs keeping people at home nearly twice as often in 2002 as in 2001, when it was 11 percent.

The Causes of Stress

Employees can be placed under a great deal of stress by everyday life situations. This includes family problems, bad financial planning, debt collection, identity theft, and many others. The employee needs to spend time (a limited resource) to deal with a life situation, but can't because their job requires them to spend that time at work. Most times the solution requires legal services, which requires the employee to spend even more time away from work. Add the fact that legal services are unfamiliar and confusing to most employees, making the need for legal services a double-edged sword that causes tremendous amounts of stress, which is the root cause of costly absenteeism, turnover, and on-the-job accidents.

The Cost of Stress

The cost of stress is staggering. The American Institute of Stress (AIS) puts it at $300 billion annually, which includes “accidents, absenteeism, employee turnover, diminished productivity, direct medical, legal, and insurance costs, workers' compensation awards as well as tort and FELA [Federal Employers’ Liability Act] judgments.” Actual costs per employee run about $798 per year, according to CCH, Inc. in their 2002 CCH Unscheduled Absence Survey. In fact, when the costs of stress-related illness is factored in, the cost of stress may be much higher than $300 billion. Newsweek magazine devoted considerable space to the impact of emotional stress in its cover feature “The New Sciences of Mind and Body” (Sept. 27, 2004). It shows much evidence that stress is correlated with heart disease (and many other medical problems) and that reducing stress can boost one’s immune system and help control diabetes. According to Newsweek, many experts find that 60-90 percent of all doctor visits are stress-related. The medical costs are indeed enormous! 

 Presenteeism

 Is defined as an employee being present but not being fully focused and productive because of personal health and life problem distractions.  The old saying of someone "being there in body only" sums up the concept of presenteeism. Presenteeism manifests itself in many ways, such as lack of focus, accidents and mistakes, interpersonal difficulties, poor work skills and production problems. 

Presenteeism accounts for 61% of an employees total lost productivity and medical costs - Cornell University study, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, April 2004.

  
 The Cornell University study highlighted in blue above researched 375,000 employees over a three year period. In addition to that exhaustive study, many others have uncovered an alarming set of statistics. Examples are:

• Presenteeism costs employers an estimated $2000/yr/employee (Cigna Behavioral Health, April 26, 2004)
• 42% of employees anticipate elder care issues over the next five years (Risk and Insurance, March, 2004)
• 37% of employees with current elder care issues have lost work time per week, a total of (11) hours/wk spent. (Risk and Insurance, March, 2004)
• 49% of employees lose productivity at a rate of 1 hour or more/day due to stress. (Business Legal Resources, April 24, 2003)

Solving the Problem

Many ideas have been presented to lessen the impact of stress on the employee. Some have tried flex time, but found that flex time is not effective when there is much to learn on short notice (as legal matters require) or unforeseen issues arise (as happens in many life situations). To insure your employees are as stress free as possible, investigate the group legal plans provided by LegalShield. Your companies bottom line will thank you.

Richard Figley
Independent Associate

figleyr@legalshield.com e

614-395-2313 o 
www.800-DO-A-WILL.com










 

FROM PUERTO RICO TO COLUMBUS OHIO

 ID theft ring busted in Indiana, beyond

Updated: Wednesday, 11 Jan 2012, 10:15 PM EST
Published : Wednesday, 11 Jan 2012, 10:14 PM EST

• DANICA COTO,Associated Press

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - Fifty people have been accused of conspiring to sell the identities of hundreds of Puerto Ricans to illegal immigrants on the U.S. mainland in the largest single fraud case ever for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, authorities said Wednesday.
Hundreds of birth certificates, Social Security numbers and driver's licenses were sold for up to $2,500 a set as part of a black market ring based in Puerto Rico that operated from since at least April 2009, according to ICE Director John Morton. Identity broker were operating out of sevarl cities around the U.S., including Indianapolis, Columbus and Seymour in Indiana
"The vast majority were legitimate documents obtained by fraudulent or false means," he said.
The alleged ring consisted of suppliers, runners and brokers, who made coded phone calls asking for "skirts" for female customers and "pants" for male customers in specific "sizes", which referred to ages and identities sought, according to ICE.
The documents would be sent through priority or express mail from Puerto Rico to brokers that operated in at least 15 states including Ohio, Texas, Florida and North Carolina, officials said.
Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer said suppliers even allegedly offered to exchange documents if customers were not satisfied, adding that he did not know how much money was made overall.
He said the investigation is still ongoing.
About 80 percent of the documents involved were sold by Puerto Ricans whose names were on them, officials said. Those documents often were then used to apply for a driver's license or a U.S. passport or to commit financial fraud.
Puerto Ricans are often an attractive target because they are U.S. citizens with Hispanic surnames.
Morton said another 20 arrest warrants were issued on Wednesday in separate but similar cases, with 61 of 70 suspects either arrested or whose surrender was arranged.
The investigation began with a tip from police in Illinois, which led to a nearly two-year undercover operation called "Island Express."
"We have gone after everyone involved in the chain: the leaders, the suppliers, the brokers, the runners," Morton said.
In 2010, The Associated Press reported that thousands of Puerto Ricans had become victims of identity fraud in part because the government, schools and other institutions did not secure copies of their birth certificates, which are routinely requested by sports leagues, churches and other groups.
In July 2010, Puerto Rico began annulling all old birth certificates and began issuing new ones with security features to cut down on theft and fraud cases. Morton and Breuer declined to comment on whether the measure has worked.
It is unclear how many new birth certificates have been issued. State Secretary Kenneth McClintock did not respond to requests for comment.
The 50 suspects were indicted by a federal grand jury on Dec. 29 on one charge each of conspiracy to commit identification fraud. If convicted, they face up to 15 years in prison.


Richard Figley
Independent Associate
p :1-800-DO-A-WILL
c :614-395-2313
www.800-DO-A-WILL.com

LOOKING FOR A NEW CAREER?

eCommerce Fraud on the Rise

 

Increase In eCommerce Fraud

A company who serves as a data sharing platform for merchants to stop on-line fraud, recently provided IC3 with the below information describing how there has been an increase in fraud attempts incurred by on-line merchants.
Since mid-March, merchants have experienced a serious increase in fraud attempts. The following four theories were studied and considered as explanations to the increased attempted fraud. The nature of the fraud attempts was that criminals had the complete identity information: name, address, email address, and IP address of the consumer.

1. Theory One – "Stolen Data" – one of the recent major data breaches included credit card numbers, and the fraudsters are using the data.
   This theory is the least likely, because the fraudsters who attempted these attacks have more details than were included in the data breaches.
   
2. Theory Two – "Spear Phishing" – a major recent data breach that compromised email accounts is being used by the criminals to target consumers with really good phishing emails, referred to as spear phishing. The fraudster knows the consumer conducts business with a specific company. The fraudster creates a targeted email from the company who conducts business with the consumer, and is able to collect enough information to compromise the consumer.
   To study this theory, the Anti-Phishing Working Group's (APWG) phishing map was researched. In the past 12 months, phishing in the U.S. was at a rate of 38%, and in the past 90 days, the site reports phishing attacks at 51.33%, which is a significant increase.
   While phishing may be a contributor to the increase in fraud attempts, this theory has been declined, because with phishing information, when eCommerce orders are placed, there is some degree of inaccurate information, and the information is often "tested."
   
3. Theory Three – "Malware" – malware has spread and become more vicious. While the malware is more vicious, an impact on eCommerce has yet to be determined; although it may come in the future. Additionally, according to data on the APWG's website, malware for the past 12 months in the U.S. was 35.85%, and in the past 90 days was reported to be 25.48%. Based on these numbers, malware attacks are actually down according to the website.
   A study was conducted with merchants participating in a program associated with the data sharing platform company. No link was found in confirmed fraud from merchants and malware tools or any other recognizable pattern.
   
4. Theory Four – "Fake eCommerce Donation Sites" – After researching this theory, it is believed the increase in fraud attacks is tied to fake donation sites that took advantage of the earthquakes and Tsunami in Japan. This belief is supported because the fraudsters have the exact information on the data elements for making purchases, and the accuracy rate is very good. Therefore, it is most likely the data is being collected from fraudulent sites that took donations from the devastating earthquakes and Tsunami in Japan. It is believed the fraudsters used social networks to promote the donation sites to expand their reach farther and faster than has been viewed in previous years.
   The timing is exactly right; other major tragedies have been viewed as the cause to increased fraud spikes – such as Hurricane Katrina. In fact, fake donation sites were such a problem for Katrina, the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) was originally established by the Department of Justice to investigate, prosecute, and deter fraud in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Its mission has expanded to include suspected fraud from any natural or man-made disaster. More than 20 federal agencies, including the FBI, participate in the NCDF, allowing it to act as a centralized clearinghouse for information related to relief fraud.
   
   
   
   Richard Figley
   Independent Associate
   www.800-DO-A-WILL.com
   ID Theft Shield 
   
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ID Theft and the IRS

Identity Theft Issue Goes Unnoticed Until IRS Bills Victim

Social security number stolen for employment

Friday, December 30, 2011

One Nebraska resident didn't know his social security number had been compromised until he recently received a bill from the Internal Revenue Service for unpaid taxes.

Longtime Omaha, Nebraska, resident Jose Sanchez told WOWT-TV that the letter from the IRS notified him of more than $4,000 in unpaid taxes for his work at a local painting company in 2010.

However, Sanchez has never worked there. His family told the station they believe his personal information was used by an undocumented immigrant to apply for the job. The owner of the painting company told the source he was unaware of the issue.

"Somebody else was working with his social security [number]," his daughter Elena Sanchez told the news source. "We think it's somebody who doesn't have papers."

While the station says he's filed a claim with the IRS and likely won't have to pay the bill, he will be taking extra care to protect his identity in the future as he approaches retirement.

For ID Theft Coverage go HERE


 Richard Figley
1-800-DO-A-WILL
www.800-DO-A-WILL.com

Just When You Thought it Couldn't Happen to You

MANSFIELD, OHIO -- A Mansfield city councilwoman had her email address list hacked by scammers hoping to trick friends and acquaintances into "rescuing" her by wiring money to them through Western Union.

Ellen Haring, who is running for the Ohio Senate next year, believes the fake messages claiming she was stranded in London with her credit cards and cash stolen, went out to several hundred people. As far as she knows, no one took the bait.

Haring filed a report with Mansfield police. The Mansfield city councilwoman will run in 2012 against two other candidates for the newly organized 22th Ohio Senate District seat.
The email message, sent a few days before Christmas, featured more accurate spelling and better grammar than most phishing emails. In part the message read:

"I am presently stuck in London, United Kingdom for a short vacation unfortunately i was mugged at the park of the hotel where i stayed, all cash, credit card and cell were stolen off me but luckily for me i still have my passports with me," the message said. "I've been to the embassy and the Police here but they're not helping issues at all and my flight leaves in less than 6hrs from now but am having problems settling the hotel bills and the hotel manager won't let me leave until i settle the bills."

Haring got immediate feedback.

"The phone calls started at 7:30 in the morning and continued for several days. So many concerned people called to inform me and to express concern over the situation," Haring said. "Some called just to find humor in the whole thing. It was a lovely Christmas present to know so many people cared!
"Every person with whom I have had email contact over the past decade probably received one! I would estimate several hundred, maybe more."

Haring's private AOL email account was involved. Her City of Mansfield email account was not affected. No damage was done to her computer, but all of her email contacts on AOL were wiped out."They are definitely trying to make money. The message was all about money and how to wire it," she said. "If unwitting respondents sent money (hopefully not), the hackers could walk into any Western Union office in the world and retrieve it."

Mansfield police Detective Cecil Burton said no suspects have been identified.
The city councilwoman reported having a purse stolen, but "as far as I could tell, that information did not result from that theft," he said. While this particular type of scam is not often reported to Mansfield police, identity theft is common.

"This time of year, a lot of people try to take the easy way out to get access to money," Burton said. "If you know your way around a computer, you can maneuver around and get access to all kinds of things."

Haring said she's still working to repair the damage."I tried to close AOL, but ... I cannot," Haring said. "Another victim I know did not change her password soon enough and lost all her addresses and stored emails, too.
"I did not lose any of my emails, nor were other email accounts touched."

 Read about how to protect yourself here

Richard Figley
Independent Associate
1-800-DO-A-WILL
www.800-DO-A-WILL.com