Additional Resources

Helpful Tips to Prevent Fraud

Here are some of the most common scams and tips for guarding against fraud:

Skimming

How it works: Skimmers swipe your credit or debit card through a handheld device, or they install an overlay device—usually a slightly different color than the existing ATM machine or gas pump. The device gleans your private information—name, account number, expiration date, security features—off the magnetic stripe on the back of the card. The thief copies information from your card to a fraudulent one and sells it to a counterfeiter.
How to avoid it: Try not to let your card out of your sight when shopping or when in a restaurant, and watch for devices on ATMs and gas pumps.

Pretexting

How it works: A criminal gets your personal information under false pretenses, such as by calling and posing as a survey firm. The information is then sold to people who may use it to get credit in your name, steal your assets, or investigate or sue you.
How to avoid it: Never give out your financial information via phone or
e-mail unless you initiated the contact.

Phishing

How it works: Scammers send e-mails—often including the name and logo of a legitimate business or financial institution—luring victims to a "spoofed" or fake Web site where they're asked to enter personal information.
How to avoid it: Beware of e-mails that: use a generic greeting (Dear Visa customer, or Dear friend) rather than your name, refer to an urgent problem, say that your account will be shut down unless you reconfirm billing or other personal information, or urge you to click on a link within an unsolicited message. Remember: A legitimate business or financial institution will never ask you to enter sensitive financial information via
e-mail.

Smishing

How it works: Smishing is phishing via SMS (short message service) and it's targeted at cell phone users who use text messaging. You receive a text message along these lines: "We're confirming you've signed up for our dating service. You will be charged $2 a day unless you cancel your order." The message includes a Web link that routes you to the main phishing page, where you're prompted to download a program—a Trojan horse that turns your computer into a zombie controlled by hackers and used within a larger network to steal personal account information and perform other malicious activities.
How to avoid it: Be cautious about deregistering from a service when you're sure you didn't make a formal arrangement with the sender. Be as vigilant about security for your cell phone as you are for your computer. If you have children who have cell phones, warn them about Smishing.

Vishing

This new attack consists of automated telephone calls made to members’ cellular telephones claiming to originate from VISA® security. The automated call demands members enter information, such as their primary account number, card expiration date, or card verification value (CVV2), immediately through their cellular telephone to prevent account deactivation.

While some members have been able to capture the caller ID of the incoming fraudulent call, most of the telephone numbers appear to be spoofed, meaning the number is one of an uninvolved third party. This spoofing technique allows the fraudsters to mask the true source of the call. Since account information is demanded as part of the initial call, there is no callback telephone number given that law enforcement can attempt to have disconnected, making the attack nearly impossible to defeat.

If you fall victim to a phishing, vishing, or Smishing attack and have provided confidential account information to a fraudster, please contact one of DuTrac’s highly qualified Financial Services Consultant by e-mail at members@dutrac.org, by phone at (563) 582-1331, or 1-800-475-1331, or stop into any of DuTrac's convenient locations. 12/4/2009

How it works: You receive a phone call from an automated random dialer informing you that your credit card has been used illegally and asking you to call a fake 800 number, where you'll be asked to confirm your account details. Or you may receive an e-mail asking you to call a toll-free number.
How to avoid it: If you get a call asking you to give personal information, hang up and call the financial institution that issued your card, using the number on the back of the card. Your provider will know if the call is legitimate. Delete any e-mail requests making similar requests, and never provide personal information in response to an e-mail.

Pharming

How it works: When you type in an Internet address and hit enter, you're redirected to a fake Web site where you're asked to submit personal information. A hacker may have hijacked the legitimate site and is redirecting all traffic. Malware such as viruses and Trojans may be directing you to the site. A minor misspelling of the domain name (dutrac.org vs. durac.org) may trigger the redirection. It may be DNS (domain name server) poisoning, which is most dangerous of all—a poisoned server is redirecting traffic to a Web site other than the one you requested.
How to avoid it: Keep your firewall and virus-protection software up-to-date. Also, look for "https:" in the URL before entering sensitive information and for the closed padlock icon in your browser frame, separate from the vendor Web site window; these indicate secure sites.

Common international-fraud scenarios include:

Inheritance scams promising a substantial legacy from a long-lost relative in exchange for payment of fees up front.
Employment scams offering a work permit for a highly paid job abroad in exchange for substantial advance fees. In some cases, applicants may be responding to ads posted online or targeted as a result of an online posted resume.
Online auction scams involving overpayment for the purchase of an item offered online at an auction site such as eBay. After refunding the amount of the overpayment and perhaps even sending the item to the purchaser, the seller discovers that the international money order used for payment was fake.
Lottery scams use e-mails or letters to notify recipients that they've won the Spanish (or another country's) lottery, but must pay fees before collecting. Once they pay the fees, they discover their contact was fraudulent.
Letter scam is a message arriving claiming a reputable authority figure in another nation needs help transferring millions of dollars to U.S. accounts, and offers a percentage if the recipient helps. But first the recipient must send an advance fee to cover the transaction costs, and often gets requests for other fees. The sender typically finds reasons to charge other fees until the recipient wises up. Then the sender disappears—with the money.
Online dating services often snare lovelorn Americans. After the American's interest is piqued, the online correspondent claims to have a sudden need for cash, often due to a personal tragedy.

How to avoid foreign fraud:

Never send money to someone you don't know.
Don't believe you can get something for nothing.
Never expect to win a lottery if you didn't buy a ticket.
Remember: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.