Identity thieves, who victimized nearly 11 million credit card holders in 2009, are targeting more job seekers and children. Image: Thinkstock

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in America. Nearly 11 million credit card holders each year are victims of identity theft. While everyone is vulnerable, trends show that identity thieves are increasingly targeting children and job seekers.

Ingenious identity theft scams

Victims of identity theft in the U.S. lost an average of $4,840 in 2009, according to Javelin Strategy and Research. New forms of identity theft are constantly emerging. Claudia Buck at the Sacramento Bee reports that three men were busted in Los Angeles last week for using electronic gadgets to scan credit card numbers at numerous gas station pumps. Buck writes that the state government in California has been warning about phony e-mails telling taxpayers their electronic tax payments did not go through. Identity theft is on the rise in every state, and thieves spend a lot of energy to coming up with the next scam.

Employers don’t need personal information

In the moribund job market, identity thieves see an opportunity to kick people while they’re down. Alison Doyat at About.com writes that identity thieves are adept at creating websites that look like  legitimate companies or agencies. An obvious red flag is raised if an online entity asks for personal data other than contact information at the beginning of the application process. Other red flags include ads promoting pay that seems too high for the job or offering payment in cash. Job seekers posting resumes at online career sites should never include Social Security numbers, birth dates or drivers license numbers.

Things parents should know

Identity thieves make big money exploiting children. Modern Mom reports that because children have a clean credit history, they’re lucrative targets. Children or parents commonly don’t discover they have been victimized until years later, when the kid applies for a credit card. Banks and the Social Security Administration do not give out birth dates, so credit reporting firms can’t verify age. Identity thieves often open lines of credit with a child’s identity when a parent loses a wallet or purse holding personal data like a child’s Social Security card. The easiest way to see if a child’s identity has been stolen is to request a credit report. No credit report on file means they’re safe … for the time being.

Even if you aren't snared by an EPPICard phishing scam, the fees can still get you. (Photo: Flickr)

Unemployed Americans looking to access their state benefits have had a difficult time with the EPPICard debit card system in the past. The ATM card-style distribution system was designed to make it easy for the unemployed to access their benefits money. Unfortunately, numerous media reports have indicated that the program failed to go off without a hitch. As recently as June 20, the Fayetteville Observer reported that administrative fees plague unemployed consumers who can ill afford to pay.

When EPPICard does NOT amp up your budget

We already know that unscrupulous third parties have, in the recent past, exploited holes in the EPPICard debit card system to create a phishing scam to dupe uninformed consumers into revealing sensitive personal data for the purposes of identity theft. Those issues were supposedly addressed by state agencies and EPPICard officials. Now welfare consumers can access their quick payday funds without worry – unless they have to use their EPPICards multiple times per month or they enter their EPPICard PINs incorrectly. One Fayetteville Observer reader reported that making more than two EPPICard cash payday withdrawals per month from his bank of choice (Wachovia) produced an “excess use” fee of $1.50. Entering an incorrect PIN generates an “ATM denial” fee of 50 cents. While these possible fees for EPPICard pay day advances are reportedly spelled out on the various state Employment Security Commission websites where EPPICard is used, it’s clear that the unemployed don’t need this kind of nickel and dime exploitation that’s passed off as “service.”

Charging the unemployed for state benefits

Larry Parker of North Carolina’s Employment Security Commission told the Observer that there are “plenty of ways” to use EPPICard without being charged additional fees for a quick payday. What he failed to mention is why consumers should be subjected to fees in the first place. How is it that state governments failed to negotiate the consumer exploitation elements out of their contracts with big banks?

Don’t call EPPICard on the phone, either

Calling EPPICard, of courses produces an additional charge. Currently, 19 states use the EPPICard cash payday system, and all of them have displeased consumers to some degree. As Personal Money Market has suggested before, perhaps a return to paper checks and direct deposit is indeed the way to go.

Sources:

Fayetteville Observer

Your EPPICard account isn’t locked. Don’t bite the phish-hook… (Editor’s Note: Buckle up, preaching ahead)

Haven’t we been through this before, with MySpace? There are ads out there begging people to click on them and download FacebookAgent. Supposedly FacebookAgent is free software that allows you to view people’s private Facebook pages.

Of course, we all know better than this. FacebookAgent is just another scam. By now, all of us have learned that “It can’t hurt just to click on it and see what it is” is a fallacy. It can hurt, and it will. I don’t know whether FacebookAgent is trying to steal your identity or give your computer a virus, but I do know that I’m not falling for it. Just like the need for mortgage loan restructuring spawned all kinds of financing scams, Facebook has been at the root of a lot of online scams.

Facebook pros and cons

Clearly, millions of people love Facebook, and it’s easy to see why. It’s a fast, easy form of communication for many. Finding friends from way back, staying in touch with people all over the world and playing games are just a few of the reasons people think Facebook is fabulous.

Unfortunately, there’s always someone out there who wants to ruin everyone’s good time. Facebook phishing scams try to steal people’s login information, and I’ve known a lot of people who have fallen prey to these. Usually it results in spam messages being sent out from their Facebook pages. However, the consequences can be much worse if you use the same password for your Facebook account and, say, your bank account.

Is FacebookAgent a blessing in disguise?

You know, I am a big fan of finding silver linings, and I suppose some good could come of this FacebookAgent business. The idea is to con people into downloading malware by offering them software that lets them look at people’s Facebook pages even if the owners of those Facebook pages don’t want them to. So probably a lot of online stalkers and other such creepy types have gotten their computers infected, which teaches us an important lesson: Don’t be an online stalker.

Sure, there are probably plenty of people out there who had innocent intentions when clicking on FacebookAgent. After all, we’ve all run into the scenario when we think we might know someone on Facebook but can’t tell by the picture and name alone. However, for those who wanted to use Facebook to pry into people’s lives without permission, FacebookAgent might give them what they deserve.

Always good advice

Of course, this FacebookAgent issue brings up an excellent point that can’t be reiterated enough: Don’t put anything on Facebook that you don’t want the whole world to see. Sure, you can control who you are friends with, you can set your page to private and hope that your boss doesn’t see you complaining about your job online, but why risk it?

A good rule of thumb is to assume that nothing online is private or anonymous. We’ve all read stories in the newspaper about why we shouldn’t put anything we don’t want potential employers, teachers or our parents to read. If you want to keep your private life private, just setting your Facebook page to “private” isn’t enough. Take a lesson from FacebookAgent and don’t put private information online.

If you have not yet heard about bank phishing (pronounced “fishing”) it is in your interest to find out about this scam. Phishing is a form of Internet banking fraud that criminals have found is an effective way of stealing, but it does not have the same risk of getting caught as street crime.

The phisher sends out scam e-mails designed to appear as if they come from a genuine bank. For example, you might find in your Inbox an e-mail saying that you are overdrawn by a certain amount and must contact the bank immediately. A link is provided to access additional information. Everything about the e-mail looks genuine. Is there not a good chance you will click on the link and find out what has happened to your account, or maybe you will opt to call the number provided?

That fateful click or call

What is going to happen if you click on this link or call the number listed? A click on the link takes you to a login site that appears, at first glance, to be the official Internet site of your bank. You enter your user name and password, and this information is added to the fraudster’s database. With some clever computer coding, you are then directed to the genuine bank Internet site where you find that you are not logged in. You need to login a second time to access your account. This is not an unusual situation and it is unlikely to arouse suspicion.

Meanwhile, your account details have fallen into criminal hands. In the time it takes you to find out what happened, they are already using your account details to withdraw money, try to take out loans and do other kinds of identity theft crime.

If you call the phone number included in the e-mail, it usually connects you to an operator employed by the phisher. This operator asks you for the personal details of interest to the fraud perpetrator.

Escaping from the Phisher’s clutches

Although the phishing scam operator does a good job imitating your bank’s web site, there are invariably a number of little mistakes which an alert bank customer can identify.

First of all, does your bank know your e-mail? In many cases, your bank does not have a record of your e-mail and so you know immediately that the e-mail is a fraud. Also, the URL supplied is won’t be exactly the URL of your bank. Look carefully for small spelling differences. Most people will not pay attention to these minor differences — you should make it your job to notice them.

A good rule to follow is never to click on a URL found in an e-mail  that says its from your bank. Access your bank’s web site only though the URL bookmarked in your Internet browser. Suspicious emails of this kind should be reported to the bank so appropriate legal action can be taken.