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Orange County District Attorney Senior Fraud Prevention and Resource Guide

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Orange County District Attorney Senior Fraud Prevention and Resource Guide ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY SENIOR FRAUD PREVENTION AND RESOURCE GUIDE 1 This Orange County District Attorney Senior Fraud Prevention and Resource Guide was designed to help you learn how to protect yourself from scams, fraud, and deceptive practices before they happen. It also contains information on local, state, and national resources available to anyone who suspects fraud has occurred. Table of Contents Fraud and Its Fraud and Its Impact Page 2 Impact Prevent Fraud BEFORE It Occurs Pages 3–5 What is Fraud? General Tips Page 3 Fraud occurs when Check Your Credit Report for Free Page 3 someone uses Consider Freezing Your Credit Page 4 deceit, trickery, or betrayal to steal your Fraud Complaints by Method of Contact Page 4 money, property, or Register for National & State “Do Not Call” Lists Page 5 belongings. Check if a Person or Company is Licensed or Page 5 Why do you need Insured to know how to Mail Opt-Outs Page 5 protect yourself What to Do if You Think You are a Victim of Fraud Page 6 from fraud? Create a Consumer Incident Log Page 6 Today, more than ever before, Denitions of Common Types of Fraud Page 7 fraud is making Local & State Fraud Resources Pages 8 the headlines as a Federal Fraud Resources Page 9 growing problem National Nonprots Page 10 across the United Computer & Online Security Tips Page 11 States. Fraud is a Financial Exploitation of the Elderly Page 12 particular concern to elders, who are oen Top Scams Targeting Seniors Page 12 retired and cannot By the Numbers: Fraud Complaints in the U.S. Page 13 easily return to work Acknowledgements Page 14 to rebuild their bank accounts. Senior Fraud Prevention and Resource Guide: 1st edition, published September 2016 2 Prevent Fraud BEFORE It Occurs General Tips • Don’t let yourself be pushed into making an immediate payment or donation. • Always request written information or quotes. • Don’t do anything if you have any questions or doubts. • Ask to see proof that an individual or company is licensed, registered, bonded, and/or insured (details on page 5). • Don’t provide personal financial information to anyone unless you initiated the contact. • If a company or business contacts you about your account or If you’re approached purchase, do not provide personal account information. Hang by an unfamiliar up and search for the company’s contact information, then charity, call the NY initiate the call from your end. Attorney General's • Beware of testimonials or references you cannot independently Office at verify. 800-771-7755. • Although it sounds official when a company’s name includes For national “National Organization of ” or “U.S. Office of ,” it does not charities, you can guarantee the company is part of the federal government. also contact the Check Your Credit Report for Free Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Checking your credit report at least once a year is a great way to ensure your identity has not been compromised. e federal Alliance at government’s established website, www.AnnualCreditReport.com, 407-621-3300 allows you to obtain a free copy of your credit report once every or visit www.give.org. twelve months from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. is WARNING: As a credit report is also called a “credit le disclosure.” security precaution, never provide your Know that www.AnnualCreditReport.com will not approach personal information consumers via email, telemarketing, or direct mail solicitations. to a company or person Visit www.AnnualCreditReport.com or call 877-322-8228. that comes to you oering a free annual credit report under HELPFUL TIP: You can further protect yourself by scheduling the Fair and Accurate these credit checks every four months, and only requesting a Credit Transaction Act credit report from ONE of the companies at a time. (FACTA). 3 Consider Freezing Your Credit Freezing your credit report prevents lenders and other companies from accessing your credit report or credit score without your expressed written permission. This freeze can help stop identity thieves from taking out credit in your name. New York law governs the structure of credit freezes in New York, including the costs to freeze credit, temporarily lift credit to pull your credit score, or report or permanently remove the freeze. These fees are waived for victims of identity theft that have documentation stating such from a law enforcement agency. Concerned family members discovered their father had been contacted by TO FREEZE YOUR CREDIT scammers claiming You must contact EACH of the three credit reporting agencies: he had won several • Experian – www.experian.com/freeze or call 888-397-3742 millions of dollars • Exquifax – www.equifax.com/CreditReportAssistance in prize money. e or call 888-298-0045 man was told to send • TransUnion – www.transunion.com and search for “credit money for duties, freeze” or call 888-909-8872 transfer fees, taxes, and other expenses. Fraud Complaints by Method of Contact He sent nearly $9,000 via money transfer services and cash Phone 75% reload cards, so there was no way for him Email 8% to get the funds back. TIP: It’s illegal for Internet 6% companies to ask you to pay a fee or buy anything in order to Mail 5% win or claim a prize – and it’s a sure sign of Other 7% fraud. Data supplied by the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel Network report on fraud complaints for the 2015 calendar year. Report published February 2016. Visit www.c.gov. 4 Register for National Tired “Do Not Call” List of Junk A “Do Not Call” list was created to give consumers the opportunity to “opt-out” of receiving sales solicitations via the telephone. The Mail? Federal Government maintains the “Do Not Call” list. Opt-Out of Prescreened Oers of Credit & Insurance NATIONAL DO NOT CALL REGISTRY Opt-out for ve years— The National Do Not Call Registry, in general, applies to all Call toll-free telemarketers and covers both interstate and intrastate telemarketing 888-5-OPT-OUT calls. It is FREE to register your phone number(s). This registry is a (888-567-8688) partnership of the Federal Communications Commission and the or visit www. Federal Trade Commission (FTC). optoutprescreen.com. Opt-out permanently— • Register online at www.donotcall.gov Begin the process or call 888-382-1222. (TTY 1-866-290-4236) online at www. You must call from the phone number you wish to optoutprescreen.com. register. To complete your request, you must return the signed Check if a Person or Company is Permanent Opt-Out Election form, which Licensed or Insured will be provided after you initiate your online request. The State Education Department’s Office of the Professions • is service is operated by major licenses and regulates 50 health, business and design consumer reporting companies. professions. Professional misconduct and unlicensed practice of the profession are against the law. http:// Opt-Out of Other www.op.nysed.gov/ or call 518-474-3817, ext. 570. Direct Marketing Mail • Whenever you hire/contract a company or individual to Register with the conduct work on your behalf, ask to see a copy of their Direct Marketing insurance coverage. If hiring an electrician, ask to see their Associations website— Orange County contractor license or call the Orange www.dmachoice.org County Department of Consumer Affairs at 845-360-6700. to manage the types of unsolicited commercial mail you would like to NOTE: The New York Department of Education also receive. You may also regulates medical professionals. To access their online opt-out completely. database, http://www.op.nysed.gov/ or call 518-474-3817, ext. 570. 5 What to Do if You Think You Are a Victim of Fraud Sometimes, no amount of due diligence can protect you from falling victim to a scam. If you feel you are a victim of fraud, your first call should be to your local law enforcement office. In addition to filing a police report, they can direct you to other agencies that may be helpful. This Senior Fraud Prevention and Resource Guide also lists many of the A retired couple local, state, and national government organizations involved in purchased a investigating and responding to reported cases of fraud (see pages 8–9). refrigerator with a ORANGE COUNTY LAW ENFORCEMENT bottom freezer for NONEMERGENCY INFORMATION $2,000. A block of • Orange County District Attorney ice kept forming in 845-291-2050 • www.orangecountygov.com the freezer, making • Orange County Sheriff ’s Office it hard to shut 845-291-4033 • www.orangecountygov.com the door. Other • New York State Police Troop F Headquarters problems started 845-343-5300 • www.troopers.ny.gov cropping up, like a leak in the insulation. Create a Consumer Incident Log Aer seven service It is important to keep a detailed log of any consumer complaint calls, the couple or concern you may have related to identity theft, fraud, or other financial exploitation. Keep a logbook to track your actions, the became frustrated response or actions from any business involved, and the status of and demanded their any complaints filed with federal, state, and local organizations. money back or a INFORMATION SHOULD INCLUDE: replacement. eir Details of the complaint, fraud, or identity theft: complaints were ignored. SOLUTION: Today’s date and time: Agency contacted: Call the Orange County Department Phone number and/or website: Person(s) you spoke with: of Consumer Affairs Reference number (if applicable): Action and/or recommendation: for assistance with this type of civil If referred to another organization, name of the organization and contact information: matter (see page 8).
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