Scams & Fraud

For Immediate Release:

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By Chris Thomas

Help Deter Identity Theft By Freezing Your Credit

AARP Washington and financial cooperative BECU are offering document-shredding services to protect people and their financial assets from fraud.

Hardly a month goes by without hearing of another data breach exposing our personal information to hackers and potential identity thieves. These breaches affect millions of individuals: Equifax – 145 million, Target – 110 million, Uber – 57 million, Home Depot – 53 million, and the list goes on and on. In fact, experts say very few of us haven’t been affected.

There are many amazing charities out there that benefit from donations. Unfortunately, scammers may try to capitalize on the generosity and good will of others by setting up fake charities and pocketing the donations. To ensure the organization you decide to donate to be worthy and doing the work they say, visit www.ftc.gov/charity for ways to verify charities. If you have doubts, there’s always the option to give directly to smaller local charities where you can more easily see the impact of your donation.

As we enter the second half of summer, many companies have mid-season sales with amazing deals. But if a sale looks too good to be true, it probably is. Beware of websites that sell high-end name brand products at a fraction of the retail price. Through these fake websites, scammers can sell knock-off products to unknowing consumers, or worse, take your credit card information and never send the items you purchased. Please be vigilant in scoping out only true online sales, and ensure the bargains you find are the real deal.

Is Your Identity up for Grabs?