Criminals who commit identity theft have become very sophisticated. As per IBM’s X-Force Trend and Risk Report bogus e-mails sending a person to a bogus website also known as phishing is growing. It doesn’t stop there unfortunately. There have been a rise in net server break ins. Not surprisingly the same is true for mobile phones since many individuals have foregone the home phone line and only utilize their mobile.
Whichever kind of telephone someone uses, identity thieves have a scam for it. They do not always have to hack into it either. Talking to you often times produces the best results simply because it plays on a number of feelings as well as the urgency of the circumstances. Examples of these are
1. You Owe The Internal Revenue Service
Very few things can scare you like a phone call from the IRS. The identity thief states that something was wrong with your tax information from this year or previous ones. If you want to stop an audit, a severe fiscal penalty or going to jail it is critical that you do as the bogus representative instructs you.
They make the bet that after saying all of this you will be to scared to do anything else. And that means you proceed to supply them with as much information as is possible.
2. You Missed Jury Duty
There is a bench warrant for your arrest. You had jury duty on such a day yet failed to show up. Saying you never got a summons of any kind doesn’t work. Law enforcement officials are on their way to your house right now. They ask to verify some information. After doing that they tell you that they are going to double check and then call you back later.
3. The Process Servers
This can be in the form of a court subpoena or an alleged debt. Like the IRS and jury duty scam, the scammer is quite pushy. This notice needs to be sent to you immediately so they need to check your home address as well as make sure you will be there. To your temporary comfort the street address doesn’t match and so they decide to verify the social.
4. Congrats You Won
It’s a classic routine nonetheless it can still get the job done. Particularly on older folks considered to be one of the segments most victimized by identity thieves. You’ve won a sweepstakes of some kind. The award will be delivered to you right away but to start with the “agent” needs you to provide answers to the following questions.
- 4 Ways Crooks Use To Acquire Your Personal Identity By Phone - August 24, 2012