Don’t be victim of ID theft this holiday season. Watch for calls, gas skimmers, senior fraud
With South Florida leading the country in identity fraud and theft, federal authorities want holiday shoppers to pay closer attention to online thieves and criminals seeking to steal their personal information.
This week, officials with the Internal Revenue Service and South Florida law enforcement agencies raised awareness on the increasingly sophisticated methods scammers are using to file fraudulent tax returns and steal credit card information.
Elderly citizens are disproportionately targeted in these identity theft scams, which lead to an estimated $3 billion stolen from Americans each year.
“These scammers use lottery and sweepstakes scams. They demand payments for back taxes suggesting that they were members of the Internal Revenue Service when, in fact, they are not. They demand payments to ensure the safety of senior citizens’ grandchildren or other relatives,” said Daya Nathan, Major Crimes Deputy at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, at a press conference on Monday.
Officials from the Miami IRS Field Office at the Miami-Dade police headquarters joined Nathan for the launch of the fourth annual National Tax Security Awareness Week to raise awareness on ways to protect taxpayers from identity theft.
This summer, the Southern District of Florida was one of six districts in the country chosen to participate in the Justice Department’s Transnational Elder Fraud Strike, an initiative from the Trump administration to target, investigate and prosecute criminals who prey on older victims of identity theft.
In 2019, according to Nathan, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida has prosecuted more than 130 defendants over crimes involving stolen information.
“No federal agency, no state agency, no private entity will be contacting you via phone call requesting or demanding any money for you to pay in ‘x’ amount of time in order for you to help a loved one or not have the electricity shut off,” said Miami-Dade Police Detective Marcos Rodriguez.
Credit card thefts continue to top the list of identity theft-related crimes. Rodriguez added that although the Miami-Dade police department saw a 16 percent decrease in credit card thefts, scammers continue to use skimmers at gas stations to steal information.
Some tips on avoiding identity theft
▪ Learn to identify scams and phishing emails. Use security software for computers and mobile phones. Protect personal information and use two-factor authentication for social media accounts when possible.
▪ Shop on secure websites. Look for “https” on web addresses.
▪Banks will not call to ask for your personal information. If your bank has any concerns about your credit card or personal information, the most likely method of communication will be via regular mail.
▪ If someone calls asking for money to help a loved one, contact the person supposedly in need first.
▪ Be sure to deal with trustworthy tax preparation services only. The Better Business Bureau tracks legitimate businesses on its website, and has processed about 600 reports on its “scam tracker” so far this year.
▪ When you get gas, only pay with the merchant or in cash instead of directly at the gas pump to avoid risk of card skimmers.
This story was originally published December 3, 2019 at 6:00 AM.
