Borrowing & Credit: Scams, Identity Theft & Fraud Review

You can’t find your credit card, and you think it may have been stolen. What should you do?

• Call the credit card company as soon as you are aware the card is missing

• Wait at least 90 days to report the card as missing or stolen in case you find the card

• Immediately apply for another card to cancel out the stolen card

• Contact your bank for a replacement

Who is responsible for reporting identity fraud?

• The victim of fraud

• The company that accepted a stolen credit card or false information

• Any of the three credit reporting agencies

If you use a credit card to buy something online from the Internet, look for the following on the Web site page:

• the padlock symbol/icon

• “SECURE”

• “APPROVED BY THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION”

In 2012, over ____________ million Americans were the victim of identity theft.

• 12

• 20

• 50

In 2012, identity thieves were able to steal almost ________ that year!

• $10 billion

• $15 billion

• $50 billion

Abuse of Credit Card Data ranked #5 based on a survey of Americans that asked them to identify things that scared them the most.

• true

• false

These are hard to detect and often go unnoticed until it’s too late. These types of scams misrepresent genuine products or companies. In these scams the product or company actually exists, but the con artist misrepresents certain aspects of it to make it more attractive then it really is.

• soft scam

• hard scam

• bad investment scam

• affinity scam

These scams involve nonexistent companies and products. In these types of scams the con artist makes up a product or company and recruits potential investors who in turn recruit others. Often these sound like legitimate business ventures and may seem very attractive.

• soft scam

• hard scam

• bad investment scam

• affinity scam

These scams involve actual products and companies with extremely high risk. Often investors are assured by the con artist of high returns and no or little risk, which should signal a red flag to potential investors. Always remember with high return comes high risk.

• soft scam

• hard scam

• bad investment scam

• affinity scam

These scams involve scams that prey upon members of identifiable groups such as ethnic groups, religious groups or professional groups. The con artist who promotes the scam often either belongs to the similar group or pretends to belong to the group.

• soft scam

• hard scam

• bad investment scam

• affinity scam