• For charges from Experian, Consumerinfo.com or Creditreport.com, you should call the number listed next to the merchant’s name on your credit or debit card statements.
• The representative will ask for your name and debit or credit card number. If your name and the name on the purchased credit report are not the same, a refund will be issued within 7-14 days. The representative may also ask for your social security number for further verification.
• Immediately contact your debit or credit card issuer to report the misuse and request a new card.
• Report the incident to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) through their ID Theft Clearinghouse. This will allow the FTC to identify patterns associated with the unauthorized transactions and investigate the source of the data breach.

If there really should be a cancellation on your account, you can confirm it in the following ways:

1. Type in www.amazon.com in your web browser. Don’t click a link in the e-mail itself.
2. Click “Your Account” in the upper-right corner.
3. Visit “Your Orders” and see if an order matches the details for the one in the e-mail.

Read more about this case.

• Pick a “strong” password, keep it secure, and change it frequently.
• Use different passwords for different accounts.
• Use caution with public computers or wireless connections. Try to avoid accessing your social media accounts on public or other shared computers. But if you must do so, remember to log out completely by clicking the “log out” button on the social media website to terminate the online session.
• Be mindful of accessing your social media accounts on public wireless connections, such as at a coffee shop or airport. It is very easy to eavesdrop on Internet traffic, including passwords and other sensitive data, on a public wireless network.
• Be extra careful before clicking on links sent to you, even if by a friend.
• Secure your mobile devices. If your mobile devices are linked to your social media accounts, make sure that these devices are password protected in case they are lost or stolen.

Get more tips by clicking here.

• “You must act ‘now’ or the offer won’t be good.”
• “You’ve won a ‘free’ gift, vacation, or prize.” But you have to pay for “postage and handling” or other charges.
• “You must send money, give a credit card or bank account number, or have a check picked up by courier.” You may hear this before you have had a chance to consider the offer carefully.
• “You don’t need to check out the company with anyone.” The callers say you do not need to speak to anyone including your family, lawyer, accountant, local Better Business Bureau, or consumer protection agency.
• “You don’t need any written information about their company or their references.”
• “You can’t afford to miss this ‘high-profit, no-risk’ offer.”

Do not use a contractor who:

1. Is going door to door or who is calling because they are “in the neighborhood”. Often they are not “in the neighborhood.” Selecting a contractor on the basis of them coming to your door or via phone call is always a questionable selection method. Would you pick a doctor for surgery who comes to your door?
2. Wants to “inspect” your property when you are not home. Take photos before, during and after an “inspection.” Some contractors have been known to cause damage intentionally during an inspection.
3. Asks you to get any required building permits. The party pulling a building permit is responsible, among other things, to assure code compliance.
4. Offers you a discount because they have “leftover materials.” This may be a signal that another consumer paid for the materials and the contractor failed to leave the materials or give proper credit, or that the materials may be stolen. You may find that you are the next one to be subjected to unethical practices.
5. Only accepts cash. Please do not pay cash. If you do pay cash, be sure to get a clear written receipt.
6. Claims you will get a great rate because your project will be a “demonstration.”
7. Offers exceptionally long guarantees or warranties.
8. Asks you to pay for the entire job up front.
9. Tries to scare you into repairs claiming they are urgent.
10. Asks you to “deed” or “transfer title” to your property or sign a promissory note secured by your home.

New tools provided by the Affordable Care Act are strengthening the Obama administration’s efforts to fight health care fraud.  As a result of Affordable Care Act provisions:

• Criminals face tougher sentences for health care fraud, 20-50 percent longer for crimes that involve more than $1 million in losses;
• Contractors that police Medicare for waste, fraud, and abuse will expand their work to Medicaid, Medicare Advantage, and Medicare Part D programs;
• Government entities, including states, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and law enforcement partners at the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and DOJ, have greater abilities to work together and share information so that CMS can prevent money from going to bad actors by using its authority to suspend payments to providers and suppliers engaged in suspected fraudulent activity.

HEAT was created in 2009. Since then the Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations have expanded from two to nine locations throughout the United States. 

The Obama administration has also announced more progress from its anti-fraud efforts, beyond the nearly $4.1 billion recovered last year:

• In the early phase of revalidating the enrollment of providers in Medicare, 234 providers were removed from the program because they were deceased, debarred or excluded by other federal agencies, or were found to be in false storefronts or otherwise invalid business locations;
• In 2011, HHS revoked 4,850 Medicaid providers and suppliers and deactivated 56,733 Medicare providers and suppliers as it took steps to close vulnerabilities in Medicare;
• In 2011, HHS saved $208 million through pre-payment edits that stop implausible claims before they are paid;
• Prosecutions are up: the number of individuals charged with fraud increased from 797 in fiscal year 2008 to 1,430 in fiscal 2011 – nearly a 75 percent increase;
• In the first few weeks of enhanced site visits required under the ACA screening requirements, HHS found 15 providers and suppliers whose business locations were non-operational and terminated their billing privileges;
• Through outreach and engagement efforts more than 49,000 complaints of fraud from seniors and people with disabilities reported to 1-800-MEDICARE were referred for further evaluation;
• A recent re-design of the quarterly Medicare Summary Notices received by Medicare beneficiaries makes it easier to spot and report fraud.

See this fact sheet for additional details about the Obama administration’s efforts to combat health care fraud.

1. Sweepstakes and Lottery Scams – Typically, the victim receives a letter in the mail stating that he or she has won a lottery or sweepstakes. The letter instructs the victim to deposit an enclosed check and then wire a portion back to the company to cover taxes or administration fees. The check turns out to be fake, and the victim loses whatever they wired back to the scammers—often thousands of dollars.

BBB Advice: Never wire money to someone you don’t know. You should never have to send money to receive any winnings from a lottery or sweepstakes.

2. Medicare Scams – Navigating the Medicare system isn’t easy and some scammers take advantage of the confusion. Commonly, a scammer will claim to be with Medicare and ask for personal information such as Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, credit card or bank account numbers. The victim might be given any number of excuses to provide this information, such as: an error needs to be fixed, that he or she is part of a survey or eligible to receive free products or to sign them up for a new prescription drug plan.

BBB Advice: Medicare will never call to ask for sensitive personal financial information. If you suspect fraud, contact your local police or the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General at 800-HHS-TIPS.

3. Bereavement Scams – Scammers often try to take advantage of people who have recently lost a loved one, such as a spouse. In one recent example, a mother and daughter team in Ohio found targets by scouring the obituaries. They would then call the widow or widower and claim that their spouse had outstanding debts that needed to be paid immediately. Victims would then provide a blank check or credit card.

BBB Advice: Offer help to family members if they have recently lost a loved one and are inexperienced in managing finances. If you are uncertain about owing a debt when collectors call, ask for written confirmation.

4. Deceptive Sales: Some scammers come to the front door and may be invited inside. They include furnace repairmen, contractors, door-to-door salespeople, air duct cleaners and other service providers. Some professionals will lie about the extent of the problem or claim safety issues and then inflate prices for unsuspecting customers.

BBB Advice: Find professionals you can trust by checking out a company with the BBB before you hand over any money. Report any deceptive practices to your BBB, local law enforcement and the state attorney general.

5. Investment and Work-at-Home Opportunities - The pitch might come in the form of an investment opportunity that promises big returns, or as a way to make money at home for an upfront cost. Regardless of the specifics, the victim is offered what sounds like a great opportunity but the extra income never materializes.

BBB Advice: The BBB is not aware of any legitimate work-at-home opportunities. Beware of investment or money-making offers that seem too good to be true or use high pressure sales tactics to get you to sign up immediately.

6. Grandparent scam – Telephone calls come in from someone claiming to be a relative who is stuck in a foreign country and needs money to get home. Some may say their money or identification papers were stolen or that they are in a hospital and need money to pay for medical care.

BBB Advice: Ask the caller for the person’s name or other information that would be known only to a relative.  Also ask for a number to call them back and check with family members on whether the person is actually overseas. If they don’t provide a number or can’t provide identifying information, don’t respond to their demands. Do not wire money to someone you don’t know.

Here are some tips from the Bureau of Consumer Protection:

• No matter how dramatic the story sounds, do not wire money. Con artists recommend these services. It’s unlikely you would get your money back.
• Never provide your bank or credit card account numbers — regardless of the reason.
• Resist the pressure to act immediately. Try to verify the information you’ve been given.
• Remember that some impostors research the people they are posing as and can answer basic questions about them. Try to verify the caller’s identity by asking personal questions a stranger could not answer.
• Do not fill in the blanks. Refrain from mentioning other family members’ names or personal information. If the caller says, “It’s your granddaughter,” respond with “Which one?” Most likely, the caller will hang up.
• If you cannot reach a family member and still are not sure what to do, call the Bureau of Consumer Protection or your local police on the nonemergency line. They can help you sort things out.
• If you receive repeated fraudulent calls, contact your local telephone company for assistance and file a complaint with the police immediately.

Here are a few of the URLs that have been mentioned in some of the texts, all scams:

• promocenterdaily.com/walmart_gift
• promocenter.ws/walmart
• walmartgift.mobi

Walmart posted a statement on their website debunking the messages. Read it here.