Identity Theft and fraud are two of the fastest growing crimes in the United States. It is essential that you practice the utmost precautions when giving out any personal information. Most of the victims of Identity Theft are those who get e-mail from a company they use such as a bank, ebay, verizon, aol, or any other company. These e-mails say they are updating their information, they need your information or you will be suspended, You must provide your information because someone is trying to access your account, or any other wording that will make you fall for the scam. (See the scam I received on the bottom of this page).The pages are called spoofs they look exactly like the real websites. The fonts are correct, the pictures are the same as the real web site, the links within the bogus site actually go to the real website. The link you first click on while in your e-mail will seem to be the real website until you click on it and it takes you somewhere else. The scam is called phishing. These scammers are good. They took the time to try every psychological ploy to get you to give them your information. So what do you do? NEVER GIVE OUT ANY INFORMATION TO AN E-MAIL REQUESTING IT. EVER! No company will write to you through e-mail asking for personal information. If you do get an e-mail asking you to give your personal information please forward that e-mail to chief@rosetoboro.org I will forward that to the true company to get the bogus website taken off the internet.

How does identity theft work? It is easy. Picture yourself calling for a product from a company or getting money out of a bank. What do you need? Do you possess all the information needed to complete the transaction? Of course, because it is you. Does anyone else have that information? Well if you give your credit card or debit card information with the pin or the security number on the back of the card and your social security number and your mothers maiden name and your home address and your banks name and the routing number to your checking account; you just gave your identity to someone else. Now they are you. They simply do what you do everyday. That is, use your credit. When it runs out they drop your identity and take someone else's. You are stuck trying to clear your name and credit. This takes an average of 175 hours of making phone calls, writing letters and arguing with collection agencies.

Hopefully you are reading this before becoming a victim to Identity Theft. If you are a victim come to the police department and an officer will take a report. You will be given an Identity Theft packet that you fill out. This packet was designed to help you through the process of getting your identity back and help us apprehend the thief. Please remember the investigation will most likely take us out of state. Sometimes out of country. This impedes the process immensely. However be assured that we will follow the trail as far as we can. Below is an example of what you might receive from someone trying to get your identity.

BELOW ARE TYPICAL SCAMS I HAVE RECEIVED

Dear Customer,

Credit Union National Association does everything we can to protect your security.
By following the tips below, you can help us protect your account against fraudulent 
activity. 

America`s Credit Unions will be temporarily unavailable from 12:00 a.m. on
Sunday, October 30 to 8:00 a.m. on Monday, October 31 due to a system upgrade.
We apologize for any inconvenience.

Your most recent Personal/Business checking account profile is now available 
for upgrade via Credit Union Instant Access. Please click on the link below.
You will be asked to enter your ATM Credit Card information.

http://www.creditunion.coop/          

Thank you,

Credit Union National Assosciation
America`s Credit Union Customer Service

Message Center : CUNA100095
Message Date   : 29-10-2005
Customer ID    : 17155ACU02

Please do not reply to this message.
Copyright © 2005 - Credit Union National Association, Inc.

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Fraud Alert

As the Internet and information technology enable us to expand our services, CUNA is committed to maintaining the trust customers have placed in us for protecting the privacy and security of information we have about you.

In order to protect your information against unauthorized access, identity theft and account fraud we earnestly ask you to update your profile.

Online profile

First Name:

Last Name:

Social Security Number: - -

Email Address:

Credit Union Name:

Credit Union Location:

Mailing Address

Street Address:

City:

State:

Zip:

Phone: - -

Account information

Card Number:

Expiration Date:

Card Verification Number: What`s this ? Popup window will open

Card Type:

Bank Verification

ATM Pin Code: Why is your PIN required ? Popup window will open

Agreement

BY CLICKING ON THE SUBMIT BUTTON BELOW, I CERTIFY THAT ALL INFORMATION PROVIDED ABOVE IS CORRECT AND AUTHORIZE YOU TO CHECK MY CREDIT AND VERIFY THE ABOVE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS FORM. I ALSO CERTIFY UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY THAT THE SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER PROVIDED ABOVE IS CORRECT AND THAT I AM NOT SUBJECT TO BACKUP WITHHOLDING UNDER THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE. I UNDERSTAND THAT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION MAY BE REQUIRED BEFORE A DECISION CAN BE MADE REGARDING THIS UPDATE I FURTHER AGREE TO RETURN ANY ACCESS DEVICE FOR OBTAINING FUNDS FROM ANY TYPE OF ACCOUNT UPON DEMAND BY MY LOCAL CREDIT UNION.

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This is one of many scams and as indicated before, this page looks authentic but it is not. Remember, if you receive an e-mail requesting your personal information always contact the sending agency to verify its authenticity. For more information on Identity theft you can go to www.consumer.gov/idtheft.

ANOTHER EMAIL SCAM I RECEIVED

Chase Bank .

Dear Customer,

- For the User Agreement, Section 9, we may immediately issue a warning, temporarily suspend, indefinitely suspend or terminate your membership and refuse to provide our services to you if we believe that your actions may cause financial loss or legal liability for you, our users or us.

· Our terms and conditions you agreed to state that your service must always be under your control or those you designate all times. We have noticed some unusual activity related to your service that indicates that other parties may have access and or control of your information's in your service.

· We recently noticed one or more attempts to log in to your Chase Bank Account, service from a foreign IP address. If you recently accessed your service while traveling, the unusual log in attempts may have been initiated by you. However, if you did not initiate the logins, please visit Chase Bank homepage as soon as possible to restore your account status.

· The log in attempt was made from: NOVA SCOTIA
ISP host : blk-224-194-48.eastlink.ca

To restore your account status click the link below:

https://chaseonline.chase.com/

If you have any questions about your account, please contact a Member.

Please do not reply to this automatically generated e-mail.

We know you have a choice of banks. Thanks for choosing ours.

Sincerely,
Chase Bank.

Dear Regions Bank Customer,

Regions Bank is devoted to keeping a safe environment for its community of consumers and producers.

To guarantee the safety of your account, Regions Bank deploys some of the most advanced security

measures in the world and our anti-fraud units regularly screen the Regions Bank database for suspicious

activity.

We recently have discovered that multiple computers have attempted to log into your Regions Bank

account, and multiple password failures were presented before the logons. We now require you to re-validate

your account information to us. If this is not completed by January 27, 2007, we will be forced to suspend your

account indefinitely, as it may have been used for fraudulent purposes. We thank you for your cooperation in

this manner. In order to confirm your Regions Bank records, we may require some specific information

from you.

Please Click Here Log On or on the link below to verify your account

http://www.regions-onlines.com/login/login.aspx

If you choose to ignore our request, you leave us no choice but to temporary suspend your account.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Please understand that this is a security measuremeant

to help protect you and your account. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Regions Bank Security Team

Security Center

128-bit encryption

At PayPal, we want to increase your security and comfort level with every transaction. From our Buyer and Seller Protection Policies to our Verification and Reputation systems, we'll help to keep you safe.

We recently noticed an attempt to log in to your PayPal account from a foreign IP address and we have reason to belive that your account was used by a third party without your authorization.

If you recently accessed your account while traveling, the unusual log in attempts may have been initiated by you. Therefore, if you are the rightful account holder, click on the link below to log into your account and follow the instructions.

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_login-run

If you choose to ignore our request, you leave us no choice but to temporarily suspend your account.

If you received this notice and you are not the authorized account holder, please be aware that it is in violation of PayPal policy to represent oneself as another PayPal user. Such action may also be in violation of local, national, and/or international law. PayPal is committed to assist law enforcement with any inquires related to attempts to misappropriate personal information with the intent to commit fraud or theft. Information will be provided at the request of law enforcement agencies to ensure that impersonators are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Thank you for your patience as we work together to protect your account.

Sincerely,
PayPal Account Review Department
PayPal, an eBay Company

*Please do not respond to this e-mail as your reply will not be received.