Identity Theft Resource Center

About the ITRC

Tue, 31 Dec 2013 13:48:07 PST

In This Issue

Thu, 16 May 2013 09:46:07 PST

• Make Time to Talk about Child Safety
• Protecting your Personal Information with P4s$w0rds!
• HTCIA Brings Cybercrime Prevention Resources to Local Communities
AND MORE!! Click Here

Phishing Attacks Resulting in Account Takeovers

Wed, 08 May 2013 09:53:37 PST

The Internet Crime Complaint Center has received numerous reports of phishing attacks targeting various telecommunication companies' customers. Individuals receive automated telephone calls that claim to be from the victim's telecommunication carrier. Victims are directed to a phishing site to receive a credit, discount, or prize ranging from $300 to $500. Click Here

419 Toyota Lottery Scam

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 13:40:51 PST

419 Toyota Lotto Scam poses as a letter from Toyota and tells the victim that they have won money and a car. Click Here

FBI Warns of Boston Marathon Scams

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 15:24:30 PST

The FBI is warning consumers of scam artists using the tragedy of the Boston Marathon to trick those who may want to help into giving up personal information. Click Here

ITRC Appears on Ricki Lake Show

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 14:04:20 PST

ITRC is excited to announce its participation on a recent "Identity Theft" episode of nationally televised Ricki Lake Show. The episode, which aired on April 8, 2013, focused on the growing problem of identity theft. Eva Velasquez, CEO of the ITRC, participated in the show by offering helpful ways viewers can protect their identity. Click Here

IRS Dirty Dozen of Tax Scams for 2013

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 10:32:52 PST

The latest IRS list of common scams taxpayers can encounter at any point during the year. Click Here

Identity Theft #1 Again

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 09:50:56 PST

Identity theft complaints continue to rank number one in the Federal Trade Commission's list of complaints, with a 32% increase over 2011. Of the 369,132 complaints reported in 2012, 46.4% involved issues with government documents or benefits fraud. This represents a drastic spike of nearly 70% over the same types of cases last year. Click here

Spear Phishing Goes Mobile

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 09:51:28 PST

Kaspersky Lab has identified a new spear-phishing attack involving a Trojan designed to target Android devices. Researcher Kurt Baumgartner says organizations need to be prepared for more mobile malware attacks.

The discovery is part of an emerging trend: spear phishing attacks using Trojans that can compromise not just mobile devices, but also the PCs or Macs to which these devices connect, he says. Click here for more

Protecting Your Data During a Natural Disaster

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 12:16:39 PST

Do you have important telephone numbers documented as part of an emergency communications plan? Is your data backed up? Do you a have family emergency plan?

Ready.gov has several resources to help individuals learn what to do before, during, and after a natural disaster. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

A Special Opportunity for ITRC Visitors

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 11:54:03 PST

Private Communications Corporation (PCC) was created because, like the ITRC, we take privacy – your privacy – seriously. Because PCC believes in the work the ITRC does, it would like to offer you the unique opportunity to protect your data online, anywhere in the world, at any time - click here for more.

Fed Ex Undelivered Email Scam

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 10:22:35 PST

Consumers are receiving emails that appear to be from Fed Ex notifying the recipient of an "undelivered package" The email then asks the receipient to visit a website. Click Here

FTC Warns of a Scam Email

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 10:56:32 PST

The Federal Trade Commission is warning small businesses that an email with a subject line "NOTIFICATION OF CONSUMER COMPLAINT" is not from the FTC. Click Here

New Retail Breach Tied to Global Fraud

Sun, 13 Jan 2013 14:50:09 PST

Sam Imandoust, ITRC's legal analyst, addresses recent network hack affecting Arizona-based supermarket chain Bashas' Family of Stores. See article by Tracy Kitten in BankInfoSecurity Click here

FraudAvengers.org Newsletter

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 11:10:20 PST

FraudAvengers.org has released their April newsletter!

The theme of the newsletter is Financial Literacy. Click on the image to read the newsletter

Eva Velasquez Interviewed on 2013 Top Trends

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 11:49:30 PST

The ITRC's own Eva Velasquez was interviewed by "BankInfo Security" about ID Theft: 2013 Top Trends. Click Here.

Breaches 2013

Sun, 30 Dec 2012 15:05:46 PST

As of May 21, 2013 the ITRC has reported 243 breaches for 2013. The ITRC has been tracking breaches since 2005 and updates these reports weekly.

Top 13 Things Taxpayers Should Know

Sat, 29 Dec 2012 11:33:25 PST

The IRS/ITRC Solution 34 - Top 13 Things Every Taxpayer Should Know about Identity Theft - was provided to

the ITRC by the IRS Office of Identity Protection. This, along with the new IRS/ITRC Fact Sheet 143, gives the consumer or victim a comprehensive look Click here

Social Security Announces New Online Services Available

Fri, 28 Dec 2012 16:16:59 PST

"More than 60 million Social Security beneficiaries and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients can now access their benefit verification letter, payment history, and earnings record instantly using their online account...." Click Here

IC3 Most Popular Passwords of 2012

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 14:42:09 PST

SplashData.com recently published the following information regarding the most popular 2012 passwords on the web. The ranking was based on password information from compromised accounts posted by hackers online. Click Here

ITRC Welcomes a New President/CEO

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 08:55:21 PST

The Identity Theft Resource Center has just announced the appointment of Eva Casey Velasquez as its new President/CEO.

Pay Day Loan Scams Affecting Emergency Services

Tue, 25 Dec 2012 15:24:50 PST

Reports of pay day loan phone scams have been occurring for the last three years or more. The scam involves victims being relentlessly contacted at their residences and places of employment regarding claims they are delinquent on a payday loan. Various coercion techniques have been used by the subjects in an attempt to persuade the victim to send money.... Click Here

CFPB Halts Alleged Mortgage Scams

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 11:05:10 PST

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has announced actions to halt two alleged mortgage loan modification scams it believes ripped-off thousands of struggling homeowners across the country. In total, these operations took in more than $10 million by charging consumers for services that falsely promised to prevent foreclosures or renegotiate troubled mortgages. CLICK TO READ MORE

Web Wise Kids Teaches Online Safety

Sat, 08 Dec 2012 13:52:03 PST

Check out Web Wise Kids! A great site with games and videos teaching kids and parents how to be safe online. Click Here!

IKeepSafe.org Educates K-12

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 14:36:09 PST

IKeepSafe.org offers their awesome Be A Pro program, educating K-12 about being safe and smart online. Click Here.

Justice Department Raises Awareness of Disaster Fraud Hotline

Fri, 02 Nov 2012 13:19:41 PST

The Department of Justice, the FBI and the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) remind the public there is a potential for disaster fraud in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Suspected fraudulent activity pertaining to relief efforts should be reported to the NCDF hotline at 866-720-5721. The hotline is staffed by a live operator 24/7, for the purpose of reporting suspected scams being perpetrated by criminals in the aftermath of disasters. Click Here for More Information

IRS Says beware of fraudulent look alike Websites

Fri, 02 Nov 2012 10:45:41 PST

"IRS spokesman David Tucker said a scam involving look-alike websites is making the rounds, seeking identity theft victims."The new tax scam uses a website that mimics the IRS e-Services online registration page," he said. "The actual IRS e-Services page offers web-based products to tax preparers, not the general public. The phony web page looks almost identical to the real one." Read More at the Times Herald Online

IC3 Scam Alert: Pay Day Loan Scams

Thu, 01 Nov 2012 09:49:38 PST

"The IC3 has received thousands of complaints regarding pay day loan scams over the last three years and continues to see new variations of the scam. The scam involves victims who are relentlessly contacted, via the telephone...Click here for more

FBI Fraud Alert

Sat, 20 Oct 2012 14:49:09 PST

Banks Warned of Cyber Threat by FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center, and the Internet Crime Complaint Center have jointly issued a Fraud Alert to financial institutions warning them of alarming trends in unauthorized wire transfers overseas in amounts ranging from $400,000 to $900,000. The Fraud Alert explains ... read more

Public Wifi Survey Whitepaper Released

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 15:10:36 PST

Identity Theft and Public WiFi Linked in Consumer Minds
The ITRC has just published a whitepaper containing the results of its Public WiFi Usage Survey, which aimed to measure the level of knowledge and usage of public WiFi. Click here for more information.

ITRC Monthly Case Load

Mon, 20 Aug 2012 09:16:21 PST

March 2013 ITRC Victim and Consumer Contacts: 773
Total 2013 y-t-d Contacts: 2,372

IRS Unveils ID Theft Program

Sun, 24 Jun 2012 13:40:49 PST

The IRS has implemented a new pilot program designed to aid law enforcement in obtaining tax return data to help investigate and prosecute specific cases of identity theft. This program is currently limited to coordinated efforts within the state of Florida.

How it works: State and local law enforcement officials with evidence of identity theft involving fraudulently filed federal tax returns will have the victims complete a special IRS disclosure form - Click here for more

ITRaC News

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 14:59:06 PST

ITRaC News is the ITRC quarterly e-newsletter. This newsletter covers: What's New, latest scams, news releases, product information, Guest Authors, various articles about identity theft, legislative updates and more. Click here for 2012 Q4

Check Fraud Still a Problem

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:40:04 PST

So much attention has been paid to emerging banking technology, but it is still important to banks to pay attention to check fraud.

BankInfoSecurity.com tells us that check fraud remains one of the top threats in their Faces Fraud survey 2012. Click on the image to read the whole story.

My Free ChildScan

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 12:55:14 PST

A child is an easy target for identity thieves because the crime can go undetected for years. Now parents have a safe and secure way to determine

if someone is using their child’s Social Security number. Click on image