Where money is involved, there always seems to be someone running a scam.
There is a Social Security email scam you need to be aware of, designed to trick Social Security recipients into divulging personal information, including names, addresses, and Social Security numbers.
The scheme involves an email from an account impersonating the U.S. Social Security Administration, Service Canada or an organization claiming to represent a government agency.
The email says you qualify for a new benefit, and to claim it, you need to fill out a form, which asks for a variety of details, such as your name, address, phone number, Social Security number, employer and driver’s license or government ID number.
Upon completing the form, you receive a confirmation email which says you’ll hear from a government representative soon.
People who fall for the phishing scam have just handed con artists all the information they need to commit identity theft. With those information, someone can open financial accounts in your name or divert benefits intended for you.
That’s when the real problems start: Fraudulent accounts will likely be reported to the credit bureaus, and affect your credit standing.
Your credit score can serve as an identity-theft detector. You can check your scores for free on some personal finance websites (including Credit. com), and if you notice a large change from one month to the next, you’ll want to look into the cause.
It could be a legitimate shift — missing loan payments, or increasing your credit utilization can cause huge month-to-month score changes — but it may also be an indication of unauthorized use of your identity.
Even if you don’t think you’ve been a scam target, you should make a habit of checking your credit reports from all three bureaus, in the event someone stole your identity without raising suspicion.
As soon as you spot identify fraud, you should dispute its presence on your credit report. It may take a while to get it removed and allow you to recover from identity theft.
Disputed accounts are not factored into credit scores, but that may not help you if you’re applying for a loan.
For example, lenders may reject a mortgage application if the applicant’s credit report includes accounts in dispute.
The internet may be great, but sometimes, it brings into our homes phishing scams. You need to be cautious when responding to emails. If in doubt, do not respond.
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Author’s email: wolff2000@earthlink.net
