Bogus Balance Transfer
Offers: One of the Latest Identity Theft Scams
Recently, many consumers
have had steep increases in their
credit card interest rates due to the struggling economy. This
isn't just happening to people who default on their
accounts. It is also happening to people with excellent credit histories.
Because of this, there has been a significant increase in
the number of people looking to transfer their credit
card balances to get lower interest rates. If you receive
an attractive balance transfer offer by email
or by phone, beware!
A New Opportunity for Identity
Theft
Identity thieves know that people who
have suddenly been hit with higher interest
rates will be interested in balance
transfer offers. They are sending emails
offering people 0% balance transfers, high
credit limits, no balance transfer fees and instant
approvals. Like other phishing scams, the emails have
links directing the victims to spoof websites. The spoof
websites look like those of well known credit card companies
and even have company logos. On the websites, the victims are
prompted to enter personal and financial information. The
identity thieves use the information to charge
up the victims'accounts and to open new accounts in
the victims' names.
A Wealth of Information for Identity
Thieves
The balance transfer scam is especially
lucrative for identity thieves because of the vast amount of
information they receive. The victims
supply their credit card numbers, PIN numbers, full
names, addresses, social security numbers, birthdates,
occupations, employers, length of employment, length of
residence, personal references, income and assets. Some even
ask for a small transaction fee by EFT so they can get
bank account numbers in addition to credit card numbers.
Others offer a 0% cash advance that is only available the
day the victim receives the email. Identity thieves often
use tactics that will get their victims to act quickly without
thinking.
Emails: The Main Source of
Identity Theft
The majority of phishing scams are
initiated by incoming email solicitations. These emails never
have working telephone numbers. Most of them originate
from outside the United States, so it's virtually impossible
for the scammers to be prosecuted. The best protection against
the balance transfer scam and other phishing schemes is to
never give personal or financial information in response to an
email. |
