Scams warning: Be mindful, be careful out there

The hack of the personal information of 106 million Capital One Financial credit card holders is an unfortunate reminder of the vulnerability of our identities.

It’s also a warning to be on guard against the scammers who seek our cooperation in stealing from us.

The Federal Trade Commission’s list of recent scam alerts for last month includes seven hoaxes that use emails, telephone calls and fake websites to separate the unwary from their money. The scams of which the FTC is aware include:

— Fake websites mimicking ftc.gov/Equifax, the agency’s own site for checking whether your information was compromised in the Equifax data breach of September 2017 and the place to file for a share of the $425 million settlement reached on behalf of affected consumers. Besides being sure the website address ends in .gov, the FTC offers this tip to avoid this hoax: “You’ll never have to pay to file a claim for these benefits.”

— A caller or emailer pretending to be a clergyman and asking for an urgent donation via a gift card. Watch out for misspelling of the religious figure’s name or a website other than the religious institution to which you belong. But note that few if any legitimate institutions seek donations via a gift card.

— A call claiming to be from the IRS, Social Security or Medicare that warns of a severe tax penalty (such as jail or a big fine) or loss of benefits if an immediate payment is not made — again often via a gift card or by asking for bank account information. Your caller ID might even indicate it’s the agency identified by the caller. Nonetheless, it’s a scam. Government agencies do not use telephone threats to demand immediate payments.

— Mystery shopping scams in which victims are asked to pay an upfront fee to shop or dine and review the experience. In these cases, the fee is taken but the promised payment never comes. Also, the FTC says: “If you’re asked to deposit checks into your bank account and send money back to pay for courses, fees or anything else, stop. This is a fake check scam.

The Capital One breach has experts warning against related scams. The biggest concern is phishing scams to target affected customers.

Capital One itself warns against this on its website, saying, “‘Phishing” is an internet scam in the form of an email or pop-up box. The emails and pop-ups link to sites that look like well-known legitimate businesses and ask you to provide or confirm personal, financial, or password information. … If you believe you’ve received a phishing email claiming to be from Capital One, forward the suspicious email to abuse@capitalone. com.”

Capital One also warns against falling for phone scams related to the breach.

“Capital One is not calling customers to ask for credit card or account information, or Social Security numbers over the phone or via email,” the company said on its website.

The best general advice against scammers is to avoid being rushed into sharing information or making a payment before you can confirm the person or entity with which you’re dealing is legitimate.

Any demand for fast action to make a payment or share financial or other personal information is likely a scam.

The same goes for callers or emailers who tell you there’s an emergency and you must act now — to send money for a friend or family member who’s in jail, for example. The more urgent the caller or emailer seems, the more you suspicious you should be.

You can report telephone scams to the FTC by calling toll-free at 877-382-4357 or by visiting ftc.gov/complaint online, or contact the Pennsylvania attorney general’s consumer protection office at 800441-2555.

Most of all, however, do not fall for fraudulent calls or emails.

The FTC urges consumers to, among other things:

Register their phone numbers with National Do Not Call Registry online or by calling 888-382-1222. Telemarketing calls received after registering are probably scams.

Hang up on suspicious phone calls.

Not provide your credit card number, bank account information, or other personal information to a caller.

Not comply if asked to wire money or pay with a prepaid debit card.