Financial Crimes

How can I protect myself against credit card fraud?

1.      It is critical that you notify your bank or credit card company immediately if you lose your card. It may prevent someone else from using it illegally. Remember to get your card back after purchasing goods or services. Do not leave the card in hotel rooms or unnecessarily exposed for long periods of time. The number can be copied even if the card is not taken.

2.      Retain all carbon copies of your receipts when making a purchase and retain receipts from ATM withdrawals. If you don't get a billing statement on time, notify the credit card issuer immediately. Check billing statements carefully upon receipt to make sure all charges are yours. Errors or changes that don't belong should be reported as soon as possible.

3.      Do not put your credit card account number on checks used to pay your monthly bills. The credit card agency can always trace your check through your name/address information on the check.

4.      Retain copies of receipts to check against billing statement. Be careful when disposing of materials and correspondence relating to your finances. Shred all receipt carbon copies to make sure your credit card number is unrecognizable. Do not throw away canceled checks, financial statements or letters offering pre-approved credit cards where others can easily find them.

5.      Promptly destroy all old cards or cards you no longer use. Dispose of them in a manner ensuring the card number is unrecognizable.

6.      Secure your mailbox. Obtain a lock, if necessary. If you receive mail through an apartment house clusterbox arrangement, make sure the locks for the panel and your box lock correctly.

7.      When applying for a credit card, check the return address. If there is a sticker with a return address placed on the application, contact the card issuing company to verify the correct address.

8.      Do not give your card number to anyone calling on the telephone offering you prizes or gifts.

9.      Do not write your card number on a postcard notifying you that you have won a prize or gift and requesting the number as part of the award arrangements.

10.  Do not leave gasoline credit card receipts at the pump. They may contain your credit card number.

11.  Do not provide your credit card number to unsolicited e-mail messages or on suspicious Internet web sites.

Check Fraud Tips for the Consumer

Fraud professionals have become increasingly skilled and sophisticated, thanks to advances in readily available technology such as personal computers, scanners and color photocopiers. Criminals today can defraud you and your financial institution quite easily with a blank check taken from your check book, a canceled check found in your garbage, or a check you mailed to pay a bill. Therefore, it is important to follow a common-sense, logical approach with the way you use and store your checks.

1.      Make sure your checks are endorsed by your financial institution and incorporate security features that help combat counterfeiting and alteration.

2.      Store your checks, deposit slips, bank statements and canceled checks in a secure and locked location. Never leave your checkbook in your vehicle or in the open.

3.      Reconcile your bank statement within 30 days of receipt in order to detect any irregularities. Otherwise, you may become liable for any losses due to check fraud.

4.      Never give your account number to people you do not know, especially over the telephone. Be particularly aware of unsolicited phone sales. Fraud artists can use your account without your authorization and you may end up being responsible.

5.      Unless needed for tax purpose, destroy old canceled checks, account statements, deposit tickets, ATM receipts (they also frequently have your account number and worse yet, your account balance). The personal information on it may help someone impersonate you and take money from your account.

6.      When you receive your check order, make sure all of the checks are there, and that none are missing. Report missing checks to your bank at once. Should you fail to receive your order by mail, alert your bank. Checks could have been stolen from mail box or lost in transient.

7.      If your home is burglarized, check your supply of checks to determine if any have been stolen. Look closely, because thieves will sometimes take only one or two checks from the middle or back of the book. The longer it takes to detect any of your checks have been taken, the more time the criminal has to use them successfully.

8.      If someone pays you with a cashier's check, have them accompany you to the bank to cash it. If at all possible, only accept a check during normal business hours so you can verify whether it is legitimate. Make sure you obtain identification information from the individual

9.      Do not mail bills from your mailbox at night. It is a favorite location from which a criminal can gain possession of your check with the intent to defraud you. Criminals will remove a check from your mailbox and either endorse it using bogus identification, photocopy and cash it repeatedly, scan and alter the check, or chemically alter it. The Post Office is the best location from which to send your bill payment.

10.  Limit the amount of personal information on your check. For example, do not include your Social Security, driver's license or telephone numbers on your check. A criminal can use this information to literally steal your identity by applying for a credit card or loan in your name, or even open a new checking account.

11.  Don't leave blank spaces on the payee and amount lines.

12.  The type of pen you use makes a difference. Most ballpoint and marker inks are dye based, meaning that the pigments are dissolved in the ink. But, based on ink security studies, gel pens, like the Uniball 207 uses gel ink that contains tiny particles of color that are trapped into the paper, making check washing a lot more difficult.

13.  Don't write your credit card number on the check.

14.  Use your own pre-printed deposit slips, and make sure the account number on your slip is correct. Thieves occasionally alter deposit slips in the hope you won't notice and the money goes into their account.

15.  Don't make a check payable to cash. If lost or stolen, the check can be cashed by anyone.

16.  Never endorse a check until you are ready to cash or deposit it. The information can be altered if it is lost or stolen.

Advanced Fee Fraud, Nigerian Fraud and Foreign Lottery Fraud

The perpetrators of advance fee fraud, known internationally as "4-1-9 fraud" (after the section of the Nigerian penal code which addresses these schemes), are often very creative and innovative. A large number of victims are enticed into believing they have been singled out from the masses to share in multi-million dollar windfall profits for no apparent reason.

If you ever receive an e-mail or fax from someone you do not know requesting your assistance in a financial transaction, such as the transfer of a large sum of money into an account, or claiming you are the next of kin to an wealthy person who has died, or the winner of some obscure lottery, DO NOT respond. These requests are typically sent through public servers via a generic "spammed" e-mail message. Usually, the sender does not yet know your personal e-mail address and is depending on you to respond. Once you reply, whether you intend to string them along or tell them you are not interested, they will often continue to e-mail you in an attempt to harass or intimidate you. If you receive an unsolicited e-mail of this nature, the best course is to simply delete the message.

Due to a number of aggravating circumstances, such as the use of false names, addresses, stolen/cloned/prepaid cell phones and remote email addresses, verifying the location of and subsequent prosecution of these persons or groups is difficult. The act of sending an email soliciting strangers' assistance in a financial transaction is not, in itself, a crime. The installation of a credible spam filter and contacting your Internet Service Provider may help deter these unsolicited emails. However, there is currently no available program to completely block these types of messages.