Consumers gaining ground on con artists
Last year was a banner year for identity fraud, with a record 15.4 million victims in the United States, a new study says.
The amount of money connected to these crimes reached $16 billion, according to Javelin Strategy & Research, a firm that conducts the annual study for the federal government.
“The study found that despite the efforts of the industry, fraudsters successfully adapted to net two million more victims this year with the amount fraudsters took rising by nearly one billion dollars to $16 billion,” according to a summary of the report.
A significant increase was seen in the number of online identity thefts, at a 40 percent increase. But there’s a silver lining. Despite the risk of shopping online, 78 percent of those who were targeted detected the fraud within a week of it occurring, the study showed.
That means “while fraudsters are becoming better at evading detection, consumers with an online presence are getting better at detecting fraud quicker, leading to less stolen overall per attempt,” the study said.
Account takeovers, in which a thief hijacks credentials for an existing account rose by 31 percent, Javelin said. The company also found that new account fraud was up, with incidence rates up■2■0■percent.
Don’t believe a guy named “Officer Edward Jonathon” if he calls you on the phone.
He’s really just a digitized voice who claims he’s with the legal department of the Internal Revenue Service, and he seems to be a prodigious dialer who likes New Mexicans.
He threatens criminal action if you or your attorney don’t call him back. Reported calls are coming from 1-469-565-0447, a Texas number, and 1-786-605-1337, a Florida number, “but they could appear as other numbers as well on your caller ID,” according to state Attorney General Hector Balderas.
If you’re not there, Edward will leave a message, using one of these call-back numbers.
Constant reminder, especially during this time of year: The IRS will not call on the phone and demand personal information.
“If you receive a recording or call claiming to be from the IRS, do not be fooled, and hang up the phone immediately,” Balderas said in a statement.
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Immigrant scams are nothing new, but they seem to be surfacing again as scammers try to capitalize on the federal government’s new deportation orders.
The New York Attorney General’s Office, along with authorities on several college campuses around the country, have reported receiving increased calls about fake Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents demanding money upon threat of deportation.
The state Attorney General’s Office says it has not seen these kinds of scams in New Mexico, but it’s good to know that real ICE agents are not authorized to seek money in lieu of detainment or deportation. They also do not have authority to enter someone’s house without a warrant signed by a judge.