Popular Identity Theft Scams

There are many popular identity theft scams that are circulating, some have been around for decades while others are new to the scene. Some thieves will never stop trying to find a way to steal the one thing that is most important to you - your very identity. Each year, millions of people have their identities stolen in some way or are defrauded in some way.

Let's take a look at some of the more popular schemes to steal your identity and how you can determine if they are scams or not when you are faced with them.

Phishing
Phishing is an email scam that is supposed to get you to input your account information, banking, credit, personal and financial information into a website or email form. The link in the email is usually fake but made to look like the real thing. None of the financial sites or merchant sites will request this information from you in email format. Chances are any email like this is a scam to steal your identity.

Work at Home
Many work at home offers are legitimate, however many are not. Not only do you have to worry about anything that offers you to 'get rich quick', you also have to watch for jobs that seem too good to be true - if you think it might be, then it probably is. You should never have to pay to work and you shouldn't believe a job where you are offered amazing amounts of money for virtually no work.

Classified Ads
These classified ads promise to pay for an item that you have listed for more than you are asking - usually the buyers are from another country. They want you to accept a certified check, deduct the cost of the item plus shipping charges and send the rest in a money order back to them. The check you received is fake and very well done, yet you are on the hook for the money when they are discovered during processing.

Free Government Grant
An offer for free government grants where you are 'selected' to receive a grant and all you have to do is pay a small service charge, that the government will take from your bank account directly. Never give out your personal information over the phone unless you have called the company and verified their legitimacy.

Tax Refund
You may receive an email from the federal government telling you that you may be owed a federal tax payment. This is most definitely a scam, the government does not use email to get personal information or deliver this type of information to people.

Telemarketing Scams
Telemarketing scams are very old and have been around for decades. The key to not being taken by a telemarketing scam is to NEVER give your personal information, checking account information or credit card number over the phone to an unsolicited caller, even though you may want the product. Be wary of promises where you can pay a small shipping fee and cancel at any time or pay a small fee after that- chances are they will delay sending your materials until your time to cancel has expired and then charge you with multiple charges to your credit card or checking account. Because you've sanctioned this charging, there is nothing you can do to reverse it or stop it.

You've won the lottery or a great prize
You have not won the lottery via email, nor a great prize and you certainly can not win something you didn't enter. You also should never have to pay any shipping or fees for a prize you won.

In short, you should never give your personal information of any sort to someone unsolicited, via the phone, email or messenger. Protect your information and guard it closely and only give it out when necessary.