{"id":40643,"date":"2023-06-11T19:47:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-11T23:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/?p=40643"},"modified":"2023-06-05T15:51:17","modified_gmt":"2023-06-05T19:51:17","slug":"protect-yourself-from-scams-and-fraudulent-schemes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/protect-yourself-from-scams-and-fraudulent-schemes\/","title":{"rendered":"Protect yourself from scams and fraudulent schemes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has a list of 14 common fraud schemes on its \u201cScams and Safety\u201d\u00a0 web page, including credit card theft. The thief makes small purchases with your stolen credit card number and sees if they go through, if they do, then they hit your account for bigger purchases. You should have an email, text message, or phone alert set up with your credit card company, so that the bank will contact you if there are any unusual spending items, if there are illegitimate charges, you must report to the bank as soon as possible so you won\u2019t be charged for those items. The bank will lock your account and send you a new card in the mail. This can be frustrating when you have set up monthly withdrawals to be charged against your card. You\u2019ll have to go to those companies\u2019 websites and change the card numbers you use for those charges.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to protect yourself from Internet scams and fraudulent schemes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FBI says protect your computer by keeping systems and software up to date and install a strong reputable anti-virus program. Also, keep your operating system up to date, and turn your computer off when it\u2019s not in use. You will pay a yearly fee for antivirus, antispyware, and firewall software services, but the safety they provide makes it well worth the cost.\u00a0 Be careful when connecting to a public Wi-Fi network and create a strong and unique passphrase for each online account you hold and change them regularly.If you\u2019ve been the victim of a scam, file a complaint with your local\/state police department\u2019s cybercrime unit and file a complaint with the FBI\u2019s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Forewarned is forearmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The more you know about e-scams and fraudulent schemes, the safer you will feel. Another way to protect yourself is by going to the Federal Trade Commission\u2019s (FTC\u2019s) website. Its function is to protect America\u2019s consumers by educating and taking consumer complaints on everything from identity theft to unwanted telemarketing solicitations by phone or by email. It runs the National Do Not Call Registry,\u2075 which you should sign up for. Once you are on the do-not-call list for at least 31 days, the calls\/emails should stop, and if they don\u2019t then you can file a complaint with the FTC.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can register each phone number that you have, and your registration won\u2019t expire. You can check the FTC\u2019s website if your phone number is still registered.5 Remember, it\u2019s not OK for companies to leave recorded voicemails on your phone, so you can file a complaint if you receive unwanted telemarketing robocalls. Once you are registered on the do-not-call list, it\u2019s illegal for those telemarketers to continue to call you. Use your common sense. If you don\u2019t recognize the area code or the phone number on your caller ID, chances are it\u2019s a telemarketing call. Don\u2019t answer it, or if you do, insist that they take you off their call list. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To keep up to date on current scams that are plaguing consumers, the FTC has an email alert system that you can sign up for.\u2076<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This educational, third-party article is provided as a courtesy by Anthony Marlin, Agent, New York Life Insurance Company. To learn more about the information or topics discussed, please contact Anthony Marlin at 260-704-3272.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sources:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cScams and Safety\u2014Common Scams and Crimes,\u201d Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). https:\/\/www.fbi.gov\/how-we-can-help-you\/safety-resources\/scams-and-safety\/common-scams-and-crimes https:\/\/www.fbi.gov\/scams-and-safety\/common-scams-and-crimes\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cScams and Safety\u2014On the Internet,\u201d Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). https:\/\/www.fbi.gov\/scams-and-safety\/on-the-internet\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

FBI\u2019s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). https:\/\/www.ic3.gov\/complaint\/default.aspx<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFiling a Complaint,\u201d Federal Trade Commission (FTC). https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/news-events\/media-resources\/identity-theft-and-data-security\/filing-complaint<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2075  \u201cNational Do Not Call Registry,\u201d Federal Trade Commission (FTC). https:\/\/www.consumer.ftc.gov\/articles\/0108-national-do-not-call-registry or https:\/\/www.donotcall.gov <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2076  \u201cMost Recent Scam Alerts,\u201d Federal Trade Commission (FTC). https:\/\/www.consumer.ftc.gov\/features\/scam-alerts<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has a list of 14 common fraud schemes on its \u201cScams and Safety\u201d\u00a0 web<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":40554,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[17390,3041,19010],"class_list":["post-40643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-columns","tag-anthony-marlin","tag-fbi","tag-federal-bureau-of-investigation"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Marlin-pic-EOT.jpeg?fit=318%2C309&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2YQd9-azx","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-20 00:10:37","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40643"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40643\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40644,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40643\/revisions\/40644"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}