The FBI and Federal Trade Commission have warned consumers about some of the crafty methods cyber criminals use to commit identity theft online and identity theft protection scams are no exception. There are many legitimate programs on the market such as TrustedID and ProtectMyID that help to protect consumers against identity theft. The problem is the online criminals who are aware of these programs create identity theft protection scams to fool the consumer into believing their program is legitimate.
Some of the recent identity theft protection scams have been very sneaky about tricking the consumer into providing their personal information. Most of these scams occur through email contact and the messages look like they are coming from a legitimate source.
One of the scams involves a “Verified by Visa” tag and the message looks like it comes from a trusted identity theft protection source. The message entices users to register for added identity theft protection and when they click on the link they are hijacked to a bogus Web page that requests the consumer to reveal their entire credit card information. The bogus site looks authentic and could fool an unsuspecting consumer.
Another scam involves an email message from a supposed identity theft protection company that claims your name has been listed as an identity theft target and then they offer you identity theft protection for a designated sum of money. The fact of the matter is that everyone is an identity theft target.
There is also a recent identity theft protection scam that offers to remove all of your personal information from the Internet to prevent identity theft. The reality is it is nearly impossible to remove all of your information from the Internet due to public records. You can remove your information from some sources but not public records.
With these types of scams the best way to protect yourself against identity theft is to refrain from opening unsolicited email messages and do your homework before you consider using an identity theft protection service. You can review top rated identity protection services on our site.
