This is a topic we touched on briefly once last year, but seeing as it continues to be a very real threat to consumers trying to keep their credit card debt in check, I thought it’d be best to cover it in greater detail here.

What is credit card skimming?

Card skimming is the latest trend in identity theft that’s so good at what it does, the thieves don’t even need your credit card to steal your funds.  What they do is install a device onto an ATM which “skims” your credit card’s information – basically collecting the info so a thief can then use it to charge himself a nice little party on your dime.  They keep most of their charges online, or use your ATM info to withdraw funds directly from your account.

A month goes by, you get a copy of your bank statement and find all these charges and/or withdrawals from your account that your bank never notified you about, because your card wasn’t technically stolen.

How to avoid it

Well, that’s kinda the scary part about credit card skimming – it’s very difficult to avoid a card skimmer because, as I said, your card is never stolen, so you might use an ATM and think nothing of it while someone pulls your information and uses your funds to pay for their expenses.

The best way to fight against credit card skimmers is to check your account statements more frequently; like a couple times a week.  The minute you see a transaction pop up that you don’t recognize, report it to your creditor(s).

If you make frequent use of the gas station’s ATM – or any ATM not outside of a bank – you might wanna consider curtailing that habit.  Not that bank ATMs are necessarily safer from the practice, but most reports of card skimmers come from ATMs placed at gas stations or outside bars and clubs.  Whenever you use an ATM, always make sure to keep your PIN number hidden as you type it in.

If you find that you’ve been a victim of a card skimmer, make sure to call your bank or creditor and let them know about the fraudulent charges.  You might also wanna consider placing a fraud alert on your credit report, so that future credit card transactions will require your ID before a purchase can be completed.

After all, no one wants to have to go through a rigorous credit repair process just because they used the wrong ATM.

Related articles:

• Millions Lose Personal Data in PlayStation Hack
• Debit Card Scammers Caught in the Act
• 6 Tips for Protecting Yourself From Identity Theft

Well, here’s an interesting case of (potential) identity theft you don’t hear about very often (and My Credit Group has heard quite a few): Hackers stealing your personal information from a video game console.

About a week ago, Sony shut down its PlayStation Network, the online service used to connect gamers in online play – as well as shop for more games and movies in the PlayStation Store – citing that the network had been hacked.

Yesterday, they let us know just how badly they’d been hacked – they announced that all 77 million registered PSN users had had their personal information – including possibly their credit card information – stolen.

Sorry, but your info’s in another castle…

As you can imagine, a lot of people are pretty upset about this (myself included).  Sony’s official statement on the matter is that they don’t even know how deep the security breach goes!  “While there is no evidence at this time that credit card data was taken, we cannot rule out the possibility,” the company said in a release.

The company stated that the breach occurred sometime between April 17^th and 19^th and affected their entire network, including their online store and music subscription service.  Even users who only signed up for a PSN account to stream Netflix on their PlayStation 3s couldn’t escape the wrath of hackers.  Sony has stated they’re working around the clock to resolve the issue, and are currently rebuilding their Network from the ground up.  Maybe this one will work this time…?

The importance of protecting your bits

According to an article in Forbes on the subject, the potential cost of a date breach of this scale could soar up into the billions of dollars very easily.  That won’t be good news for Sony, but the loss of that many consumers’ personal data is the bigger issue here.

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: if you really want to make an effort to protect your identity and credit card data, don’t save it online. Not on eBay, not on Amazon, and yes, not on PlayStation.  The risk of having your personal financial data stolen, and having to undergo extensive credit repair to get it back on track, is hardly worth the price of a movie deal or game download.

We’ve compiled a list of articles and tips to help protect you from identity theft; check ‘em out below.  And for all of your other credit inquiries, including how to re-establish credit, contact a rep at My Credit Group.

Related identity theft articles:

• 6 Tips for Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft
• Help! My Parents Stole My Identity!
• How I Just Bought Your Identity for $12
• Temporary Credit Cards: A New Tool to Fight Online Scams
  

We’ve blogged in the past about the recent trend among debt collection scams, but here’s a case of fraud that hits a little closer to home.

Two men who managed to trick hundreds of consumers into signing up for a debit card they didn’t even want have been caught and will have to shell out upwards of $800,000+ in fines.

Victims thought they had simply been filling out an application for a payday loan (something else we’ve warned people against).  At the bottom of the application page were four, pre-checked buttons – sort of similar to those options to download additional services whenever you update a program.

Three of the four had “No” preselected, but the 4^th button – which asked consumers if they wanted to sign up for the debit card – was automatically marked “Yes.”  And as anyone who’s ever downloaded an Adobe flash update and forgotten to uncheck the buttons asking you if you want to download 3 toolbars and virus protection software knows, those can be easy to miss.

According to the FTC, each card “sold” charged an application fee of almost $55.  The scammers were so (stupidly) proud of themselves, they actually gave the cards names like the “EverPrivate Card” and the “Secret Cash Card.”  They even sold consumers’ names and bank account info to another company, all without consent.

After enough consumers caught onto the fact that they’d been scammed and alerted the FTC, the two men were apprehended and pled guilty to using deceptive business practices.  They’ll be paying $800,000 in fines, plus the proceeds of a house bought with the stolen funds.

And that, folks, is why you ALWAYS read the fine print on financial websites.

Related Articles:

• 6 Tips for protecting yourself from identity theft
• Help my parents stole my identity
• Don’t ignore debt collectors
• Repairing credit after bankruptcy

If you have questions about identity theft, contact MyCreditGroup for a free consultation.

We’ve been blogging about a new kind of debt collectors scam that targets consumers with unpaid debts through lead-generating websites disguising themselves as helpful services.  In light of the threat these types of schemes can pose to just about everyone with an internet connection, I thought now would be a good time to go over some tips you can use to help better protect your identity from anyone who might want to do more than just walk a mile in your shoes.

With that said, here are our top tips for covering your virtual tracks:

• Respond to your emails with caution. As we pointed out in our previous blog, a lot of these lead-generation sites pose as a helpful organization in order to gain your contact information so they can sell it to anyone who will pay for it.  That’s when you start noticing your inbox looking a little fuller than it normally does, with a lot of people now offering to help you not only repair your credit, but get a Rolex on the cheap as well.

Some may even ask you for your bank account information so they can update their records, saying they either represent the bank or they ARE the bank.  These can look very convincing to the untrained eye, but ask yourself why your bank would ask you such important information in an innocuous email?  They wouldn’t, and never do, so never give that kind of information out in an email – even if you think it’s legitimate.  You can always get in contact with your bank directly and inquire about an email like that; they’ll tell you if it’s from them or not.

• Lock up your personal info and throw away the key. It doesn’t take a whole lot to steal someone’s identity and wreak absolute havoc – all you really need is a name and social security number.  Because of this, you’ll want to be extremely selective about who you give your personal information to, online or otherwise.  Never carry your social security card in your wallet, and only bring it out of hiding when you’re asked for it by a lender or potential employer.  File away any and all documents that contain vital personal information, such as your bank and credit card statements, as well as other records like health insurance information, and shred them as soon as you’re done with them.

• Watch your junk mail. Be careful what you throw out, as the kind of people who would steal your identity wouldn’t think twice about dumpster diving to help them get away with it.  Even something as seemingly harmless as tossing out an old magazine can come back to haunt you, if the wrong person gets a hold of your name and address.

You’ll want to shred any type of document and scrap of paper that might contain something that would be useful to anyone out to pilfer your identity, such as your full name, address, and bank or credit account numbers.  Check your mail often; don’t let it pile up in your mailbox, especially if you live in an apartment complex or share a mailbox with others.

• Be careful what you post on Facebook. We’ve blogged in the past about the potential dangers of taking this whole social networking thing too far (despite having a really awesome Facebook page which you should totally check out), and with everyone and their kitchen sink setting up an online profile, it can be tough to protect yourself from the wrong kind of “friend request.”  Never post any personal information on these types of sites — and by personal info, I mean your home address, email, or social security number; not what you’re thinking about having for lunch today.

• Keep an eye on account statements. If you’re not already carefully scrutinizing your bank and credit card statements, you’ll want to get into the habit of doing so.  Although most banks and card providers are pretty good about contacting whenever suspicious activity pops up on your account, I wouldn’t recommend relying solely on them to look out for your best interests.

• Monitor your credit reports. Nothing can make trying to improve your credit score harder (or more necessary) than having someone apply for credit in your name.  Remember that you’re entitled to a free copy of your credit report every 12 months through annualcreditrepair.com, so make sure to take advantage of it.

If you find any accounts that aren’t yours, or really anything that looks suspicious, dispute the accounts with the credit bureaus.  If you do so regularly, checking your credit reports can make spotting identity theft early on easier, leaving you not having to worry too much about repairing your credit.

Related Articles:

• Help my parents stole my identity
• Temporary credit cards to help prevent identity theft
• Example of FDCPA Violations by fake debt collectors
• Credit repair Q&A

We’ve previously blogged about identity theft and the dangers it poses to your credit repair efforts, leaving many victims in its wake as it tears through your credit history like a hurricane or a jilted ex-lover, leaving you to pick up the pieces, wondering how it all went wrong.

But there’s one form of identity theft that seriously damage your credit history before you even have one that comes from the most unlikely source: your parents.

Why you can’t trust anyone over 30

Now, we’re not trying to say that your parents DON’T have your best interests at heart – just that they’re trying to look out for everyone’s best interest.  A trend we’ve been noticing is a growing number of 18-20 year olds who are calling us and stating they already need credit repair services – and they’re barely old enough to even have credit accounts!

Is it some insidious new form of identity theft?  No, nothing that interesting – just parents opening credit accounts using their kid’s information.  We’re not suggesting mom and dad did it for selfish reasons of their own; maybe they needed that new line of credit to help make ends meet, and your untainted credit history was the only way to make that happen.

Whatever the reason your parents used your social security information to open a credit card account, or take out a loan, your credit has been tarnished before you even had a chance to do that on your own, and now you need credit repair fast.

How to pay for your parent’s mistakes

Fortunately, there’s an incredibly fast and easy way to get your parents’ credit accounts off of your credit profile, and erase their history from your own – without ratting them out and getting them in trouble.  Simply send a copy of your driver’s license (or other form of government-issued ID) to the credit bureaus, which will prove to them that the accounts couldn’t have been yours as you were a minor when they were opened.

And that’s it – once you show the credit bureaus those accounts aren’t your own, they will be dropped from your credit history, and your profile is free to do with as you please.  Just make sure not to fall into any of the traps your parents might have that caused them to have to piggyback onto your credit in the first place.

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in America.  A study in 2009 showed that 1 out of every 10 consumers has already fallen victim to ID theft and that up to 18% are not even aware of it until years after the fact.

With the internet leaning toward being a social platform, it’s more important than ever to protect your info from getting into the wrong hands.  The problem is how hard it can be to keep your information private when just about everyone wants to make it public.

Every day, I get about half a dozen calls from lead brokers, offering to sell me leads on consumers seeking help settling their outstanding debts or that need credit repair.  Many of them go so far as to say they can provide us with thousands of leads a day – for as little as $12 per lead.  Where do they get all the information for these leads?  From you, of course!

Say you’re looking up some advice to help fill out your financial profile – anything from loan rate shopping and credit card applications, to debt settlement services and credit repair advice.  You find one or two that look professional enough – certainly better than the plethora of other financial sites that are so obviously a scam – and fill out their contact forms.  A day or so later, you’ll check your email to find it completely overrun with financial spam emails – everything from credit advice to offers for an authentic Rolex.

You might think you’re contacting an actual service for help with improving your financial profile, but all you’ve really done in sign over your information to a lead generation site masquerading as a legitimate finance site.

Don’t believe me?  Check out these excerpts I’ve pulled from a couple of different financial websites privacy policy / terms pages (names blacked out):

“By entering your information and submitting an online form via XXXXXXX you are allowing one or more of the companies on this list and website to call and or email you solicitations in regards to debt relief products and or programs”

“we do not sell or share nonpublic personal information about current or former customers with any person or organization, with anyone other than our third party providers,”

“or other information that you transmit or post to the Website becomes and will remain the property of XXXXX and may be used by XXXXXX anywhere, anytime and for any reason whatsoever.”

“You may be provided with the opportunity to purchase products through the Website and/or from third party websites linked to the Website”

Let’s try it ourselves

After reading these site’s terms and privacy policies, I decided to test the waters and see just who all they would share my information with.  I signed up with one of these sites, filled out their forms and waited. It took a couple hours.  Here’s what my mailbox looked like the next morning:

Seriously, just look at how many people now have this email address and can’t wait to get my information now.  I’m not saying lead generation sites steal your identity, but they might sell your name, phone number, email and anything else you include to just about anyone who will pay $12.00 for it – and who knows what they’ll do with it?  Do you really want to risk your information spreading out like a ripple over the web?  I didn’t think so.

So how can I avoid this?

Our recommendation for this is to keep in contact with the company doing the work for you ONLY. In other words, go directly to the source.  Also, be sure to always read the terms and privacy policy usually found on the footer of each company’s website.  Don’t even give the company you may be interested in your personal information until you’re sure you’re ready to sign up.

Oh, and just to clear the air before it gets cloudy: My Credit Group does NOT sell your personal information to any outside source, ever.  We promise.

Identity Theft Resources:

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/

http://www.privacyrights.org/identity-theft-data-breaches

http://www.idtheft.gov/

http://www.bbbonline.org/idtheft/resources.asp

Here’s an interesting (to say the least) trend that seems to be gaining steam among people who regularly make online credit card purchases.  More and more consumers have begun using “temporary” credit card account numbers when shopping on the web, as a means of protecting their identities from any potential threats.

Protecting your credit accounts online is serious business – the FBI estimates over $559 million was lost to credit card fraud in 2009 alone.  As a means of protecting themselves and their customers from online phishing schemes, many card companies have begun offering temporary card numbers so consumers can have a little peace of mind when shopping online.

If this sounds like a good alternative to shopping as you normally would online – open to ID theft and just about every online scam successfully masquerading as a PayPal transaction – simply contact your bank or credit card provider.  They will provide you with a completely new, temporary card number that’s tied directly to your real credit card account.  You can then use this temp account number to complete that Amazon purchase you had your eye on.

Anyone phishing for your number, and trying to use it for their own purposes, will find that your card only seems to work on the site they pulled it from.  This makes disputing false credit card purchase information even easier, assuming your account info is even pulled by scammers in the first place.

Bank of America’s ShopSafe and Citi’s Virtual Account Numbers programs are 2 examples of how temporary accounts work.  B of A lets you sign into your account online and choose your new credit card account number from there.  Complete your purchase on the site and you’re done, simple as that.  Citi gives you two options for choosing your Virtual Account Numbers: either download the program once to your computer to automatically create a new credit card account number, or launch the feature directly from their site every time you want to make a purchase, like B of A.

It’s also worth noting that neither of these can be used for purchases that require you to show your credit card during pick up (like movie and concert tickets purchased online) as, obviously, the number you used is different from the one on your credit card.

These are excellent tools for those who do most of their shopping online these days, and want an extra layer of protection from anyone wanting their cards for their own purchases.  I mean, consider the alternative: having your credit card info stolen can cost time and money to have taken care of.  Rather than have some scammer ruin your credit rating the next time you make an eBay bid, consider an alternate credit card account.

I often hear stories about people who give out their social security number without it being absolutely necessary.  Then I was thinking, what exactly is “absolutely necessary?”

Why Your Social Security Number Matters

Someone who illegally uses it can access personal information and apply for credit in your name.  If your identity is stolen it could take months and even a bit of your money to clean up the financial mess.  It’s going to take a good amount of credit repair to get your credit profile accurate.

Last year over 11 million people in the United States were the victims of identity fraud — at a total cost of $54 billion.  Luckily most of those affected haven’t had to pay any out-of-pocket expenses, and those who did paid an average of $373.  But remember I was telling you that it would eat up a lot of your time to finally get right.  21 hours was the average time spent resolving the situation.

Take Precautions

I can’t stress this enough, DO NOT keep your social security card in your wallet.  I know we like to think identity theft is some high tech crime that takes place when we’re buying something online or using an unsafe Bluetooth headset … a product of us watching too many movies I’m sure.  But the truth is that most ID theft is very low tech; like stealing your wallet with a SS Card and license all packaged and ready to go.

If a company uses your SS Number as your account number, ask if there’s any way they can change it.  Normally there is.  You’re not the first one who’s trying to safeguard their identity.

Lastly, make sure that you check your credit reports often.  Some people choose to have credit report monitoring, which does cost a few dollars a month, but they’ll be notified of any changes almost immediately.  At least be sure to request a free credit report each year to check for unusual activity.

When is Your SS Number Required?

Obviously there are situations where giving your Social Security Number is absolutely necessary.  Starting a new job is one of those times.  Because of tax reporting purposes, whether you receive a W-2 or 1099 at the end of the year, your employer needs to report your income to the IRS.  Your bank is going to need your SS Number for the exact same reason.

Sometimes government agencies like the Department of Motor Vehicle can ask for your SS Number.  They have to explain exactly why though.  In other words, they need to tell you if it’s required or optional, how they plan on using it and under whose authority they’re asking you for your number.

Requested but Not Required

Just about anyone can ask you for your SS Number.  Plenty of companies merely use it as your account or identification number.  But if it’s not required, you can refuse it.  If a company’s working for you financially, such as the case with debt relief, the company may need it in order to act on your behalf.

But if a company asks for your SS Number, make sure you ask them a few questions first:

• Why do you need it?
• What security measures do you take to ensure that it’s safe?
• Can we use a different number if it’s simply for an account number?
• How exactly will it be used?

Don’t be so blasé with your Social Security Number when you don’t need to be.  Having talked to some of the over 11 million a year that fall victim to identity theft, I can tell you it’s not an experience you want to go through.  Lock it up and keep it locked up unless it’s absolutely necessary.

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