This week we again adapt a post from a favorite resource–The FTC Identity Theft Blog.  In a September 1st blog, Andrew Johnson Division of Consumer and Business Education warns about the latest scammers posing as IRS agents calling with an issue.

Johnson’s advice–Don’t panic. And don’t return the call. It’s a scam.

Here are a few facts about the IRS to keep in mind if you get a similar call:

(1) If the IRS needs to contact you, they’ll do it by mail first.
(2) The IRS won’t demand personal information like credit card or Social Security numbers over the phone.
(3) The IRS won’t threaten to arrest or sue you, or demand that you pay right away.

(4)The IRS also won’t tell you to use a specific form of payment like a money transfer from MoneyGram or Western Union, a cash reload from MoneyPak or Reloadit, or a gift card from iTunes or Amazon. Scammers ask you to use those ways to pay because they’re hard to track or cancel payments.

If you or someone you know receives a call like this, report it the FTC and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). Include the caller’s phone number, along with any details you have. If you’re not sure whether a call is really from the IRS, you can double-check by calling the IRS directly at 1-800-829-1040. For more, check out this IRS imposter scams infographic.

Share with friends and family. They may get the call next.

For more on best practices to deter Identity theft, please visit www.legalshred.com

The recent issue of Consumer Reports provided valuable tips on Medical Identity Theft.  According to the Ponemon Institute, a private security research firm, an estimated 481,657 new cases of medical identity theft were reported between 2013 and 2014, an increase of almost 22 percent.

To lower your risk, here are a few tips:

(1) Get copies of your medical records and add new information each time you receive treatment.  If your records are corrupted by a thief, you’ll have proof they were altered.

(2) Check your medical records at least once annually.

(3) Read every explanation of benefits (EOB).  If you notice anything fishy, call about it right away.

(4) Be careful with your Social Security Numer and Insurance ID number.  Only share when absolutely necessary.

(5) Never share your health data or personal information over the phone or via email unless you’re sure who you are communicating with.

(6) Ask your healthcare providers how they safeguard your information.

For more on identity theft protection best practices please visit www.legalshred.com

This week’s blog is adapted from a great resource we recommend–The Identity Theft Resource Center.  The days are getting shorter and Labor Day is 2 weeks away, so we turn our attention to the start of a new school year as a very busy time for both students and families and a perfect time for scammers to catch us off guard. With so much to do—registration forms, back to school supply shopping, even moving into a college dorm or apartment—it’s easy for something less than honest to slip in.

For younger students, one of the main culprits at this time of year is identity theft. Child identity theft has been rising steadily in the past few years because their credit scores are “clean slates,” and most parents never think to check their kids’ credit reports for signs of unusual activity. At the same time, everywhere you look, someone is requesting your child’s Social Security number, whether it’s a doctor’s office for a school checkup, a sports physical form for activities, or even the registration forms for the school itself.

No matter who is requesting your child’s personal identifiable information, you have to stop and ask yourself some key questions. Why do they need the SSN? How will they safeguard it, and who else can see it? How will it be stored so that no one in the school or doctor’s office can access it? If you don’t get solid information on those questions, think twice about handing it over.

Many of the back to school scams actually target older students, though, simply because they’re an easy target. College students who’ve left home for the first time might not be as prepared to spot a fraud attempt, and they have very specific needs now that they’re on their own. Scammers are prepared to act in a variety of ways, including:

1. Work from home scams – College students are often broke, but with limited time on their hands and the demands of an academic schedule to shoulder, work from home opportunities might sound ideal. But most of these offers are not genuine. It’s that old “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is”.

2. Textbook rental scams – As sad as it is to say, there are people waiting to steal money from students who already don’t have much to spare. One prime example are textbook rental scams. These scams work because many schools and retailers do offer the option to pay to use your textbooks instead of buying them at full cost. Unfortunately, there are also scammers who set up fake websites or send out mailers, offering you every possible textbook but requiring a “registration fee,” money to secure the rental, or some other plausible fee.

3. Online selling scams – Websites like eBay and Craig’s List are very helpful when it comes to buying or selling items that you no longer need. Unfortunately, there are a lot of scammers ready to cash in on the fact that college students might have a sudden need for an entire household of products: furniture, a bicycle to get around campus, a refrigerator for the dorm, and more.

Whenever you’re shopping through a legitimate used goods or direct-buy website or app, do your homework, be smart about your physical safety, and make sure you’re not being scammed. Never pay up front for the items or via money transfer, and only meet the seller in a public location; if in doubt about the offer, walk away.

No matter what time of year it is–the message is we need to stay on guard.

For more on identity theft protection, please visit www.legalshred.com

A recent blog on the FTC’s Consumer Advocacy website reminds us not just to be mindful of protecting our confidential information from hackers, but also from being lost in the midst of a natural disaster. While home is where most people feel safe and comfortable- when a hurricane, flood, tornado, wildfire, or other disaster strikes — it’s safest to pack up and go to another location.

When it comes to preparing for situations like weather emergencies, financial readiness is as important as a flashlight with fully charged batteries. Leaving your home can be stressful, but knowing that your financial documents are up-to-date, in one place, and portable can make a big difference at a tense time.

Steps to take to ensure financial readiness in case of an emergency include:

Conduct a Household Inventory-

Make a list of emergency contacts including family members who live outside your area; copies of current prescriptions; health insurance cards; policy #s for insurance companies as well as contact information; copies of important documents including the deed to the house, birth certificates, social security cards, passports and the like. Make a list of phone numbers or email addresses of your creditors, financial institutions, landlords, and utility companies (sewer, water, gas, electric, telephone, cable) a list of bank, loan, credit card, mortgage, lease, debit and ATM, investment account numbers, SS cards and backups of financial data your keep on your computer; also a good idea to have an extra set of keys for your house, your car, and your safe deposit box, and a small amount of cash.

Consider renting a safe deposit box for originals of deeds, titles, and other ownership records for your home, cars, RVs, or boats credit, lease, and other financial and payment agreements birth certificates, naturalization papers, and Social Security cards marriage license/divorce papers and child custody papers passports and military papers (if you need these regularly, you could place the originals in your fireproof box and a copy in your safe deposit box). Also include investment papers and your living will and health proxy.

Choose an Out-of-Town Contact

Ask an out-of-town friend or relative to be the point of contact for your family, and make sure everyone in your family has the information. After some emergencies, it can be easier to make a long distance call than a local one.

Update Your Information

Review the contents of your household inventory, your fireproof box, safe deposit box, and the information for your out-of-town contact at least once a year.

For more on best practices for maintaining and protecting confidential information, please visit www.hvshred.com

Repetition it key to education.  That in mind, as we embark on the second half of 2016, we’d like to use this week’s blog to review the basics on identity theft protection best practices:

1. Mobile device security – In our connected world, mobile devices account for a lot of our daily activities. Unfortunately, our smartphones and tablets are also wide-open gateways for a hacker to steal our identities. Make sure the apps you use are coming from trusted sources, not unregistered content publishers from third-party or aftermarket app vendors. When you’re out in public, protect your identity and conserve your battery by turning off the wifi to your device;  it will keep you from accidentally connecting to a network without intending to. If you do need to get online while away from home, remember to save the sensitive activity—like online banking—for a time when you’re connected to a trusted network.

2. Privacy at home – Your home technology is every bit as vulnerable as it’s always been, which is why it’s important to install software that will protect you from malware and viruses. It’s also crucial that you password protect your home internet connection to keep outsiders from accessing it. If someone accesses your network without authorization, (s)he could do damage within your connected computers as well as use your internet address to break the law.

3. Be scam-savvy – One of the easiest ways to steal someone’s identity with very little technological know-how is to get them to fall for a scam. That’s why it’s important to make sure you, your family members, and your coworkers are up-to-date on the latest scams.

4. Be on the lookout – One of the most important steps you can take to prevent identity theft damage is to monitor your credit reports regularly. You are entitled to one free report each year from each of the top three credit reporting agencies. If you stagger those requests—receive on in January, one in May, and on in September, for example—you’ll get an ongoing look at the state of your credit. Be sure to report any suspicious activity as soon as you discover it, and place fraud alerts and freezes on any accounts that may have been compromised.

5. Safeguard yourself old school – Remember, high-tech hacking and data breaches are only part of the problem. The old methods that don’t require anything more than a willingness to steal are still viable. That means dumpster diving is a still a threat, as is mailing bills from your home address. Be sure to shred all of your important, identifying documents before you discard them, and mail your bills from the nearest post office drop box instead of leaving them at the curb with the flag up.

It’s not a fail safe but taking these steps will help.  To stay up on identity theft best practices, please keep checking for our updates on www.hvshred.com