In Focus – SCCCU Blog

Member Question:

I’m terrified that I may have been scammed. I accidentally gave my personal information to someone I called because they convinced me they were with my credit card company. I hung up as soon as I figured it out, but I had already given away valuable information. Help! What do I do?

Answer:

First, don’t beat yourself up. Unfortunately, this happens every day because, sadly, we live in an era rife with scams — and thanks to technology, scammers have gotten incredibly savvy. If you’re wondering what personal information scammers seek to exploit in the first place, the answer is simple: All of it. They want anything they can get their hands on to present as a legitimate version of you. However, the most common details they want are your Social Security number and date of birth.

If you think you’ve been scammed, the best ways to protect yourself are as follows:

1. Freeze Your Credit: Many garden variety thieves want your info so they can apply for credit, so the first thing you need to do is freeze your credit, which is the most effective tool to prevent new account fraud. You can freeze your credit with all three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and Transunion) to restrict access to your credit report. When you freeze, lenders and fraudsters are barred from viewing your information (until you unfreeze it). Thus, no one can fraudulently open a new line of credit in your good name.  Contact each bureau individually — which you can do online, via phone, or snail mail — and request a credit freeze, which is free. Contacting all three bureaus is crucial — here’s how to do it.
2. Monitor All Accounts + Invest in Protection: Next, monitor all your accounts. The only thing a credit freeze does is stop new account fraud. Since most fraud occurs on existing accounts, monitoring your accounts regularly and setting alerts to keep you informed of unusual activity is critical. You may also want to invest in identity theft protection services that offer credit monitoring and identity alerts for suspicious activity. If your information has been compromised, there’s often a restoration component involving experts specializing in fixing stolen identities.
3. Change Your Passwords: Another critical step is to change your passwords, even if they haven’t been compromised. For any important accounts you have, enable multi-factor verification and set every available alert. Also, ask yourself: “Am I using the same password for multiple accounts?”  If so, change those, and make sure you’re practicing strong password security, perhaps with a password manager like 1Password or Dashlane.
4. Reduce Your Vulnerabilities: Like we said, the scammers are getting really good. When they call you, your caller ID may display a name like “Social Security Administration” or “IRS,” which at first looks legit. But a legitimate government organization will never call you, so hang up! The same holds true for scam emails that may look legit. Instead of responding or clicking a link in the email, call the number you have on file for the company or organization and verify what’s happening.

If you’ve been scammed, you should file a report with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. And if you know that money was stolen, you’ll need to report the scam to your state attorney general and local law enforcement. Taking these steps won’t just help you — it’ll help prevent others from falling into the same trap.