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Better Business Bureau Releases Top Scams of 2020

5/31/2020

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According to the Better Business Bureau, the following were some of the Top Scams of 2020.  Many are new twists on existing scams, but scammers become more sophisticated every year in how they spoof trusted brands and how they fool consumers.

  1. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) – Scammers are posing as IRS agents claim you owe back taxes and threaten lawsuits and arrest if payment is not sent immediately.  Keep in mind, the IRS does not make threatening phone calls.
  2. Sweepstakes/Lottery/Prizes – Winning the sweepstakes, dream vacation, large amounts of money, a new car, shopping spree or new technology sounds great especially if you didn’t enter to win.  Remember, you should never have to pay fees for winning a prize.  You will also never win a lottery you never entered.
  3. Phishing/Smishing -  You receive an email or text telling you that you’ve won a contest, a business or someone posing as an official at your place of employments needs to verify your personal information, such as you Social Security number.  Never click on links or open attachments for unsolicited emails and never provide personal information without first verifying the source.
  4. Advance Fee Loan – Advance fee lenders charge an upfront fee and will “guarantee” you a loan despite your credit history and chances are you won’t get your money back.  Legitimate financial organizations will always check your credit history.  A lender who isn’t interested in your credit history is an immediate red flag.
  5. “Can You Hear Me?” – You get a call from someone who almost immediately asks “Can you hear me?”  Their goal is to get you to answer “Yes,” which most people would do instinctively in that situation.  But in fact, the “person” may just be a robot call recording your conversation…and that “Yes” answer you gave can later be edited to make it should like you authorized a major purchase.  If someone calls and asks “Can you hear me?”, do NOT answer “Yes.”  Just hang up.
​These scams are designed to either steal your money nor, or steal your identity now in order to steal your money later.
 


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Protect Yourself from Telemarketing Fraud

1/31/2018

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How do you know if a telemarketing call is a scam?  That friendly voice on the phone may belong to an honest person who is just trying to make a sale or a crook who wants to trick you out of your money.
 
One tip-off is if the call violates your telemarketing rights.  Legitimate companies usually follow the rules, scammers don’t.  Is an unfamiliar company calling you even though your phone number is on the National Do Not Call Registry?  Is it a recorded sales pitch when you never gave the company written permission to make that type of “robocall” to you?  Is the company’s number blocked on your Caller ID? 
 
Other danger signs of telemarketing fraud include:
  • Pressure to act immediately or you’ll lose this great opportunity
  • Promises that you can make easy money working from home
  • Offers to help you get a loan, fix your credit record, settle your debts, save your home from foreclosure or recover money you’ve already lost to a scan, if you pay a fee in advance
  • Requests that you pay a fee or enter a sweepstake or lottery or send money for taxes, bonding, or legal expenses to claim your winners.  It’s also a danger sign if a prize is being offered as part of a sales pitch and the telemarketer doesn’t tell you that no purchase is necessary.
 
Another clue that it’s a scam is how you’re asked to pay.  Fraudsters usually want to get paid fast and in cash – they don’t want to wait for your check to clear or to have payments go through credit cards.  If a telemarketer has money transfer as the only method of payment it accepts, it’s probably a scam!
 
Crooks are also taking advantage of prepaid cell phones, internet phone service, Caller ID “spoofing” and other technologies to mask who and where they are.  That’s one more reason why its’s so important to recognize telemarketing fraud.  Money sent to scammers is often gone for good.  Learn more about how to protect yourself from telemarketing fraud and other scams at www.consumerfed.org/fraud.
 
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meeting of the Bay Ridge Colonial Club

11/18/2017

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Peter Killen discussing the Brooklyn Consumer Federation at the luncheon meeting of the Bay Ridge Colonial Club.

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Credit Unions Demand Jury Trial in Lawsuits Against Equifax

10/16/2017

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Lawsuit Underscores Importance of CFPB Forced Arbitration Rulemaking
​
October 16, 2017  |  Press Release

Washington, D.C. – In the wake of the massive data breach at Equifax, which exposed sensitive personal information of the majority of American adults, small financial institutions have filed class action lawsuits against Equifax to recover financial harms related to the breach.

The first lawsuit, led by Summit Credit Union, details the significant financial costs that will be incurred by small financial institutions due to the Equifax breach. The second lawsuit, led by Bank of Louisiana, Aventa Credit Union, and First Choice Federal Credit Union, alleges that Equifax violated federal law.

“By teaming up with others, credit unions stand a better shot at taking on a big company that harmed them,” said Michael Best, Director of Advocacy Outreach at CFA. “Unfortunately, consumers are often thwarted from the same opportunity to be heard in front of a jury of their peers.”

Small financial institutions regularly group together to recoup losses from massive data breaches. For example, banks filed class action lawsuits against Target and Home Depot. However, when consumers seek to take on large financial companies like Equifax as a group, those companies exercise “forced arbitration” clauses that eliminate a consumer’s choice about how to resolve their claim.

“Credit unions understand firsthand that the ability of smaller entities to band together in court is crucial to address misconduct of more powerful bad actors like Equifax,” said Christine Hines, Legislative Director at the National Association of Consumer Advocates. “That’s why the CFPB issued its arbitration rule to restore this right for consumers.”

Under a new rule finalized by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, consumers can still be subject to forced arbitration, but they cannot be restricted from joining together with other consumers in group claims, including class action lawsuits.

When consumers have disputes with credit unions, credit unions typically offer them a choice on how to pursue their claim. According to data from the CFPB, 97% of credit unions do not force consumers into arbitration in their credit card agreements, while 60% of large banks did. According to the National Association of Federal Credit Unions, these forced arbitration arrangements are of “limited value.” The organization also wrote to Congress that making arbitration voluntary leads to the best results.

Large banks are currently pressuring Congress to overturn the CFPB’s new rule that restores choice to consumers. Just as small credit unions should have the right to group together to recover losses from Equifax, advocates for consumers and military families across the country believe that every American deserves these rights, as well.
​
Contact: Michael Best, CFA, 202-939-1009; Christine Hines, NACA, 202-452-1989, ext.109

The Consumer Federation of America is an association of more than 250 non-profit consumer groups that, since 1968, has sought to advance the consumer interest through research, education, and advocacy.
(Original source Linked Below):
https://consumerfed.org/press_release/credit-unions-demand-jury-trial-lawsuits-equifax/?utm_content=buffer13d98&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer
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To Freeze or Lock?

10/5/2017

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By Susan Grant, CFA Director of Consumer Protection and Privacy
​October 4, 2017  |  Blog Post

In response to the Equifax data breach, many consumers are asking the credit reporting agencies to put a security freeze on their credit files. That’s certainly a good idea if your Social Security number and other personal information were exposed in this breach (you can go to www.equifaxsecurity2017.com, click on “Was I Impacted?” and put in your last name and last 6 digits of your Social Security number to find out). It’s something that you might want to consider even if you weren’t affected, because as we’ve previously explained, a freeze can protect you from certain types of identity theft.

Until November 21, 2017, Equifax is offering an identity theft service, for which it normally charges a monthly fee, free for a year to any individuals who want to enroll in it, regardless of whether their information was involved in the breach. This service includes the option to “lock” your Equifax credit file. The lock has exactly the same effect as a security freeze.

But you don’t have to enroll in this service or use the lock feature to protect your Equifax credit file. You can ask Equifax to freeze your file by:

  • Going to freeze.equifax.com;
  • Calling 1-800-685-1111 (New York residents should call 1-800-349-9960);
  • Or sending your request in writing to Equifax Security Freeze, P.O. Box 105788, Atlanta, Georgia 30348. If you mail a freeze request you will have to send proof of your identification.

And now through January 31, 2018 Equifax is waiving the small fee that it normally charges to set a freeze, lift it, or remove it.

So what are differences between locking and freezing your credit file? For one thing, if you lock your Equifax file through the free identity theft service, it will only stay locked for 12 months, when the service ends. On the other hand, if you put freezes on your files at Equifax and the other two major credit reporting agencies, Experian and TransUnion, they will last until you remove them. You can lift a freeze temporarily if you need to allow someone to check your credit file and then reset it, and you can permanently remove freezes whenever you choose.

All three credit reporting agencies sell locking services, usually bundled with credit monitoring and other services. TransUnion offers one of its locking services for free, but if you look at the terms, which refer you to the company’s privacy policy, you discover that in order to get that free service you must allow your personal information data to be used to deliver “targeted” ads to you.

Equifax has just announced that it’s going to offer free locking for life starting at the end of January 2018. We don’t know the details yet – will there be strings attached? That remains to be seen.

Advertisements for locking services often emphasize how easy and quick they are to use. The process to set and lift freezes may take a bit longer and not be as seamless, but it’s not hard to do. You may have to pay a small fee each time you want to set, lift and reset a freeze (some state laws entitle residents to get freezes free in certain circumstances; you can find that information in the sections about freezes on the credit reporting agencies’ websites). Even if you have to pay, it might add up to less than the cost of subscribing to a service that includes a lock. Ultimately, we’d like to see free freezes for everyone and the ability to set and lift them made simpler and faster.
​
To freeze your credit files at TransUnion and Experian, see below.
Request a TransUnion Credit Freeze
Online: https://freeze.transunion.com
Phone: 888-909-8872
Mail:
TransUnion LLC
P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19016
Request an Experian Credit Freeze
Online: https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html
Phone: 888-397-3742
Mail:
Experian Security Freeze
P.O. Box 9554
Allen, TX 75013
(Original source Linked Below):
https://consumerfed.org/to-freeze-or-lock/?utm_content=buffer52dd7&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

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