CAR KEYS BESIDE YOUR BED
Credit Card Fraud
Do Not Call Email Spam Holiday Shopping Tips
Identity Theft
Jury Duty Scam Stroke
ID Tax Tips
Telephone Scams
Posted 5/3/2009 This is excellent information about spammers!
Here is something everyone should read and take the advice. By now, I suspect everyone is familiar with www.snopes.com and/or www.truthorfiction. com for determining whether information received via email is just that: true/false or fact/fiction. Both are excellent sites. I received the advice below from one of my correspondents today.
Advice from Snopes.com MEMORIZE THIS!
1) Any time you see an E-Mail that says forward this on to '10' of your friends, sign this petition, or you'll get bad luck, good luck, or whatever, it almost always has an E-Mail tracker program attached that tracks the cookies and E-Mails of those folks you forward to. The host sender is getting a copy each h time it gets forwarded and then is able to get list s of 'active' E-Mails addresses to use in SPAM E- Mails, or sell to other spammers.
2) Almost all E-Mails that ask you to add your name and forward on to others are similar to that mass letter years ago that asked people to send business cards to t he little kid in Florida who wanted to break the Guinness Book of Records for the most cards. All it was, and all any of this type of E-Mail is, is a way to get names and 'cookie'
tracking information for telemarketers and spammers - - to validate active E-Mail accounts for their own profitable purposes.
You can do your friend s and family members a GREAT favor by sending this information to them; you will be providing a service to your friends, and will be rewarded by not getting thousands of spam E-Mails in the future!
If you have been sending out (FORWARDING) the above kinds of E-Mail, now you know why you get so much SPAM!
Do yourself a favor and STOP adding your name(s) to those types of listings regardless how inviting they might sound!
You may think you are supporting a GREAT cause, but you are NOT in the long run. Instead, you will be getting tons of junk mail later! Plus, we are helping the spammers get rich! Let's don't make it easy for them!
Also: E-Mail petitions are NOT acceptable to Congress or any other organization. To be acceptable, petitions must have a signed signature and full address of the person signing the petition.
Read the full story here: http://www.snopes. com/inboxer/ petition/ internet. .asp
Columbus Division of Police
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Citizen Alert |
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Holiday Shopping Safety Tips The holiday shopping season has officially started! The Columbus Division of Police is offering the following safety tips:
· Carry no more cash than absolutely necessary. If you are carrying cash, safeguard your money by carrying it in your front pocket. Never display a large amount of cash. If possible, pay by check, credit card or debit card.
· Take an inventory of your purse or wallet. Write down the phone numbers of your credit card providers. Carry the phone numbers separate from your purse or wallet. Notify the credit card issuer immediately if your credit card is lost, stolen or misused. Keep a record of all your credit card numbers in a safe place at home.
· Avoid wearing expensive jewelry.
· Try to avoid carrying a purse or wallet. If you must carry a wallet, place it in your front pocket. If you are carrying a purse, carry it securely across your body. Never leave your purse unattended, open in a shopping cart, or on a counter.
· Always carry your driver’s license or identification card with you. Do not carry anything with you that you will not need. (I.e. social security card or extra credit cards you do not plan on using.)
· Shop in pairs or with a group.
· Don’t leave cell phones, purses, CD cases or other items of value in your vehicle where they can be seen. Always conceal items of value.
· Lock purchased merchandise in the trunk of your vehicle.
· Park in a well lit area and lock your vehicle. If you valet park, only leave the ignition key. Take your other keys with you.
· If you place your packages in the trunk and plan on more shopping, consider moving your vehicle to another location.
· Stay alert to your surroundings. Criminals step up their activities during the holidays. If you are approached by a stranger with a deal that sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Report any suspicious activity to the police at 645-4545.
· Report thefts immediately, no matter how insignificant. Police use crime reports to determine how to better serve the public.
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Credit Card Fraud Do Not Call Gas Prices Identify Theft Jury Duty Scam Sex Offenders Stroke ID
PUT YOUR CAR KEYS BESIDE YOUR BED AT NIGHT
Tell your spouse, your children, your neighbors, your
parents, your Dr's office, the check-out girl at the market, everyone you run across.
Put your car keys beside your bed at night. If you hear a noise outside
your
home or someone trying to get in your house, just press the panic button
for
your car. The alarm will be set off, and the horn will continue to sound
until either you turn it off or the car battery dies.
This tip came from a neighborhood watch coordinator. Next time you come
home
for the night and you start to put your keys away, think of this:
It's a security alarm system that you probably already have and requires
no
installation. Test it. It will go off from most everywhere inside your
house
and will keep honking until your battery runs down or until you reset it
with the button on the key fob chain. It works if you park in your
driveway
or garage If your car alarm goes off when someone is trying to break into
your house, odds are the burglar rapist won't stick around... After a few
seconds all the neighbors will be looking out their windows to see who is
out there and sure enough the criminal won't want that. And remember to
carry your keys while walking to your car in a parking lot. The alarm can
work the same way there ..... This is something that should really be
shared
with everyone. Maybe it could save a life or a sexual abuse crime.
P.S. I am sending this to everyone I know because I think it is fantastic.
Would also be useful for any emergency, such as a heart attack, where you
can't reach a phone. My Mom has suggested to my Dad that he carry his car
keys with him in case he falls outside and she doesn't hear him. He can
activate the car alarm and then she'll know there's a problem.
Please pass this on even IF you've read it before. It's a reminder.
2. Scams Related to the Economic Stimulus Payment
3. Fuel Tax Credit Scams
The IRS is receiving claims for the fuel tax credit that are unreasonable. Some taxpayers, such as farmers who use fuel for off-highway business purposes, may be eligible for the fuel tax credit. But some individuals are claiming the tax credit for nontaxable uses of fuel when their occupation or income level makes the claim unreasonable. Fraud involving the fuel tax credit was recently added to the list of frivolous tax claims, potentially subjecting those who improperly claim the credit to a $5,000 penalty.
People can register their home and cell phone
numbers or file complaints
www.donotcall.gov or 1-888-382-1222
Protect your family. Protect your community. Registered sex offenders near you.
When you visit this site you can enter your address and a map will pop up with your house as the small icon of a house. Red, blue, green, dots will surround your entire neighborhood. When you click on these dots, a picture of a person will appear with an address and the description of the crime he or she had committed. The best thing is that you can show your children pictures and see how close these people live to your home or school.
This site was developed by John Walsh from Americas Most Wanted. It is another tool to help us keep our kids safe.
This ISN'T a joke…worth watching. (Yes, the sheriff's shirt is a couple of sizes too large but the message is for real)
Ladies, please watch this purse thief in
action
http://video.sheriff.org/psa_cartheft.shtml
All cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing
companies and you will start to receive sale calls. YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR
THESE CALLS.
To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone:
888-382-1222 or go to
www.donotcall.gov
ATTORNEY'S ADVICE-----NO CHARGE
AVOID CREDIT CARD FRAUD
A corporate attorney sent the following out to the employees in his
company.
1. The next time you order checks have only your initials (instead of
first name) and last name put on them. If someone takes your checkbook, they
will not know if you sign your checks with just your initials or your first
name, but your bank will know how you sign your checks.
2. Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead, put "PHOTO ID
REQUIRED."
3. When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, DO
NOT put the complete account number on the "For" line. Instead, just put
the last four numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the
number, and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes
through all the check-processing channels will not have access to it.
4. Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home phone. If you
have a PO Box, use that instead of your home address. If you do not have a
PO Box, use your works address. Never have your SS# printed on your checks,
(DUH!). You can add it if it is necessary. However, if you have it printed,
anyone can get it.
5. Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Do both sides
of each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in your
wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and
cancel. Keep the photocopy in a safe place. Also carry a photocopy of your
passport when traveling either here or abroad. We have all heard horror stories
about fraud that is committed on us in stealing a name, address, Social
Security number, credit cards.
6. When you check out of a hotel that uses cards for keys (and they all
seem to do that now), do not turn the "keys" in. Take them with you and destroy
them. Those little cards have on them all of the information you gave the hotel,
including address and credit card numbers and expiration dates. Someone
with a card reader, or employee of the hotel, can access all that
information with no problem whatsoever.
Unfortunately, as an attorney, I have first hand knowledge because my
wallet was stolen last month. Within a week, the thieve(s) ordered an
expensive monthly cell phone package, applied for a VISA credit card, had
a credit line approved to buy a Gateway computer and received a PIN number
from DMV to change my driving record information online. Here is some
critical information to limit the damage in case this happens to you or
someone you know:
1. We have been told we should cancel our credit cards immediately. The
key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers handy so you
know whom to call. Keep those where you can find them.
2. File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where your credit
cards, etc., were stolen. This proves to credit providers you were
diligent, and this is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever
is one). However, here is what is perhaps most important of all (I
never even thought to do this.)
3. Call the three national credit reporting organizations immediately to
place a fraud alert on your name and Social Security number. I had never
heard of doing that until advised by a bank that called to tell me an
application for credit was made over the Internet in my name. The alert
means any company that checks your credit knows your information was
stolen, and they have to contact you by phone to authorize new credit. By
the time I was advised to do this, almost two weeks after the theft,
all the damage had been done. There are records of all the credit
checks initiated by the thieves' purchases! None of which I knew about
before placing the alert. Since then, no additional damage has been done,
and the thieves threw my wallet away this weekend (someone turned it in).
It seems to have stopped them dead in their tracks.
Now, here are the numbers you always need to contact about your wallet
and contents being stolen:
1.) Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
2.) Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742
3.) TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289
4.) Social Security Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271
IDENTITY THEFT PREVENTION
CREDIT REPORTING COMPANIES
Order a copy of your credit report. An amendment to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act requires each of the major nationwide consumer reporting companies to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months. To order your free annual report from one or all the national consumer reporting companies, visit www.annualcreditreport.com, call toll-free 877-322-8228 or complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to :
Annual Credit Report Request Service
P. O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281
You can print the form from ftc.gov/credit If you ask, only the last 4 digits of your Social Security number will appear on your credit report.
Equifax 800-685-1111
Eperian 888-397-3742
TransUnion 800-916-8800
Trooper Timothy A. Root, Officer of Investigative Services
troot@dps.state.oh.us
614-752-4527
JURY DUTY SCAM
Please pass this on to everyone in your email address book.
It is spreading fast so be prepared should you get this call.
Most of us take those summons for jury duty seriously, but enough people
skip out on their civic duty, that a new and ominous kind of scam has
surfaced. Fall for it and your identity could be stolen, reports CBS.
In this con, someone calls pretending to be a court official who
threateningly says a warrant has been issued for your arrest because you
didn't show up for jury duty. The caller claims to be a jury coordinator.
If you protest that you never received a summons for jury duty, the scammer
asks you for your Social Security number and date of birth so he or she can
verify the information and cancel the arrest warrant. Sometimes they even
ask for credit card numbers. Give out any of this information and bingo!
Your identity just got stolen.
The scam has been reported so far in 11 states, including Oklahoma,
Illinois, and Colorado.
This (scam) is particularly insidious because they use intimidation over the
phone to try to bully people into giving information by pretending they're
with the court system.
The FBI and the federal court system have issued nationwide alerts on their
web sites, warning consumers about the fraud.
Check it out here: http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/juryduty.asp
