Scammers Use FTC's Name to Promise Phony Sweepstakes Prizes

"Hi, I'm calling from the Federal Trade Commission to tell you that you have won $250,000…"

By Truman Lewis, ConsumerAffairs.com

Someone who claims to work for the Federal Trade Commission calls to inform you that you have won a lottery or sweepstakes. To receive the prize, all you have to do is pay the taxes and insurance. The caller asks you to wire money or send a check for an amount between $1,000 and $10,000.

What should you do? Whatever you do, don't send any money or provide any account information.

The FTC is the nation's consumer protection agency. It investigates fraud and provides free information, but it never collects money directly from consumers. FTC employees don't have any involvement with this sweepstakes scam, and they want you to avoid it.

The caller might suggest that the FTC is supervising the giveaway. He or she might even use the name of a real FTC employee. Your Caller ID might display the Federal Trade Commission's name or a Washington, DC area code. Don't be surprised if you receive repeated calls and follow-up faxes.

No matter how convincing the impersonation, never send money to claim a prize. No FTC employee will ever call to ask you to send money. Legitimate sweepstakes companies won't either. Nevertheless, many consumers and their families have sent money and lost it before realizing and reporting that they were scammed.

Taking a few precautions can help you minimize your risk of falling for the lure of sweepstakes scams:

Read the entire article here.

Things to Think About Before Using Mobile Banking

Security flaws in banking apps are not the only problem

By Mark Huffman, ConsumerAffairs.com

Banks are increasingly urging customers to use mobile banking, to enjoy the convenience of accessing their accounts with their smartphones. But before jumping on the mobile banking bandwagon, there are dangers to consider.

"Trade securities, transfer funds between eligible accounts and get a single view of your Bank of America banking plus Merrill Edge investment accounts in one place," Bank of America says on its website. "You can also access a full range of investment products, analysis and market insights."

Bank of America and other financial institutions do provide security features and advanced encryption technology, which is good. But is it enough to provide protection against identity theft and other financial crimes? A number of researchers, including Paul O'Farrell of the Identity Theft Council, have warned some mobile banking apps have security flaws.

We've seen how hackers have generally been able to compromise PCs. Smartphones usually have less security than computers, though there are many new mobile security products coming to market. But what if you lose your smartphone?

Read the entire article here.

FTC: Health Care Scammers Out In Force

Supreme Court's Affordable Care Act ruling brings them out of the woodwork

By James Limbach, ConsumerAffairs.com

It's enough to make you sick!

No sooner had the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the Affordable Care Act – also known as “Obamacare” -- than scam artists began working the phones. They say they're from the government and that, using the Affordable Care Act as a hook, they need to verify some information.

Various approaches

They might have the routing number from your bank, and then use that information to get you to reveal the entire account number. Or, they'll ask for your credit card or Social Security number, Medicare ID, or other personal information.

Read the entire article here.

Wyndham Hotels In Hot Water Over Personal Information Protection

Credit card data of hundreds of thousands of consumers compromised, millions lost to fraud

By James Limbach, ConsumerAffairs.com

When you go on vacation, the last thing you want to do is be hassled with a credit card problem because someone at your hotel screwed up. But, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), that’s what’s happened to a lot of folks who stayed at Wyndham Hotels.

The FTC has filed suit against global hospitality company Wyndham Worldwide Corporation and three of its subsidiaries for alleged data security failures that led to three data breaches at Wyndham hotels in less than two years.

According to the agency, these failures led to fraudulent charges on consumers’ accounts, millions of dollars in fraud loss and the export of hundreds of thousands of consumers’ payment card account information to an Internet domain address registered in Russia.

Read the entire article here.