Consumer Safety Resources from the Government on SPAM, Scams, Fraud, Phishing and Identity Theft
Posted in Consumer Safety, Finance, Identity Theft & Protection
by
Penelope Pince
In the last 2 days, I have received at least 3 fraudulent solicitations via U.S. mail and who knows how many via e-mail. While I’ve gotten pretty good at detecting spam scams, it can be harder with physical mail solicitations.
The origin of the fraudulent solicitations I received were very different in nature — a crafts product testing club, an automobile warranty service and a “Title Compliance Board” — but they all had two things in common: they wanted me to pay hundreds of dollars for things they will never deliver or for something I could get myself for about $5 (my property deed), and they came in very convincing looking packages.
So I thought I’d christen this Identity Protection and Fraud Prevention Week here at Pecuniarities and follow-up my last 2 posts:
- Beware of Fake IRS (Internal Revenue Service) Phishing Email Scams
- A Few Tips for Protecting Your Identity Should You Lose Your Wallet
with a compilation of links information on fraud prevention.
I’ve spent the majority of this week working on this list where you will find almost 100 links to online resources provided and recommended by the government to teach you how to protect yourself from the rampant greed of the physical- and cyber-world. Topics covered include how to recognize, avoid, report and recover from scams and frauds of all sorts.
Click on the Table of Contents link below for a preview of the topics covered in this list.
If you don’t have the time to go through all this information right now, be sure and bookmark this page so you can refer to it should the need arise. And please share this page with your friends and family!
Table of Contents (click to view/hide)Table of Contents
- Click on the links to navigate to each section
- Click your browser back button to return here
- Consumer Safety and Fraud Prevention Resources
- Identity Theft
- SPAM, Phishing, Email & Internet Fraud
- Fraud & Scam Alerts
- Links for Reporting Frauds, Scams & Crimes
- Victim Assistance
- Contacting Government Agencies
- Non-Government Resources
- Credit Reports and Bureaus
- International Government Consumer Safety Sites
- Share This Page With a Friend
Consumer Safety and Fraud Prevention Resources
These government websites offer information on just about everything related to life in the United States, but I decided to focus mostly on financial fraud or white collar crime prevention. Each branch of the government specializes in investigations of specific types of crime and fraud.
General Consumer Fraud (All types)
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
- Federal Citizen Information Center (FCIC)
- FirstGov for Consumers (Consumers.gov)
- Consumer Guides and Protection (USA.gov)
- OnGuard Online
- Looks Too Good To Be True
Maintained by a joint federal law enforcement and industry task force, USPS & FBI funded
Health and Medical Fraud
Financial Fraud
- Various Financial Frauds
- Banking
- Housing-related — Loan, mortgage, foreclosure, contractor, etc.
- Investment
- Taxes
Communications
Scams and fraud committed through —
- U.S. Mail
- Internet
- Phone
Identity Theft
- Identity theft is a crime: Resources from the government
- Social Security Adminitration (SSA)
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
- Department of Justice (DOJ)
- Office for Victims of Crime (OVC)
- Federal Deposit Insurance Center (FDIC)
- Office of Inspector General (OIG)
- U.S. Department of Education (ED)/Office of Inspector General (OIG)
SPAM, Phishing, E-mail & Internet Fraud
If you get spam email that you think is deceptive, forward it to spam@uce.gov. The FTC uses the spam stored in this database to pursue law enforcement actions against people who send deceptive email.
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
- Federal Communication Commission (FCC) CAN-SPAM Act of 2003
- Department of Justice (DOJ)
- Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) Cyber Investigations
- USA.gov
- Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Fraud & Scam Alerts
Many sites offer updated alerts about current known scams, frauds and computer related security issues, and several provide RSS and/or E-mail updates so consumers can stay up-to-date with new warnings. As with the above, different branches of the government specialize in different types of activity.
- Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) Cyber Investigations
- United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) Cyber Security Alerts
- Federal Deposit Insurance Commission (FDIC)
- Federal Citizen Information Center (FCIC)
- U.S. Department of the Treasury/Office of the Inspector General (Treasury/OIG)
- FinCEN/U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury)
- Looks Too Good To Be True Consumer Alert
- Better Business Bureau (BBB)
Reporting Frauds, Scams & Other Crimes
For better assistance, choose the most appropriate department to report scams. For example, to report a scholarship fraud, contact the Department of Education (ED).
Make certain that you read the instructions before filing your complaint.
General
- General consumer scam and fraud complaints
Federal Trade Commission Fraud Complaint - White-collar and other types of crime
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) - Social Security related frauds, but NOT Identity Fraud (see site for details and examples)
Social Security Administration (SSA) - Health related complaints
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS)/Office of Inspector General (OIG)
- Food, drug and health related complaints
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Financial
Scams and frauds relating to —
- Banking
Office of the Comptroller of Currency (OCC) - Taxes, i.e. tax scams, abusive tax preparer, etc.
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) - Investments
- U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC)
- Futures and options trading
U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) - Education related complaints such as scholarship scams
U.S. Department of Education (ED)/Office of Inspector General (OIG)
Communications
- Communications
Telemarketing, pre- recorded messages, Do-Not-Call, wireless SPAM, via phone, fax, wireless phone, etc.
Federal Communication Commission Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau (FCC) - Do-Not-Call Violations
If telemarketers call 31+ days after registration of a number
National Do Not Call Registry - Internet
Phishing, online scams, etc.
Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) - Computers
Hacking, SPAM, internet fraud, password trafficking, child exploitation, etc.
United States Department of Justice Computer, Internet-Related and Intellectual Property Crime (DOJ) - Phishing schemes
United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) - U.S. Mail
Scams and frauds sent/received via USPS mail
United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) – Mail Fraud
- Identity Fraud committed via U.S. Mail
United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) – Identity Theft via U.S. Mail
Victim Assistance
- Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)
- FBI Victim Assistance (FBI)
- Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN – Treasury)
- U.S. Department of Education/Office of the Inspector General (OIG)
- Office for Victims of Crime (OVC)
Contacting Government Agencies
Contact information for federal, state and regional consumer protection and law enforcement agencies
- State, County & City Consumer Protection Agencies
- Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI)
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Non-Government Resources
- Identity Theft Resource Center
- National Consumer League
- National Fraud Infomation Center
- Stay Safe Online
- Better Business Bureau (BBB)
- Identity Theft Assistance Center (ITAC)
Credit Reports and Bureaus
Important information from the Federal Trade Commission, the nation’s consumer protection agency: AnnualCreditReport.com is the ONLY authorized online source for you to get a free credit report under federal law. You can get a free report from each of the three national credit reporting companies every 12 months. Some other sites claim to offer “free” credit reports, but may charge you for another product if you accept a “free” report.
Contact these credit bureaus immediately upon discovery of identity fraud.
- Equifax Credit Information Services – Consumer Fraud Div.
P.O. Box 105496
Atlanta, Georgia 30348-5496
Tel: (800) 997-2493
www.equifax.com - Experian
P.O. Box 2104
Allen, Texas 75013-2104
Tel: (888) EXPERIAN (397-3742) - Trans Union Fraud Victim Assistance Dept.
P.O. Box 390
Springfield, PA 19064-0390
Tel: (800) 680-7289
www.transunion.com
International Consumer Safety Government Websites
(English Speaking Countries)
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Did You Enjoy This Post?
February 28th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
What a fantastic resource list. I’ll be sure to bookmark it.
February 28th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
This is an awesome post! I’m gonna promote it on FB and Twitter!