We read about fraud and scams in the news and circulate emails warning of scams making the rounds, but often when we hear about someone being bilked out of their life savings, we think, “That could never happen to me!”
Yet every year, according to the book “Weapons of Fraud: A Source Book For Fraud Fighters,” by Anthony Pratkanis and Doug Shadel, Americans lose more than $40 billion to telemarketing fraud alone. How can you prevent it from happening to you, and what can you do if you suspect you are the victim of fraud?
To avoid being caught in a scam, educate yourself about how they work. The book I mentioned looks at fraud from the inside, based on surveillance audio that reveal tactics used by criminals. It’s a good read, and will open your eyes to the ways criminals attempt to gain your trust.
A scammer needs only your name, address, phone number, email address or other contact information to get started. Their odds of success increase when they can keep you on the phone, you respond to a scam mailer or open a fraudulent spam email.
The Montana Senior Medicare Patrol recently received complaints about a company supposedly updating medical cards. The calls all had one thing in common: The caller was trying to get personal information, whether a Medicare number, bank account number or Social Security number. They began by saying, “Medicare records show that you are eligible for …,” or “Medicare is updating its cards and I need to confirm your information.” Remember, the minute someone you did not call asks for personal information, it’s time to hang up!
If you think you may have fallen victim to such a call or another type of scam, these are the steps to take:
• Call your bank immediately if you gave out your account information.
• Call your local Montana Senior Medicare Patrol or 1-800-551-3191 to report it if it regards health care fraud. Senior Medicare Patrol can research the complaint and share the scam with partner organizations statewide to help warn others.
• If you are a Medicare beneficiary, sign up for mymedicare.gov and read your Medicare summary notices to look for services being billed that you didn’t receive. If you find any, call the Senior Medicare Patrol and 1-800-MEDICARE to report that your Medicare number has been compromised.
• Call the Consumer Protection Office at 1-800-481-6896
• Contact the Federal Trade Commission toll-free at 1-877- 382-4357 (TTY 1-866-653-4261) or via the identity theft helpline at 1-877- 438-4338 (TTY 1-866-653-4261). Forward unsolicited spam email (spam), including phishing messages, directly to the FTC at spam@uce.gov. While the FTC does not resolve individual consumer complaints, these messages are stored in a database law enforcement agencies use in investigations.
• File a police report. Do this only if personal information, such as credit card, Social Security number or bank account routing numbers have been shared, or there has been a loss of money through sending a check or wiring money via Money Gram or Western Union. A police report containing specific details of an identity theft is considered an Identity Theft Report under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and it entitles a victim to important protections that aid recovery from identity theft.
• Place a fraud alert on your credit reports and review them carefully. This can help prevent an identity thief from opening any more accounts in your name. Call the toll-free fraud number of any of the three consumer reporting companies below to place the alert. You only need to contact one of the three companies; that company is then required to contact the other two, and they will place an alert on their versions of your report, too. TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; transunion.com. Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; equifax.com. Experian: 1-888- 397-3742; experian.com. Once you place the fraud alert, you’re entitled to order one free copy of your credit report from each of the three companies. Review them carefully. Look for inquiries from companies you haven’t contacted, accounts you didn’t open and debts on your accounts that you can’t explain. Check that your personal information is correct, and have any fraudulent or inaccurate information removed.
By educating yourself and staying alert to the tactics of scammers, we hope you will never become a fraud victim and have to take these steps. But if you do suspect you’ve become the target of fraudulent activity, please report it. Only by being proactive against all fraud will we be able to end the scams.
Renee Labrie-Shanks is program manager for Montana Senior Medicare Patrol, which helps educate Medicare beneficiaries about ways to prevent, detect and combat Medicare fraud. Montana SMP is coordinated by Missoula Aging Services and partners with local Area Agencies on Aging.