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☆ Strengthen Your Defenses Against Financial Fraud
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-24 | by ( Eamon Javers | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailStrengthen Your Defenses Against Financial FraudSpam. Delete and Report Junk. Today scammers are constantly targeting us in new ways, and it can be difficult to stay vigilant. Identity Theft Resource Center President & CEO Eva Velasquez talks about identifying scams and how to best protect yourself from financial fraud.

Persons: scammers, Eva Velasquez Organizations: Theft Resource

☆ Job scams surged 118% in 2023, aided by AI. Here's how to stop them
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-07 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Ridvan_celik | E+ | Getty ImagesEmployment scams surged last year, as criminals leveraged artificial intelligence to steal money and personal information from unsuspecting job seekers, experts said. Consumer reports of job scams jumped 118% in 2023 from the prior year, according to a recent report by the Identity Theft Resource Center. How job scams can rip you offCon artists will "push you for money" during the hiring process, the FTC said. Job seekers should not expect to have to hand over personal information until after they've received and accepted a job offer, Velasquez said. How to protect yourself from job scams

Persons: ITRC, Eva Velasquez, Velasquez, Con, Robert Rodriguez, they've Organizations: Getty, Theft Resource Center, Social, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Google, Craigslist, Facebook, Finance, New York

☆ Tax identity theft 'continues to be a huge problem,' expert says. Here's how to protect yourself
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Kate Dore | Cfp | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

As the start of tax season approaches, experts are warning filers about tax-related identity theft, an issue that often halts returns and delays refunds. Tax identity theft happens when criminals use your personal information to file a return in your name and claim your refund — and "it continues to be a huge problem," said Eva Velasquez, president and CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center. The IRS' Identity Theft Victim Assistance program had 294,138 individual case receipts during fiscal 2023, up from 92,631 in 2019, according to the National Taxpayer Advocate's annual report to Congress released last week. More from Personal Finance:Government shutdown could disrupt upcoming tax season, IRS commissioner says'Fraud is at a crisis level,' says expert: 5 financial scams to watch out forHow to figure out your timeline to student loan forgivenessTax-related identity theft has diminished since the early days of electronic filing. There are signs of tax identity theft listed on the IRS website, including a letter from the agency about a "suspicious tax return," the inability to e-file, tax transcripts by mail you didn't request and more.

Persons: Eva Velasquez, Velasquez, Erin Collins Organizations: Theft Resource Center, IRS, National Taxpayer, Finance, Government

☆ Hacker Stole My Phone, Credit Card, Identity. I Set Out to Find Them.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Avery Hartmans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +22 min

They left the Verizon store and went to a nearby Apple store, where they used my Chase credit card to spend $6,370. And two, because a physical credit card had been used to make the purchases, even though I was still in possession of my card. Typically, when your credit card is about to expire, as mine was, the bank sends you a new card a few weeks ahead of time. All told, the gang allegedly stole hundreds of identities and defrauded retailers and credit card companies of $1.3 million. Whoever hacked my identity, it makes sense that they started with my credit card.

☆ Biggest security benefits, risks with new Meta, Twitter verified identity subscriptions
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Cheryl Winokur Munk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

As Twitter and Meta Platforms move to paid subscriptions for social media identity verification and security, the battle to stay safe online continues. With social engineering and phishing the primary sources of social media account compromise, it's unlikely verified accounts will actually be more secure. "Twitter is only eliminating the SMS-based two-factor authentication capability, and does offer two additional methods for two-factor authentication that are stronger and more reliable than SMS-based authentication," Ramzan said. When signing on for a social media account, try to give away as little personal information as possible, Buzzard said. Aura recommends social media users disable third-party apps that are connected to their social media accounts.

Identity theft is often a crime of opportunity, so reducing risk goes a long way to protect against identity theft. How to reduce the risk of identity theftEva Velasquez, president of the Identity Theft Resource Center, says it's best to take multiple steps to secure your identity. Editor's Rating 4.6/5 A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star Editor's Rating 4.7/5 A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star Editor's Rating 4.8/5 A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star Learn more On Aura's website Learn more On IDShield's website Learn more On IdentityForce's website1. While this doesn't necessarily prevent identity theft, it does mitigate any potential damages as a result of identity theft. You can report identity theft over the phone; however, you will not receive an identity theft report.

☆ Microsoft's latest data on hacks and why you may need new login, passwords fast
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Cheryl Winokur Munk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

That's a 74% rise in one year, according to the latest Microsoft Digital Defense Report. But many people still rely on passwords, and don't even use the two-factor authentication now considered critical. "As long as passwords are still part of the equation, they're vulnerable," Joy Chik, Microsoft's vice president of identity, wrote in a September 2021 company blog post. Based on a sample of more than 39 million IoT and OT devices, about 20% used identical usernames and passwords, according to the Microsoft report. Even if a provider doesn't require it to be used, multi-factor authentication is a valuable security tool that's underutilized, according to security professionals.

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