Guest post by Terry Ambrose, author of the McKenna mystery series
Posted by Jenny Hilborne
Author of Mysteries and Psychological Thrillers
Victims
of identity theft take note, I am one of you. I never expected to have someone
steal my identity. I wondered why more couldn’t be done to find the
perpetrators. And I wanted justice. So begins the dedication of the second
McKenna Mystery, “Kauai Temptations.”
It’s a story that uses identity theft as
a launching pad for the more typical murder-mystery plot. But this post is
about identity theft, not murder. This post is timely in a sense because the
holiday season is drawing near. That means celebration, good cheer, and a
target on your identity.
Identity
theft is a $50 billion per year business. By any measurement, that’s big
business. But identity theft is really an industry made up of many “small
businessmen.” True, we who are victims don’t regard them as businessmen, we
have a more graphic description.
The
thieves—no, that’s not the graphic description, it’s far worse—have so many
methods to trip us up it can make your head spin. The good news is that for
writers, the following list can be a terrific starting point for a murder
mystery.
•
Unsolicited emails with
links for triggers to download a virus or malware have become commonplace. And
sadly, the emails, the viruses and the malware grow more sophisticated each
day.
•
Fake web sites that are
exact duplicates of the real thing are set up and hosted under domains similar
to the legitimate site. These fakes typically offer deals that legitimate
retailers can’t match. The difference is that the fake site will steal your
financial information and never fulfill your order or send you substandard
goods.
•
Telemarketers offer free
medical alert systems, home repairs, and other great deals. What they really
want is a “yes” and your information.
•
Fake charities collect
“donations” and never distribute to their cause. This has become a common
occurrence and, unfortunately, these sites now crop up and are live and ready
to go within hours of a natural or manmade disaster.
•
The FBI estimates that 90%
of the work-at-home opportunities are scams. If you’re thinking of working at
home and have dreams of making that advertised $10k a month, rethink the dream.
You’ll be lucky if you don’t get taken for that much.
•
Financial planners and
investment advisors can take you for your life savings. Think Bernie Madoff. Or
better yet, think about my friends who decided to invest with their next-door
neighbor—someone they’d known for a few years and was an investment advisor.
They lost their retirement money and their neighbor because they didn’t check
the guy out.
•
The next time you receive a
travel clubs offer, read the fine print. Many offer deals you can never use or
have ways to disqualify you for any one of a dozen reasons.
•
That $5 iPad you saw on the
penny auction site? Don’t be downloading your new apps quite yet. Chances are
you won’t get it and neither will most of the other bidders. Of course, the
dirtbags—that’s getting closer to the right description, but is still too
mild—those behind the site will have your information and how will you stop
them from selling it? You can’t, no matter how many little checkboxes you
check.
As I
said above, this list might provide writers with ideas for a scam to
incorporate into a mystery. For “Kauai Temptations” I used the theft of checks
to get the identification of my protagonist, but it could just have easily been
the $5 iPad. All of these scams wind up in the same place, with you struggling
to recover while some guy the police can’t find starts on his next victim.
What
does all this have to do with the holiday season?
Quite a bit, actually,
because this is the time of year when the scammers start working overtime.
Between now and Christmas, you’ll probably receive more spam emails, see more
unbeatable deals, and maybe even receive telemarketing calls. We can’t stop it,
but we can all be vigilant and avoid becoming a victim. In that vein, here are
three tips to enhance your financial security.
•
Check out businesses and
charities with the Better Business Bureau at bbb.org.
•
Online scammers create
great fakes websites and emails. Don’t be fooled by good artwork or perfect
logos or a slick website. The good scammers can perfectly duplicate a website
or email.
•
Never succumb to pressure.
Pressure is the con man’s friend. Whether it’s in an email, on a website
offering you a “last-minute deal,” or with a real person, remember that if
someone demands something, they may be using pressure to dull your responses.
Walk away at the first sign.
Great ideas and great advice, Terry. It's a scary world out there.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting with us!
Thanks Peg, indeed it is. We all say we'd never fall for these scams, but it happens every day.
ReplyDeleteExcellent article, Terry. I must come to one of your scam meetings. It's intriguing and terrifying what come people come up with.
ReplyDeleteAs a matter of fact, I have one coming up in Spring Valley on Nov. 2nd at the library, assuming you want to drive over an hour to listen to me for an hour! LOL Don't worry, I'll understand if you decide not to attend!
ReplyDelete