Protecting Yourself Against Frauds and Scams

We all know somebody who's been hit by a scam. Many of us have been targeted ourselves. What can we do to protect ourselves?
Here are a few resources to help us:

The Federal Trade Commission

We recommend that you join their Consumer Alerts mailing list to get notified of new frauds and scams they're seeing.
This is also where you can report fraud as a help to yourself and others.
In addition, of course, you should dial 911 and report the scam to your local police agency.

The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center

The FBI has their own site for reporting Internet crime. You can file a complaint directly. Please have as much documentation available as possible - the more you have, the better the results.

The New York State Office of Victim Services

You can file a claim for compensation if you've been the victim of a crime. Again, have as much documentation available as possible.

The Upstate Elder Abuse Center at Lifespan

Our good friends at Lifespan can help with all kinds of elder abuse, including being scammed, defrauded, and having your identity stolen.

Free Credit Reports

You can get a free credit report every week. Get started at AnnualCreditReport.com.
NOTE: this one is the real deal.

Dealing with Identity Theft

What it is, what they can do with your data, keeping yourself safe, and how to freeze your credit.

Important Things to Know to Keep Yourself Safe

• Never answer a call from a number you don't know.
• Let it go to voicemail. If it's legitimate, you can always call them back. If it's not, they'll hang up.
• This is the number one tip. If you do this, you'll likely never even need the rest of these
• No one from Microsoft, Apple, Google, or any other big company will ever, ever, EVER cold call you. If you get a call like that, it's definitely a scam.
• No legitimate company will ever, ever, EVER ask you to pay them with a gift card or cash. That's a huge red flag.
• If you ever get a phone call from someone who tells you one of your loved ones is in jail or stranded somewhere and needs money, hang up immediately and call your loved one directly. That way you'll know if it's legitimate or a scam.

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Extra special thanks to friend-of-the-show Dan Lyon, Fraud/Scams Program Manager of Upstate Elder Abuse Center at Lifespan of Greater Rochester, Inc.

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