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New Phone Scam Scares with Social Security Sham

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We all get scam phone calls, but the newest one is meant to scare. When you pick up the phone, you get a message that your Social Security number is suspended due to suspicious activity, and then prompts the victim to speak with an agent to get help.

The FTC makes something very clear: your Social Security number cannot be suspended for any reason, so any call that states your SSN is under suspension is a scam. What they are really trying to do is to trick you into giving them your actual Social Security number along with information such as your birthday and bank account number. 

This scam is just a tricky variation of a scammer’s trick that often works. In this case, they are trying to scare you first, and then offer to help…but in reality, these scammers are trying to steal your information.

Remember These Social Security Facts

If you get a call about your Social Security number, you should remember the following:

  • The Social Security Administration only calls from one number: 800-772-1213.
  • A Social Security Number cannot ever be suspended.
  • The Social Security Administration won’t ever threaten an arrest.
  • You will probably NEVER get a call from the SSA.

Also, of course, remember this: NEVER give your SSN to someone who contacts you that you don’t know.

The Scam

There are a few variations of this scam. The first is that they call and say that your SSN is suspended due to suspicious activity. They then say, if you want to know more about the case, press 1. When you do, of course, you are connected to an agent who is trained to get your information.

Another variation of this scam is a bit more aggressive. In this case, it states that law enforcement has suspended your Social Security number because of suspicious activity. You are advised to call a toll-free number immediately and verify your SSN. The scam also claims that if you do not call the number, an arrest warrant will be issued, and you, of course, would be arrested. Though not everyone will get one of these calls, if you do, you should definitely pay attention. Again, the SSA would never suspend a Social Security number, nor would it threaten to arrest you. It’s also good practice to never give you SSN to anyone who asks for it over the phone. Instead, hang up and go on with your day.

Robert Siciliano personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of Identity Theft Privacy: Security Protection and Fraud Prevention: Your Guide to Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft and Computer Fraud. See him knock’em dead in this Security Awareness Training video.

How to Protect You Frequent Flier Miles NOW

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Social Security numbers and credit card numbers are not the only types of data that hackers are after. Now, they are looking at frequent flyer accounts, and they are stealing reward miles, and then selling them online.

How do Hackers Steal Frequent Flyer Miles?

As with other types of ID theft, hackers use info that they have illegally obtained to access frequent flyer accounts. With more data breaches happening than ever before, hundreds of millions of records are exposed, and thus, hackers have great access to the personal info they need to get into these accounts.

What do Hackers Do with Frequent Flyer Miles?

It is hard for hackers to use these miles on their own because often, the travel has to be booked in the name of the owner. However, it is very easy to transfer these miles to other accounts or to use the miles to purchase other rewards. Usually, no ID is needed for a transfer like this. This is also difficult to track because hackers use the dark web and VPNs to remain anonymous.

Hackers also sell these miles, and they catch a pretty penny. For airlines like British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and Delta, they can get hundreds, or even thousands of dollars for their work.

In addition to transferring these miles from one account to another, hackers are also selling the account’s login information. Once someone buys this, they can now get into the owner’s account and do what they want with the miles.

Protecting Your Frequent Flyer Miles

There are some things that you can do to protect your frequent flyer miles. You should check your frequent flyer accounts regularly using your airlines mobile app. Change all your airline passwords and never re-use passwords and set up a different password for each account.

Other things that you can do include the following:

  • Protect your personal information by making sure every online account has a unique and difficult to guess password.
  • Use a dark web scan. This will show you if any personal information is out on the dark web.
  • If you do find that your miles have been stolen, it also is probable that your personal information has been compromised, too. Monitor your credit report and check it often for anything that looks odd. This is a big sign of an issue.

Robert Siciliano personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of Identity Theft Privacy: Security Protection and Fraud Prevention: Your Guide to Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft and Computer Fraud. See him knock’em dead in this Security Awareness Training video.

Beware of the Social Security Administration Employee Scam

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There is a new Social Security scam in the news, and you should definitely know about it. The Acting Inspector General of Social Security, released a statement that warns people of this new scheme. Basically, scammers are impersonating Social Security Administration employees.

The scam started out fairly small and localized, but now, people from across the country are reporting that they are getting calls from people stating that they are from the Social Security Administration. The caller attempts to get personal information from the person they call including address and banking information.

Here’s How the Scam Works

Almost all of these calls are coming from a 323 area code, but don’t think for a second they won’t change this up. The caller says that they are an SSA employee, and sometimes tells the victim that they are getting a cost of living adjustment, so their benefits will be higher. Many callers believe this, of course, so when the scammer asks them to verify things such as their name, their birthday, their Social Security number, and even the name of their parents, they gladly do it to get an increase in their benefits. Once the scammer gets the information, they then contact the SSA and change the victim’s account information so that the benefits now go into a different account. Then, they can collect the cash.

Currently, the Social Security administration does contact people by phone in certain cases. However, the person usually knows that they should be expecting a call. It is also possible that an SSA employee might ask a person to verify information. So, none of this really seems unusual to anyone who has dealt with the SSA.

What to Do if You Get a Call

Hang up. Plain and simple. If you get a call from the Social Security Administration, you should report it immediately to 1-800-269-0271. You can also report it online.

It is also very important to be cautious, and you should avoid giving any information, such as your bank account number or Social Security number, to anyone who calls you. To check if it is a legitimate call from the SSA, tell the person calling that you are worried about scams, and ask if you can call them back. A legitimate SSA employee should be perfectly fine with this. Then, look up the number yourself. Don’t call a number that they give, no matter what. Finally, you can also contact the Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213 if you have any question about any text, letter, email, or call that you get.

Robert Siciliano personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of Identity Theft Privacy: Security Protection and Fraud Prevention: Your Guide to Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft and Computer Fraud. See him knock’em dead in this Security Awareness Training video.

A “Credit Profile Number” is a fake SSN, and it Works

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Cyber criminals are constantly trying to stay one step ahead of the good guys, and there is now another scam out there that you should know about: synthetic identity theft. Basically, the criminals take information from someone, and then make up the rest. They also often use fake Social Security numbers, called CPNs, or “credit profile numbers,” or names.

This type of identity theft shows us that our credit system is more vulnerable than we might think. Basically, it is easy to create a credit file on these identities, and once they have that, they can get a credit card or loan.

Of course, using a CPN like this on an application for credit card or loan is illegal, but lenders currently don’t have a conclusive way of distinguishing a real Social Security number from one of these fake ones. The Social Security Administration generates SSNs randomly. This makes it difficult for a lender to notice a fake one. Technically, a lender can contact the SSA and cross-check, but most of them don’t. Why? Because the SSA requires a handwritten signature from the person who has that SSN, and this is a pain in the neck for lenders.

So, of course, the best thing to do is to create a way for lenders to instantly check to see if a Social Security number is valid or not, and as of now, they do not have the capacity to do this. Lenders do, however, use their own fraud-detection tools, but these requests for credit still fall through the cracks.

This practice also has created more open windows for fraudsters, because they know that the system is vulnerable. It’s true that many lenders won’t accept a credit application from someone with no history of borrowing, which is the case with a CPN, but some still do, and the more activity the file sees, the more likely it is that credit will be given. Once credit is approved, a full credit report is created. Though it likely won’t be a high amount of credit, many lenders take a chance on new borrowers, and at a minimum, extend a couple of hundred dollars. Some people will even get a card that has, say a $300 limit, and use the card for a time. Once they establish a good payment history, they can get a credit increase, and that’s where the fun really begins.

This is just one more scam that you should be aware of, and one more reason to keep your private and personal information safe.

Robert Siciliano personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of Identity Theft Privacy: Security Protection and Fraud Prevention: Your Guide to Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft and Computer Fraud. See him knock’em dead in this Security Awareness Training video.

Mobile Phone Numbers Are as Sensitive as Your Social Security Number

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All of us have cell phones these days, and if you are like the vast majority of the population, you access everything from social media to banking information right from your mobile phone. However, if you do this, which everyone does, you are putting yourself in the position to get hacked. With only your mobile phone number and a couple other pieces of information, a hacker can get into these accounts and your life could drastically change.

How does this work? If a hacker already has your mobile phone number, they can get other information, such as you address, birthday, or even the last four digits of your Social Security number, through social engineering schemes via email or on social. Once they have this information, it’s like handing your phone over to them and letting them do as they please, including accessing your accounts.

The scam may not even begin with you, it may begin with the mobile phone companies themselves. There have been many incidents where the carriers are scammed into handing over troves of personal identifying information to scammers posing as the victim. In many cases the phone companies are even allowing the scammers to get phones with the actual victims phone number by transferring everything to a new phone the perpetrator charges to the victims account.

Here are some things that you can do to keep your mobile phone number safe:

Use Your Passcode – You can and should put a passcode on your phone, you should definitely do it. This isn’t totally foolproof, but does give you an extra level of protection.

Add a Passcode – Your mobile carriers online account should have an additional second passcode to make any changes to your account. This additional passcodes works with both the web and calling customer service. Nothing happens unless this additional passcode is presented.

Disable Online Access to Any Mobile Phone Account – This is frustrating, of course, but it certainly can protect you. If you need to change your account, you should go to the store or call your provider.

Use Google Voice – Google Voice is an excellent choice for many, and you can even forward your current number to your Google Voice number. This helps to mask any call you make, which means no one can have access to your real number.

Access Your Cell Phone Account with a Carrier-Specific Email Address – Most of us use our email addresses and phone numbers to access our online accounts. However, you should really have three separate emails. One should be your primary email address, one should be only for sensitive accounts, like your bank or social media accounts, and one for your mobile phone carrier. This means, even if your main email is hacked, the hackers cannot get into your other accounts.

Talk to Your Carrier – Consider asking your carrier to make a note in your account to require a photo ID and special passcode before any changes are made. Though it’s possible that a hacker could pose as you with a fake ID, the chances are quite low that this would happen.

Use Complex Passwords – One of the best ways to protect online accounts is to use complex passwords. Or at least a different password for every account. You should also use a password manager. If you don’t, make sure your passwords are very random and very difficult to guess like “58&hg#Sr4.”

Do Not Be Truthful – You also might want to lie when answering your security questions. These are easy to guess or discover. For instance, it’s probably easy to find out your mother’s maiden name. So, make it up…just make sure you remember it!

Don’t Use Your Phone Number for Important Accounts – Also, make sure that you aren’t using your phone number for any important account. Instead, use that Google Voice number. 

Use a Password Generator – This is part of two factor authentication. Protect yourself by using a one time password generator, as part of a two-factor authentication process. It may be your mobile or they look like keyfobs and produce a new password very frequently. The only way to get the password is to access the generator or your mobile.

Use a Physical Security Key – You should also think about using a physical security key. To use one, you must enter your password into the computer, and then enter a device into the computer’s USB port. This proves that you are the account owner. So, even if a hacker gets your password, they must also have the physical security key to access the account.

Think About Biometrics – Finally, to really protect your accounts, when available, use biometrics. You can buy biometric scanners that read your fingerprints, your iris, or even recognize your voice. When you use these, you cannot access any account until you scan your finger, eye, or speak.

Yes, it’s true that some of these seem time consuming, it is much more time consuming to have to deal with getting hacked or a stolen identity. So, take these steps to remain as safe as possible.

Robert Siciliano personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of Identity Theft Privacy: Security Protection and Fraud Prevention: Your Guide to Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft and Computer Fraud. See him knock’em dead in this Security Awareness Training video.

Never put these Docs in your Wallet

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Yes, believe it or not, you CAN get by in life with a wallet that just has a little cash, a store card or two, one to two credit cards and your ID.  Unless you absolutely need your insurance card or Social Security card, leave those items at home.

1DFor years now, wallets have been on the market that you can stuff everything into, save for the kitchen sink. This doesn’t mean you must carry a ridiculous bulging wallet everywhere you go.

Now you may not mind having to dig through your wallet for five minutes to retrieve things because there’s so much stuff in there, but do you know who actually would enjoy this?

A crook who specializes in identity theft. With just your Social Security card (come on already, just memorize the number), a crook could open up credit lines in your name and make your life a nightmare.

Now you may think it doesn’t matter because your wallet will never be lost or stolen. Everyone must lose their wallet at some point in their lives? But what if you’re in an accident? What if you’re jumped on the street? What if someone brazenly approaches you, grabs the wallet out of your hands and runs?

If my wallet is lost or stolen I won’t care because there’s nothing in my wallet that the thief could easily use to steal my identity, nor is there anything I couldn’t easily name or easily replace.

Keep the following items out of your wallet:

  • Anything with your Social Security number; again, just memorize it already.
  • Home address
  • Keys
  • PINs and passwords (if you need an assortment of these to function while away from home, use an encrypted app—assuming you have a smartphone).
  • Checks
  • Credit cards you won’t be using on any given day you’re out in the community (though one emergency credit card at all times is a smart move).
  • Birth certificate
  • Credit card receipts
  • Medical cards unless you are going to the doctor
  • Store cards unless you are going to that store

Make photo copies of all docs in your wallet and upload them to your secure email account. Consider an app like “Key Ring” and enter the cards into your mobile device. Put ALL your loyalty cards there and copies of most cards you might need in a pinch.

Robert Siciliano is an identity theft expert to TheBestCompanys.com discussing  identity theft prevention.

Stolen Social Security number? Don’t Worry!

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Just when you think it was safe to believe your Social Security number can’t get stolen…news breaks of the Anthem data breach. Over 80,000,000 patient records were compromised, including SSNs and home addresses. Like a meteor striking the earth, a disastrous ripple effect is underway, with patients getting hit up with phishing e-mails.

1PIf you ever suspect your SSN has been stolen, some suggest contacting the IRS and Social Security Administration and notify them of your situation. The thief can do bad things with your number, but if you contact these agencies, can you really protect yourself from that? I’m not sure these agencies can really do anything based on the volume of fraud happening today.

So what should you do to guard against ID theft while you’re still ahead?

Your credit report should have a fraud alert placed on it. This way, lenders and creditors will be stricter about identifying you as the authentic applicant. Thus, a thief will probably flunk these extra steps. Contact either Equifax, Experian or Transunion and they’ll place the 90-day fraud alert. You can also ask for an extension. Consider re-establishing the fraud alert every 90 days. The fraud alert will net you a copy of your credit report. Examine it carefully.

Watch your credit like a hawk. If nothing happens during those 90 days, this doesn’t mean you’re in the clear. A thief may act after 90 days, or, just as a baseline good practice, you should still always monitor your credit. Self-monitoring your credit involves either buying your credit report as often as you’d like or getting it free, quarterly at AnnualCreditReport.com.

Credit freeze. A more secure measure is to freeze your credit, but this means you too can’t do anything like apply for a refinance on your house until it’s “thawed”. But if you don’t foresee needing to do that or open new lines of credit in the near future, then you’ll get more peace of mind with a credit freeze.

If an unforeseen need to apply for a loan surfaces, you can unfreeze your credit. Just keep good notes regarding the user/pass and web address to quickly thaw your credit. A credit freeze/thaw requires a one-time fee of $5-$15.00. Cheap and effective.

Identity theft protection. This is a no brainer. For $100-$300 annually for an individual or family of 4, your identity is being monitored 24/7 by professionals who will also restore your identity in the event of loss. Check with the companies Terms of Service and their features/benefits to determine what the will and will not protect against.

Be smart. Though some hackers are amazingly ingenious and subtle with their schemes, other tricks are so obvious that it’s astounding that anyone who’s smart enough to use a computer could fall for them.

A college degreed professional can be so caught up in the latest trash or tragic news about a very high profile celebrity that they could be lured right into the palm of a ruthless scammer: The bait is a link to an exclusive interview with the celebrity’s mother. Hah! Click the link, and you’ll become the mouse in a trap.

  • Never click links inside e-mails, even if it seems that the sender is from someone you know.
  • Don’t even bother opening e-mails with sensationalistic subject lines like “Exclusive Video of Bruce Jenner in Mini Skirt.”
  • When using various online accounts, see if they offer two-factor authentication; then use it.
  • Use different passwords for all of your accounts, and make them long and unique, not “123Kitty.”
  • Use antivirus and anti-malware and keep them updated; also use a firewall.
  • Shred all personal documents before putting them in the rubbish.

Never give out your SSN except for job applications, loan applications, credit card applications and other “big stuff.”

Robert Siciliano is an identity theft expert to BestIDTheftCompanys.com discussing identity theft prevention. Disclosures.

SSN and Its Afterlife

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What’s one billion? That’s about the number of possible permutations of the Social Security number. Which begs the question: What happens to an SSN when someone kicks the bucket?

8DCurrently, SSN’s are never repeated when they’re issued by the Social Security Administration. As of June 2011, the SSA made the issuance entirely random (previously, for example, the first three numbers were determined by place of birth).

With nearly a billion permutations, there’s no point in any number surviving the holder’s death and being reissued. Now in theory, the combinations will eventually run out, because eventually, a billion people will have been born in the United States. But this isn’t exactly in the near future. Why worry?

Nevertheless, some people like to plan way ahead. Maybe this scenario can be mitigated with a 10-digit number. Maybe numbers will stay at nine but be recycled. But for now, your number is as unique as your DNA. But, unlike DNA, a SSN can be used fraudulently.

The three credit bureaus maintain a list of the deceased based on data from the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File Index. Sometimes it takes months for bureaus to update their databases with the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File Index.

Here’s how to avoid identity theft of the deceased:

  • Report the death yourself by calling the Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213.
  • Contact the credit bureaus directly to report a death and request the information to be recorded immediately.
  • Right now, before anyone perishes, get the person a credit freeze. Upon death (as in life), the person’s Social Security number will be useless to the thief.
  • Invest in identity theft protection. This is a layer of security that monitors one’s information, including Social Security number, in the wild. Have it activated for six months to a year after death.
  • The Identity Theft Resource Center suggests, “Immediately notify credit card companies, banks, stockbrokers, loan/lien holders and mortgage companies of the death. The executor or surviving spouse will need to discuss all outstanding debts. If you close the account, ask them to list it as: ‘Closed. Account holder is deceased.’ If there is a surviving spouse or other joint account holder, make sure to notify the company the account needs to be listed in that surviving person’s name alone. They may require a copy of the death certificate to do this, as well as permission from the survivor.”

Robert Siciliano is an identity theft expert to BestIDTheftCompanys.com discussing  identity theft prevention.

Background Checks aren’t as easy as you’d think

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With seemingly more and more people being harassed, stalked and getting their identities stolen, the rate of background check requests (e.g., a small business owner hiring a private investigator) has increased quite a bit.

The background check is no longer some snoopy kind of thing for extra-curious people; it’s become a necessary tool in a world fraught with frivolous lawsuits but also cybercrime and identity theft. For example, if the “furnace guy” rapes and murders the homeowner, his company would be held accountable. We hear of cases like this all the time—another example would be a bus driver fondling a student. The bus company is held liable.

It’s a no-brainer that background checks should be conducted for people ranging from school officials, nannies and cafeteria workers to home health aides…you name it: all adult employees and volunteers. If you own a business, you’ll never regret getting a background check on your employees.

As crucial as this practice is, however, it’s full of land mines. But don’t let that stop you from acquiring a professional-grade background check to screen for criminality.

First off, the subject’s identity must be validated. But even if you have the correct name, the subject’s birthdate must also be correct. Usually, a photo ID will suffice. But when it’s not available, there are other methods. To see if the subject’s claimed name and DOB match, their driving record is pulled via the state DMV. But there again, we have a loophole: How do you know that the given name and DOB, that pops up in the DMV results, belongs to the subject?

A background check requires the SSN. When the SSN is run through, it will bring up a history of names and addresses, plus previous residential locations of the subject. We now can zero in on various locations to narrow down the investigation. If any aliases pop up, these too must be checked.

The third stop is the court record check in all the counties where the subject has resided in   the past decade. The court’s website should have this information. However, it can also be obtained in person at the courthouse. The investigation will also include the federal court level.

The general criminal check comes next, and is often called a “nationwide” criminal check. It’s not 100 percent accurate but will turn up criminal history if, indeed, the subject is a crook. In addition, the state prison records need to be checked to see if the subject has served some time.

But zero results here don’t mean that the subject was never incarcerated, due to flaws in the search system. On the other hand, if a red flag appears, the investigator will know to dig deeper. To aid with this, the investigator should do an online search on the federal prison site.

The sex offender history is even tougher. Unfortunately in some states, a sex offender history can’t be used to refuse employment to someone. But this doesn’t mean that the investigator can’t investigate, including going straight to the affiliated court and then turning this information over to the individual wanting the background check. Sex offender checks usually turn up empty, but they should always be done.

The investigator should also search for arrest reports, but there’s no guarantee that the unveiled information can be legally presented to the client who hired the investigator.

And finally, is the subject wanted by the police? Historically, PIs were not privy to this information (it was available only to law enforcement). But fairly recently, PIs can now get ahold of this information, though the search process has flaws. Nevertheless, it should be done, especially since the fee is low.

Robert Siciliano is an identity theft expert to TheBestCompanys.com discussing  identity theft prevention. For Roberts FREE ebook text- SECURE Your@emailaddress -to 411247. Disclosures.

Search Engine Doesn’t Need Kids SSN

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When Google launched Doodle-4-Google, in which children can compete to design Google’s homepage logo, they requested contestants’ Social Security numbers in an effort to prevent duplicate entries.

Americans have become accustomed to handing over the last four digits of their Social Security number as a password or identifier for various accounts and applications. But with the development of new technologies that have cracked the code for the distribution of Social Security numbers, the last four digits have become as sensitive and valuable as the first five.

The coder or marketer at Google who believes it’s reasonable to request the last four digits of children’s Social Security numbers is probably someone who readily shares his or her own number, which is not a good idea.

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a reliable method to predict Social Security numbers using information from social networking sites, data brokers, voter registration lists, online white pages, and the publicly available Social Security Administration’s Death Master File.

The New York Times reports, “Computer scientists and policy experts say that such seemingly innocuous bits of self-revelation can increasingly be collected and reassembled by computers to help create a picture of a person’s identity, sometimes down to the Social Security number… So far, this type of powerful data mining, which relies on sophisticated statistical correlations, is mostly in the realm of university researchers, not identity thieves and marketers.”

The primary issue here is new account fraud, or financial identity theft in which the victim’s personally identifiable information and good credit standing are used to create new accounts, which are then used to obtain products and services. Stolen Social Security numbers are often used to commit new account fraud.

Aside from subscribing to an identity theft protection service, it’s difficult to stop or prevent new account fraud. One way that online businesses can mitigate the issue would be to verify the reputation of the computer or smartphone being used to submit credit applications, rather than simply verifying the Social Security number or other identification information provided by credit applicants.

By evaluating a device for criminal history or high risk while its connected to the online site, creditors can automatically detect and reject fraudulent applications.  This worked very well for one Fortune 100 credit issuer.  A Forrester Consulting Total Economic Impact study found that the device reputation service provided by Oregon-based iovation Inc., identified 43,000 fraudulent credit applications and saved the financial institution $8 million USD over two years in reduced fraud losses and operational efficiencies that their fraud prevention process and team gained.

Robert Siciliano, personal security and identity theft expert contributor to iovation, discusses child predators online on Fox News. Disclosures