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Identity Fraud vs. Identity Theft
Identity fraud is usually limited to an isolated attempt to steal money from an existing account (using a stolen credit card, for example).
With identity theft, a thief uses stolen personal information, such as a Social Security number or bank account number, to open accounts or initiate several transactions in your name. This may cause financial loss or damaged credit. In general, identity theft is more extensive than identity fraud. If fraudulent transactions occur on your account, it does not automatically mean your identity was stolen. It may be an isolated incident of theft that can be quickly resolved.
Scam Prevention Tips
- Never give personal information to a stranger who contacts you, whether by telephone, e-mail, or other means.
- Don’t accept payments for more than the amount of the service with the understanding that you send the buyer the difference.
- Don’t accept checks from individuals you’ve only met online.
- Don’t accept jobs in which you are paid or received commission for facilitating money transfers through your account.
- No matter how urgent someone claims a deal is, you can always wait for a few days to research and confirm legitimacy. Time is on your side, not the fraudster’s.
- You are ultimately responsible and liable for all deposits made into your account, whether they are a check, money order, transfer, etc.
Internet
Official Check Scam
Someone will contact you via phone, email or chat room regarding the
purchase of an item you have for sale or wanting to make an investment
in your business. They will tell you they are sending you a check that
you should deposit right away. After the check arrives and is deposited,
the person will change his/her mind regarding the purchase or investment
and ask you to send the money back to them via a wire. Later when the
check has made it through the banking system, it is returned as a counterfeit.
Fraud that Targets Older Americans
As the population ages, older Americans are increasingly becoming victims of fraud and identity theft. We encourage our customers to help themselves, their elderly parents, friends and loved ones from financial scams.
How we can identify elder abuse and fraud
- Sudden changes in banking behaviors, including withdrawals of large sums of money.
- Funds that are withdrawn in smaller amounts via remotely created checks (drafts) that could indicate the elder has fallen victim to Telemarketing fraud.
- The Power of Attorney making large withdrawals that do not appear to benefit the elderly person.
- Abrupt changes in a will or other financial documents.
- Sudden appearance of previously uninvolved relatives claiming rights to someone's affairs and possessions. Or a new companion who appears to be "calling the shots".
- Caregivers getting paid too much or too often.
- Excitement about winning a sweepstakes or lottery.
- A decline in the senior's physical appearance.
How to deter elder abuse and fraud
- Be alert for the warning signs. Educate the senior adults in your family about financial exploitation.
- Help senior adults in your family monitor their credit by requesting a free report every year.
- Talk to your personal banker at any of our convenient branch locations for assistance in protecting assets.
What options do you have if you suspect elder abuse or fraud?
- Contact Union Bank for assistance in protecting assets held with the bank.
- Contact the national hotline for Adult Protective Services (APS). This agency investigates allegations of abuse and offers services if abuse is confirmed. You can reach them via their 24-hour toll-free hotline at 1-800-652-1999 or by contacting your local Department of Health and Human Services office:
- Nebraska: http://www.dhhs.ne.gov/map/mapindex.htm
- Kansas: http://www.srskansas.org/ISD/ees/adult.htm
- Contact local law enforcement
Identity Theft – Criminals
steal financial information and use this information to impersonate their
victims, spending as much money as they can in as short of period as possible
before moving on to someone else’s name and financial information.
Online Fraud | report suspicious email & activities here
Phishing is the process of collecting,
through fraudulent e-mails or websites claiming to be legitimate, your
personal information. This information can include usernames, passwords,
credit card numbers, social security numbers, etc. Often times the e-mail
directs you to a website where you can update your personal information
and because they often look “official”, they hope you’ll
be tricked into disclosing valuable information that you normally would
not reveal. Often times resulting in identity theft and financial losses.
Spyware and viruses are
both malicious programs that are loaded onto your computer without
your knowledge. The purpose of these programs may be to capture or
destroy information, to ruin computer performance or to overload you
with advertising. Viruses can spread by infecting computers and then
replicating. Spyware disguises itself as a legitimate application
and embeds itself into your computer where it then monitors your activity
and collects information.
Fraudulent “Pop-up Windows”
are a type of online fraud often used to obtain personal
information. They are the windows or ads that appear suddenly over
or under the window you are currently viewing. Fraudulent Web sites
or pop-up windows are used to collect your personal information. Other
terms for the fraudulent process of gathering your personal information
include “Phishing or “Spoofing”. Additional links
to real Web sites can be incorporated into the email to lead you to
believe the email is legitimate. Fraudulent websites, e-mails or pop-up
windows will often:
- Ask you for personal information (Account number, Social
Security Number, Date of Birth, etc.)
- Appear to be from a legitimate source. (retail stores,
banks, Government agencies, etc.)
- Contain prize or other types of certificate notices
- Link to other real or counterfeit websites
- Contain fraudulent phone numbers
Pop-up windows are often the result of programs
installed on your computer called “adware” or “spyware.”
These programs look in on your Web viewing activity and regularly come
hidden inside many free downloads, such as music-sharing software or
screen savers. Many of these programs enable harmless advertisements,
but some contain “Trojan horse” programs that can record
your keystrokes or relay other information to an unauthorized source.
Domain Spoofing occurs when a fake financial or retail website is set up with the same look and feel of a legitimate website for the purpose of gaining personal information. To verify a site's authenticity, choose the padlock icon, typically displayed at the bottom of the browser window, to verify you are on a secured page. A legitimate site will show a SSL certificate with the name of the site you're visiting.
Online / Check Scams
Sweepstakes/Lottery Scam - prize
notification or announcements that you have won money, cars, and many
more prizes in a lottery or sweepstakes that does not exist.
Home Improvement Scam - normally
individuals who work door-to-door as so-called contractors who offer to
do a variety of home improvement projects, instead they take your money
and leave the homeowner with an uncompleted project.
Nigerian Letter - A fraud scheme
that now includes fax and email versions of a letter from a supposed official
in Nigeria. The official has a large sum of money (often stated as $20
to $30 million) to transfer out of the country. Due to exchange controls,
the official asks for the victim's help with the transfer. All that is
required to earn a hefty reward/commission is to furnish the Nigerian
official with your bank account number, and they will handle the rest.
What actually happens is that the Perpetrator depletes the victim's account.
Job Scam - Job scammers use reputable job boards such as Monster.com or Careerbuilder.com to offer jobs that are actually scams. They may also get people's contact information from resumes posted online. This scam is often linked to a Counterfeit Check Scam.
Dating Scam - Fraudsters create false personal profiles on online dating sites and chat rooms, and after building a relationship ask victims to send money for a variety of reasons. Often linked to a Counterfeit Check Scam.
Love Losses - The scammer poses as a romantic interest online, and promises to come to the U.S. to be with the victim. Soon after, the online friend asks the victim to cash a check or money order to cover “travel expenses.”
Overpayments - Scammers buy merchandise online, and then claim they mailed the wrong amount by mistake. The seller is asked to deposit the “wrong” check anyway, and then return the “excess” amount to the scammer. But the check doesn’t clear, and the victim has sent the scammer his own money.
Foreign Business Offers - Scammers pretend to be businesspeople or government officials and promise millions of dollars. But real companies and government agencies don’t offer legitimate business propositions to people they don’t know.
Rental Schemes - Scammers claim to be moving to the area, and put down a rental deposit. Then they tell their landlord they have unexpected expenses, so they ask for some of their deposit back as a favor. They never move in, and the deposit check never clears.
Sudden Riches - The scammer claims the victim has won a foreign lottery or sweepstakes. The notice comes by mail, phone, fax or email. Consumers should know that winners of real cash prizes are notified by certified mail.
Work at Home - The scams promise easy money by “processing” checks. The victim deposits the checks and sends the money to the scammer, minus a small fee. Legitimate companies don’t do business like this.
Linked sites are not under the control of Union
Bank and therefore Union Bank is not responsible for the contents of any
linked site or any link contained in a linked site. Union Bank provides
links to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does
not imply endorsement by Union Bank.
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