How to Find Out If I Am a Victim of Fraud

A fraudster can use a number of techniques to misrepresent the truth, earn your trust and extract money from you. New types of fraud are seen all the time but if you know a few tricks to spot these attempts, you can become your first line of defense against fraud. Asking yourself two important questions can help you identify attempts of fraud against you, but your ultimate protection against fraud is diligence in reviewing your expenses and account information.

Instructions

1

Keep a record of times and dates when you opened yourself up to the public. Record when and where you released this information. For example, if you post an advertisement to sell something on an Internet site such as Craigslist or eBay, write down the date and time you created the listing. Review all mail, Internet and physical, for an increase in suspect communications within a month of that posting.

2

Ask yourself the first important question regarding any suspicious mail you receive: "What information are they asking me to give them?" Identify requests for your Social Security number, credit card information and bank account numbers. Avoid supplying this information. Assume suspicious mail may be an attempt to target you for fraud. Respond proactively by contacting your bank and credit card issuers and asking them to place fraud alerts on your accounts.

3

Ask yourself the second important question: "What are they offering?" Be wary of any mail that offers to give you something worth far more than what it asks in return. For instance, if you receive an email offering you $1,000 to take a survey, you should consider the email as a potential attempt to defraud you.

4

Review your personal finances daily and look for deductions from your accounts that do not coincide with your purchases. Pay close attention to the dates and times of each deduction and scrutinize them against your schedule and the businesses that you frequent. If you notice, for example, a number of purchases on your credit card during a time you are usually asleep or at work, consider this strong evidence that you are a victim of fraud.

5

Look for a series of suspiciously small deductions from your accounts. Review the date, time and location of these deductions and report them to your credit card companies and bank immediately. As an example, if you notice a small deduction of less than a dollar from your account, this may represent an attempt, by someone intending to defraud you, to determine if their account information about you is verified. These deductions are followed by larger deductions or a long string of small deductions occurring until your account is empty.