Prevent Fraud

City of Caldwell, Idaho

City of Caldwell

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Prevent Fraud

Fraud Prevention


		Fraud Awareness Fraud Prevention Check Fraud Credit Card Fraud Identity Theft Computer Crimes Internet Fraud Cyberstalking Telemarketing Fraud

FRAUD AWARENESS

As our world becomes increasingly computerized there has been a dramatic increase in economic and high-tech crimes. Computers have increased the speed of communications in our world and have become almost indispensable tools in our daily life, but they also allow a degree of anonymity to those individuals engaging in criminal activities the likes of which has never been seen before. The growing use of the internet, credit cards, debit cards, and other high-tech systems has increased the incidents of identity theft, forgery, computer crime, cyber stalking, insurance fraud and so on to unprecedented levels.

Every year the United States economy sustains economic losses in the billions of dollars due to fraud while on the international scale the total approaches the trillion dollar mark. But, as great as these losses are, it’s on the personal level that the greatest damage can occur. Bankruptcy, bad credit, loss of ones livelihood, breakup of the family and even suicide are often end result for victims of fraud.

But despite the gloom there are some simple steps that one can take to protect oneself from fraud. Some of the most common frauds that one is likely to encounter are listed below.

Additional Resources

See the Investigations page for links relating financial crime as well as information on other crimes.

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FRAUD PREVENTION

As stated earlier there are several simple steps that can be taken by one to make oneself a “hard” target and limit the possibility of becoming a victim of fraud.

Be Skeptical

If something sounds too good to be true then it probably is. Ask questions, request documentation, ask for references, ask for identification. The list can go on and on, but it comes down to skepticism. An honest salesperson will deal in facts and have documentation and other details to back them up. Most perpetrators of fraud will deal in vague generalities and try to avoid being “pinned” down to anything specific.

Don’t Give Out Personal Information

Don’t be too free with personal information such as ones date of birth, social security information, credit card numbers, etc. Ones Social Security number can be used to access a wide range of information and is often accepted as a valid form of identification by business such as cell phone services and credit card companies. One’s social security number is one of the key components for those individuals who are committing identity theft. If asked for your social security number be sure that the person asking for it has a valid reason to do so.

Keep Track Of Your Documents

Keep track of vital documents such as birth certificates, social security cards, and passports. Thieves have done a tremendous amount of damage with these documents in the past. Most security analysts recommend that you not carry these with you. Instead keep them in a secure place such as a locked fire box, a personal safe or a safe deposit box in your bank or credit union.

Be Alert

Don’t mail checks from your residential mailbox. Instead mail them from the post office. Thieves will open residential mailboxes and remove checks. They will then “wash or bleach” the checks until they are blank – free for any amount and signature that they want to put on it. Another recommend practice is to destroy or shred all pre-approved offers of credit cards, phone cards etc. Thieves will retrieve these documents from “dumpster diving”. They then send in for the credit card and proceed to destroy their victim’s credit rating. Though steps are being taken to correct this loophole it still pays to be careful. A paper shredder is an excellent investment for ones home. Do not save checks from closed checking accounts. If stolen the checks can easily be forged and passed by thieves. When the account is closed shred those checks. Also be wary of giving out personal information when talking on a phone in public – one never knows who is listening.

Conclusion

What has been covered here is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. But it provides a sense of what one can do to avoid becoming a victim of crime. Remember that most crime prevention begins with the individual. Stay alert.


		CHECK FRAUD Check fraud is the forgery, alteration, counterfeiting or knowing issuance of a check on an account that has been closed or has insufficient funds (i.e. bouncing a check) to cover the amount for which the check was written.


		COMPUTER CRIME Computers can be utilized as an instrument or tool to facilitate criminal activity. As defined by the U.S. General Accounting Office, Office of Special Investigations, computers can be “used as tools to commit traditional offenses.” This means that the functions specific to computers, such as software programs and Internet capabilities, can be manipulated to conduct criminal activity.


		CYBERSTALKING There is no universally accepted definition or cyberstalking, yet the term tends to refer to one individual harassing another individual on the Internet using various modes of transmission such as electronic mail, chat rooms, newsgroups, and the World Wide Web. Cyberstalkers have been known to obtain personal information (e.g. home address, phone number) from the Internet and utilize the information to meet their victims in person.


		INTERNET FRAUD Internet fraud is defined as any type of fraud scheme that uses one or more components of the Internet…to present fraudulent solicitations to prospective victims, to conduct fraudulent transactions, or to transmit the proceeds of fraud to financial institutions or to others connected to the scheme. The most common form of Internet fraud occurs on the various auction sites when a person pays for an item and then never received the property.


		CREDIT CARD FRAUD Credit card fraud is committed by any person who, for the purpose of obtaining anything of value with intent to defraud, uses a credit card that has been revoked, cancelled, reported lost or stolen.


		IDENTITY THEFT A growing crime in the early 21st century and one of increasing concern to the private citizen. Congress passed the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act in 1998 … making it a federal crime when anyone knowingly transfers or uses without legal authority the identification documentation of another person with the intent to commit, aid, or abet any unlawful activity that constitutes a felony. In addition to Federal Law most states (to include Idaho) have laws that address Identity Theft as well.


		TELEMARKETING FRAUD Telemarketing fraud is a term that refers generally to any scheme to “deprive victims dishonestly of money or property or to misrepresent the values of good or services and is transacted over the phone.”

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