Phone Call Scams—And How to Protect Yourself

Scammers are sneakier than you'd think, but you need to protect your money and information. Here are 12 common scams - what they are and how to protect yourself.

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Has Your Phone Number Been Stolen? Another Apple Pay Fraud

From Main St –

“When was the last time your landline phone rang? Quick now. That is because the wrong answer just may cost you big bucks.

Criminals, report multiple security experts, now are targeting little used, perhaps even forgotten, phone numbers for use in hijacking Apple Pay in your name. It works like this. The criminal needs a credit card issued in your name and - to foil bank security - and he also wants your phone number. That is because many financial institutions are using a phone call as an added security measure to validate that in fact it is you who wants to enroll a new Apple Pay card.”

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Proposed law requires Apple Pay users show photo ID

From Splash Gear –

“Apple Pay, Apple's new wireless, NFC payment method, is a clear step towards a future where customers no longer have to deal with pulling a card out of their wallet, typing PIN numbers, or signing receipts when making payments. We just tap/swipe our phones and we're done. But one lawmaker doesn't like that idea and still wants us to continue digging in our wallets at the register. Missouri's Joshua Peters (D) from the House of Representatives has proposed a law that requires a photo ID be shown by anyone making a smartphone-based payment.”

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MasterCard strengthens US cardholder security

From Payments Eye

“MasterCard has announced enhancements to its security efforts, providing US cardholders with greater protection from fraud and identity theft.

“Fraud prevention and detection is a 24/7 job at MasterCard. The changes that we’re making in cardholder protection combined with our efforts to move the U.S. payments industry to EMV chip technology will help deliver safer shopping experiences to consumers,” said Chris McWilton, president, North American Markets for MasterCard.

All MasterCard credit, debit, prepaid and small business cards issued in the US will now carry Identity Theft Resolution assistance. The program provides help in canceling missing cards and alerting credit reporting agencies, as well as targeting searches to detect if stolen personal and confidential data appears online.”

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Keeping Your Financial Information Safe

From Bank of America

Just a few short decades ago, people rarely thought about fraud or identity theft. But in today's world of online shopping and social media, we all need to stay on our toes to protect our financial information. Learn 10 ways to help protect yourself — both online and off.

How to hack your own bank account using information on the Internet

From PandoDaily

“Identity theft is one of those things that you think you’ll never experience personally. Excuse the grim analogy, but it’s a bit like death. It always happens to someone else. But identity theft is rampant, and given our ever-increasing propensity to put all sorts of information online, the chances of it happening to either ourselves or someone we know is relatively high.

According to The US National Institute of Justice estimates there were 9 million incidents of identity theft in 2011 alone in the US, almost 3 percent of the population. Clearly, there are lots of people out there who make a living stealing people’s identities.”

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The 8-character password is no longer secure

From Deloitte CIO Journal

“More than 90 percent of user-generated passwords are vulnerable to hacking. Inadequate password protection can lead to billions of dollars in losses, declining confidence in Internet transactions, and significant damage to the attacked company's reputation. Today's eight-character password is simply no longer good enough.”

Wells Fargo enhances its identity theft protection

Wells Fargo has unveiled an Enhanced Identity Theft Protection service, providing customers with an easy way to monitor their credit and check for inaccuracies that may indicate identity theft, is now available. The company has expanded and enhanced the service in response to customer demand.

The improved version of the current Identity Theft Protection service represents an enhanced service that delivers monthly triple credit bureau reports and scores, online calculators, credit score tracker and credit score alerts. The extended version is available through Wells Fargo Insurance and provided by Trilegiant Corporation.

The new version offers a variety of tools to help customers manage credit, including an online "Credit Score Simulator" that lets customers see how a credit score changes if they decide to reduce debt on mortgages or credit cards, refinance a loan, apply for a credit card or consolidate debt into a new account.

Customers' solid interest in protecting against identity theft is one example of a broader concern-managing credit and finances in a turbulent economy, as said Robert Dudacek, Wells Fargo Insurance Direct Response Group Manager. The Enhanced Identity Theft Protection service is available now and customers can receive their credit report and score online in seconds.