{"id":292,"date":"2014-01-22T12:20:16","date_gmt":"2014-01-22T17:20:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ClevelandMomsRock.com\/?p=292"},"modified":"2014-01-22T12:20:16","modified_gmt":"2014-01-22T17:20:16","slug":"protect_your_family_from_fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clevelandmomsrock.com\/index.php\/2014\/01\/22\/protect_your_family_from_fraud\/","title":{"rendered":"If You Think It's a Scam, It's a Scam."},"content":{"rendered":"

Protect You and Your Family From Fraud.<\/span><\/h2>\n

If you get a phone call, letter or an email that you won a foreign lottery or someone you don’t know wants to send you a check, it is a scam. Cons artists work on volume and technology allows criminals to target millions of Americans and find out a tremendous amount of information about their victims. It cost criminals nearly nothing to send millions of emails and make tens of thousands of phone calls.<\/span><\/h2>\n

If you get a call, e-mail, or letter that you won a prize and all you need to do is mail or wire a few dollars to collect your prize or winning, this is what is recommended you do:<\/span><\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. \n

    Hang up the phone or don’t open the email. (Doing so is smart, not rude). Don’t give anyone any personal information over the phone or through e-mail if the offer sounds too good to be true.<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n
  2. \n

    Never send or wire money to claim a “prize.”<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n
  3. \n

    Do not open links in suspicious emails (and make sure you have Virus Protection<\/span><\/a>\"\")<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Here are 5 simple steps you can take to protect your identity and money:<\/span><\/h2>\n
      \n
    1. \n

      Check credit reports.<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n
    2. \n

      Use difficult to crack Passwords online (and not the same one for every account). Use a password app like, 1Password<\/a>\u00a0or LastPass.<\/a><\/span><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n
    3. \n

      Use a credit card, not a debit card for purchases. Unlike with a debit card, with a credit card money is not immediately taken out of your account and it is easier to cancel purchases criminals have made with your stolen card.<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n
    4. \n

      \u00a0Buy and use a Paper Shredder<\/span><\/a>\"\"\u00a0for your confidential documents.<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n
    5. \n

      Learn to recognize fraudulent offers and trust your gut. If it sounds too good to be true, it is.<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      We also recommend that you monitor your account for incidents of fraud and identify theft, including regularly reviewing your account statements and monitoring free credit reports. You can periodically obtain credit reports from each nationwide credit reporting agency. Under federal law, you are entitled to one free copy of your credit report every 12 months from each of the three nationwide credit reporting agencies. You may obtain a free copy of your credit report by going to www.AnnualCreditReport.com or by calling (877) 322-8228. You may contact the nationwide credit reporting agencies at:<\/span><\/h2>\n

      Equifax \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Exprerian \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0TransUnion<\/span>
      \n P.O. Box 740241 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 P.O. Box 9532 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0P.O. Box 6790<\/span>
      \n Atlanta, GA 30374-0241 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Allen, TX 75013 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Fullerton, CA 92834<\/span><\/p>\n

      (800) 525-6285 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0(888) 397-3742 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0(800) 680-7289<\/span><\/p>\n

      www.equifax.com \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0www.experian.com \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 www.transunion.com<\/span><\/p>\n

      If you discover any suspicious or unusual activity on your account or suspect identity theft or fraud, you should report it immediately to:<\/span><\/h2>\n
        \n
      1. \n

        Report fraud to the authorities.<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n
      2. \n

        Close the affected account.<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n
      3. \n

        Notify your bank.<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n
      4. \n

        Change your online passwords.<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n
      5. \n

        Place a fraud alert on your credit report. There are three nationwide credit agency. As soon as that agency processes your fraud alert, it will notify the other two agencies.<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n
      6. \n

        Notify any business involved such as a wire transfer service, phone company, etc.<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        To learn more, you can go to the FTC\u2019s website, at www.consumer.gov\/idtheft, or call the FTC at (877) IDTHEFT (438-4338).<\/span><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Protect You and Your Family From Fraud. If you get a phone call, letter or an email that you won<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7603,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4NId2-4I","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":263,"url":"https:\/\/clevelandmomsrock.com\/index.php\/2013\/11\/04\/holiday_cards\/","url_meta":{"origin":292,"position":0},"title":"It is time to send holiday cards!","author":"Cleveland Moms Like You","date":"November 4, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"How to save money and get your Holiday cards in the mail quick. 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