Although there are several companies which promise to be able to offer you a great service when it comes to fraud protection, it is ultimately the individual who is most responsible for protecting him or herself. Scams can come in a variety of forms and situations. The telephone made them easier, and the Internet has only continued to add to the problem. However, most people have the ability to recognize a scam and stop fraud if they just use some common sense.
Fraud protection and scam recognition go hand in hand. For example, if a person receives a call from someone who claims to be from a company they do business with, but yet asks for information the company should already have, that should raise a red flag. Those who ask for Social Security numbers when you are trying to make a purchase should also be closely scrutinized, along with those who pressure for quick decisions.
Fraud protection begins with asking yourself some common questions about offers you receive. Though many may roll their eyes at the old adage "if it's too good to be true, it probably is," it does drive home a key point. Many times those perpetrating fraud prey on the best hopes of people, which is what gets those victims into trouble.
One of the easiest fraud protection measures to take is to check on your credit score regularly. This will not only be a number, but also a listing of credit applications that you have filed. Those who have been victims of fraud will often find themselves victimized by credit fraud or identity theft, making a credit check very important. Also, some lenders will offer credit card fraud protection.
Identity protection is another important consideration when it comes to fraud protection. Those who have the opportunity to steal a person's identity can do just as much damage as stealing physical property, if not more. Identity theft issues can often take years to resolve and cause a severe disruption to a person's life. Further, if the perpetrator is skilled at what they are doing, it can take years to investigate fraud of this nature.
E-mail has also been used as a very effective tool in fraud situations. In many cases, it can be hard to tell the scam e-mails from those that legitimately come from a company. For example, a person intending to commit bank fraud may send an e-mail asking for you to verify account information for any one of a number of reasons. The user may click on a link which looks just like their bank's website, even though it is not. Once you put the account information into those fields, the person committing the fraud would have it.
Those who are concerned about whether an e-mail is legitimate should not answer those e-mails. Instead, call the bank and talk to someone you know is associated with the bank. This type of proactive fraud protection only takes a few minutes, but can help prevent many problems.
