Finding and Thwarting Scammers

We helped a client recently resolve a personal financial issue that involved online banking and credit cards. The story illustrates some of the dangers we face in our online world. We can’t run away or hide from those dangers.

Those of us with aging parents face a gut-wrenching dilemma. Without getting involved in anybody’s specific family dynamics, we want our elderly parents to remain independent (as much as they want to be independent), but we also know they are more vulnerable to scams because they tend to be more trusting. Their vulnerability becomes even greater as they use technology more.

This story started with a credit card issued by BP, the gasoline retailer, and money that started to disappear from our client’s mother’s account through Synchrony, a bank that has close ties to Amazon and is used to finance merchant accounts. Our client manages the finances for his mother, who is in her 90s and lives in an assisted living facility. A gasoline credit card was odd because his mom stopped driving four years ago. That raised one red flag. Synchrony raised another.

We surmised that someone that someone was able to hack his mother’s bank account and then created a way to use her info get the credit card and create the transfer portal. In all likelihood, they found a piece of junk mail with the credit card offer and used it to do their dirty work. No email was involved. The credit card had a balance of $1,500, even though he had no knowledge of the card being used. So, he made a $200 payment and saw the balance transferred to what looked like a debit card. He also changed the bank account, but the connection was still there.

When our client wondered if his mom’s account had been hacked – and if any others had – we told him to investigate. He changed the bank account again and told us he was worried that his other accounts at the bank might be affected. In addition to his mother’s account, he had a personal account and one for his business. All were online. Fortunately, the scammers never got there.

To protect the money for the three accounts, our client created a sweep account in his wife’s name for personal use. This enabled him to clean out the accounts he was worried about on a daily basis to keep it safe.

At the same time, he had to send letters to the banks involved to cancel the credit card and close all the bogus accounts and open new accounts. None of this activity tied his mother’s taxpayer ID number to any of the accounts. Had there been a connection, the scammers could have done much more damage.

But it all started with the low-hanging fruit – that credit card offer that anyone could send in. The same problem can come from those “checks” you get in the mail that are really loans. Anyone can use them, and it can hurt you if your name is on the “check.”

Our advice: Pay as much attention to physical pieces of mail as you do to email. Don’t throw those offers in the trash or recycling bin. Shred them or cut them into tiny pieces that can’t be reassembled. At the same time, keep your online presence secure and check your financial info regularly to spot anything that looks out of order.

We can help you with a security audit and we can explain the technology behind various security measure you can take. Call us – 973-433-6676 – or email us to set up a consultation and implement a program.

Tax Season: The Next Scam Season

I don’t know whether more money changes hands during the holiday shopping season or during tax season, but a lot is at stake between now and April 17 as people prepare tax returns. It’s a busy time of year for scammers, most of whom want to use fraudulent information to get your tax return money.

Probably one of the most common scams is someone calling from the IRS to say you owe back taxes. This happens every year and all year long, too. But there’s just one thing we want to remind you about, even if you know it: The IRS does not contact you by phone. Nor does the IRS contact you by email, a form of communications a scammer will use in a phishing expedition. The IRS sends you a letter.

The other scams you are likely to encounter are calls or emails from people or companies offering to prepare your tax returns and even provide you with an advance on your refund. The email scams are more insidious because if you click on a link, it could automatically trigger a breach of your computer that reveals sensitive information. If you follow through on a phone call or link, the scammer is going to request your Social Security number and other info that goes on a tax return. If the scammer is offering to advance you money from an expected refund, they’ll want your banking info, too. Once a scammer has this and other personal information, it’s easy to get credit cards and loans and commit crimes in your name.

From a computing point of view, we again remind you not to open emails from people you don’t know who offer help during the tax season. Delete them immediately. Do the same with an email from someone you know that seems out of context because it’s so easy to spoof an email address. For example, would you really expect Norman Rosenthal or Sterling Rose to prepare your taxes?

You can protect business and home networks and computers by making sure you have new, strong passwords for all networks and accounts. Strong passwords are long and contain a combination of upper- and lower-case letters, numerals and special characters. With the breach at Equifax, the risk of fraud is higher, and one of the problems it can lead to is that someone will file your tax return before you do.

With protection in place, you can use the internet for all of your tax-related activity, starting with IRS’s official website https://www.irs.gov/. In addition to being able to get tax forms and answers to questions, you’ll find links to help you find and verify information about tax preparers, including 10 tips for choosing one.

If you are preparing your own taxes, we recommend you use one of the established software providers to reduce your risk of a security breach, especially when you file online.

While we don’t prepare taxes, we can help you keep your networks and computers secure. Call us – 973-433-6676 – if you think your system may have been compromised. Call us or email us if you have any questions about system security or security settings for any software you use for tax preparation and filing.