This type of scam is when someone calls you claiming that they are from your credit card company and asks you to confirm personal information.  This could be anything from your credit card number, the security code from the back of the card, or even your mother’s name.  If you give the caller any of this information after the call is over the caller will take the information and start making charges on your account.  This identity theft may even create a new account in your name.  Sometime these identity thieves or scammers will even leave a number on your answering machine or in an email to get you to call them.

If you should get a phone call of this type make sure that you do not give out any information even if they sound legitimate for the simple reason is that you did not initiate the call.  Some of these scammers are so smart that they can even have your credit card company’s number show up on the caller ID by spoofing your caller ID.  Only trust calls that you make by using the number on the billing statement or on the back of your credit card.  If you get any numbers in an email or left on your answering machine that you do not know do not call them back and give them any personal information.

Call your credit card company immediately if you mistakenly give out your personal information.  The credit card company may give you a new credit card number or even a new credit card and deactivate the old one to prevent fraudulent charges from being made on your account.
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There is a new identity theft scam where the identity thief only puts one dollar on your credit card.  In this newest scam, identity thieves purchase hundreds of credit card numbers that have been stolen and then they put a one-dollar charge on each of them, which does not sound like much of a scam.  The next step though is what can earn the identity thieves some big money.

If you are one of the unlucky cardholder that ends up with just a dollar charge but does not notice it, the next month the thieves will bill your credit card with thousands of dollars in merchandise.  The reason that this scam works is that it reveals who does not read their credit card statement carefully and notices that initial one-dollar charge.  Once the thieves know they will target these customers because the ones that are not aware of the one-dollar charge that should not be there in the first place and does not report it, they are taking the chance of being hit with thousands of dollars of charges that they never approved.

In order to not become a victim of this latest one-dollar credit card scam, make sure that you check your credit card statement each month carefully.  If you find any charges that are questionable, make sure that you call your credit card company immediately to report the unauthorized charge.

As mentioned in Car Scams Part 1, cars are big ticketed items and there are many ways, or scams, in which these fraudsters will try to bilk innocent buyers out of their hard earned money, many times either not getting the car or getting a lemon in the deal or worst scenario, identity theft.  Here are the rest of the car scams

• Location Scam—this scam happens when a potential buyer sees an ad for a car that is for sale locally.  When the contact is made the fraudster tells the potential buyer that the car in the ad is located somewhere other than where it was advertised but it can be shipped anywhere for a fee.  The victim pays the fraudster the fee and the potential buyer is not only out the fee but never receives the car either.
• Sight Unseen Scam—in this scam the fraudulent sellers will make up a story about why they are not able to show the car physically due to some unforeseen circumstances such as they are away on military duty, or they are traveling for work.  The sell will ask for the full payment and tells the potential buyer that the title will be sent when the car is shipped.  Piece of advice is to never buy a car sight unseen or send money before you see the car.  You should have a licensed mechanic check the car over to check for any damage because it could be a car that was in a flood. Read the rest of this entry »

With cars being a big ticket item there are many way for unsuspecting victims to be bilked by a fraudster and with the internet this has greatly expanded the ways.  Internet identity theft and fraud is now a global business.  Here are the latest in car scams.

• Check Scam—this scam includes all kinds of checks including personal, cashiers, money order and more.  It can take many forms such as a fraudster tells the seller that he accidentally made out the check for too much and wants the seller to deposit the check and just sent him the difference back.  Of course, once the seller has wired the person the difference back they learn the check is worthless and their money is gone.  It is advisable to wait for at least three weeks for a big check to clear.
• Sympathy Scam—this is one of the oldest scams around where the seller gives a potential buyer a sob story about why they need to sell the car quickly and why the price is so low which is putting pressure of the buyer to make a quick decision.  If the buyer falls for this scam they can land up with no car or a lemon.
• Shipping Scam—in this scam the seller asks for a deposit on a car and promises to ship the vehicle to the potential buyer so they can inspect the car with a certain number of days.  Usually a thief will tell they buyer that the third party shipping company will be in contact after the deposit is sent via wire service.  To appear legitimate the fraudster will copy or forge a website.  Usually this scam is carried out by criminal gangs and not just one person. Read the rest of this entry »