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Avoiding Identity Theft After A Natural Disaster

Avoiding Identity Theft After A Natural Disaster

In recent years, Americans have been subjected to numerous, devastating natural disasters. From hurricanes to wildfires, millions have had their entire lives turned upside down in the blink of an eye. The sad reality is that people will use these events to take advantage of those in need. Avoiding identity theft after a natural disaster is something you must make a priority should you find yourself in a similar situation.

Fraudulent FEMA Scams

In the aftermath of a natural disaster FEMA can be a lifesaver for many. Federal Emergency Management Agency (or FEMA) was established to help Americans before, during and after disasters. As you might expect, victims of natural disasters are often eager to receive help from FEMA. This creates the perfect avenue for potential scammers to act as fraudulent FEMA associates in order to obtain your personal information. Here are some often reported scams, via the FTC:

  • Callers claiming to be from FEMA, requesting your personal information.
  • FEMA benefits filed under your name, without your permission.

How To Avoid Being Scammed

In order to receive benefits from FEMA, you must initiate the request. Whether online or via telephone, you are the one who must get the ball rolling. This is one of the easiest ways to detect possible fraud, if you haven’t already filed with FEMA.

  • If you are contacted by FEMA (or someone claiming to be from FEMA) via telephone, and you haven’t initiated contact, do not provide any personal information.
  • If you have initiated contact but aren’t sure you’re speaking to a legitimate FEMA representative, contact FEMA at 800-621-3362.
  • Should you receive an e-mail from what looks to be FEMA, do not provide personal information. Contact FEMA via the phone number listed above to provide information they may require.

Being the victim of a natural disaster can be extremely stressful. It can be difficult to keep your focus during such trying times. We hope that these tips will help you protect your information should you face such trying times.

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New Medicare Cards Have A Special Identifier

New Medicare Cards Have Special Identifier

Americans who are enrolled in Medicare should be expecting a new arrival in their mailboxes very soon. The new 2018 Medicare cards are on their way.  You will want to keep a close eye on your mailbox so that your card doesn’t end up in someone else’s hands. Instead of using your social security number, new Medicare cards have a special identifier. This new addition is called an MBI or Medicare Beneficiary Identifier.

Your Safety Is The Reason For The New Identifier

Medical identity theft is a real problem in the United States. As reported by the Office of Civil Rights, last year 2 million Americans had their medical information breached. In 2016, 16.5 million people were affected. Obtaining an individual’s Social Security number is the key to criminals breaching protected medical information. With the addition of the new MBI number, instead of your Social Security number, you have an added layer of protection against medical identity theft.

Stay Alert

The new MBI helps protect you, but you still have to keep your eyes open for scams. The Ponemon Institute conducted a survey of previous medical identity theft victims in order to gauge the amount of time and money that is required to recover. On average, it took over 200 hours and $13,500 to fully recover from medical identity theft.

If these people were members of ReclaimMyID prior to the event, ReclaimMyID would have put in the work to restore their standing with no money out of pocket. Don’t let this happen to you, protect your family for $49.99 a year with ReclaimMyID.

However, you still have to keep your eyes open to avoid medical identity theft. Medicare and their employees will never contact you asking for your medical or personal information. If you receive an e-mail or a call asking for this information, do not respond and do not open any attachments.  You have to keep your information protected, so stay alert.

It is a step in the right direction now that new Medicare cards have a special identifier. You must still stay diligent in order to protect your information.

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Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week – Day Four

Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week – Day Four focused on businesses. Information on how to protect your business from tax ID fraud, warning signs and information about emerging scams was provided by the FTC. Here are the points that we found to be most informative.

How Does ID Theft Happen?

There are three main ways that ID theft occurs:

  1. Data Breaches – Information is obtained illegally, either electronically or physically.
  2. Malware – Viruses obtained on company computers which give access to criminals, who then steal your information.
  3. Phishing/Spear Phishing – E-mails intended to coax you into providing personal information which is then used for fraudulent tax returns, unauthorized purchases, etc.

Security Is Important.

Keeping your information, your employees information and your clients information secure is of the utmost importance.

  • Create a culture of security in your workplace.
  • Ask yourself important questions regarding data:
    • What kinds of info do you collect?
    • How long is it kept?
    • Who is it shared with?
    • Who has access?
  • Sensitive data should only be accessed by those who must use it for job duties.
  • Minimize network admin privileges.

Identify Warning Signs Of Business Identity Theft

There are a few common warning signs you may receive from the IRS that businesses may have become a victim of identity theft:

  • Notices about fictitious employees.
  • Notices about a closed or dormant business.
  • Your tax return is accepted as an amended one.

Emerging Scams

Each year there are new scams designed to take advantage of businesses and employees. Here are a few of the latest:

  • Phishing e-mails posing as the IRS.
  • Phishing e-mails posing as new clients.
  • Spoofing e-mails to payroll personnel (HR, for example) requesting all employee W-2 forms.
  • Requesting remote takeovers of tax preparer computers.

Tips

  • Provide top-notch security software.
    • Anti-virus
    • Firewall
    • File encryption
    • Secure WiFi
    • Backup Files
  • Educate employees about safe online practices.
    • Never download files or click links from unknown sources.
    • Inform employees of latest trends in phishing e-mails and schemes.

These are the highlights from Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week – Day Four. We hope that you’ve learned some new tricks to keep your business, your employees and your clients protected.