There’s a scam floating around that’s being distributed in the form of an email. The email claims to be from the Better Business Bureau and has the subject ‘Now Hiring!!’

For one thing, the email is not from BBB. It also claims that you can make money by simply driving your car … that an advertiser is wanted for the Better Business Bureau and that you’ll earn no less than $200 weekly to advertise on your car.

The scam tries to get you to email your personal information and says that they will get back to you. What you’ll want to do is stay clear of this bogus offer.

Sneaky little charges are making their way onto telephone bills and can go unnoticed for months. Victims of so-called “cramming” often face a tough battle to stop being billed every month and start getting their money back.  In order to fight cramming, Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona recommends keeping a close eye on every bill and being extremely cautious when giving out personal information such as phone numbers.

“You might think that nothing bad can happen from giving out your telephone number, but you should guard those digits like you would a credit card or social security number,” said Kim States, BBB President. “Monitor your monthly statements closely because even if you are very protective of your personal information, cramming can still strike.”

Cramming is on the rise, according to the Chief of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission during an interview with Herb Weisbaum, consumer reporter for MSNBC.com.  Cramming can come from any number of sources. Some victims may have inadvertently signed up for a subscription service—such as for “free” ringtones or a daily joke or horoscopes–not realizing they’d be billed every month. The Federal Trade Commission recently cracked down on one company that used telemarketers to convince people into signing up for “free” trial services.  Calling a psychic hotline or entering a sweepstakes can also lead to cramming. Unfortunately, in some cases, the victim is just an unlucky random target.

BBB recommends taking the following five steps to fight cramming:

• Keep a close eye on monthly statements. Anyone can become a victim of cramming so monitoring you monthly bills is extremely important. The sooner you spot the charges, the sooner you can fight them.

• Know your rights. Contact your telephone provider to see if you can completely restrict (more…)

When something happens 10 million times per year, it’s worth noting, and in recent years, that’s how many victims of identity theft have reported the abuse to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).  Further, ID theft has remained the number one complaint to the FTC for the past five years.

It can start the old-fashioned way with lost or stolen wallets, pilfered mail, or through documents thrown out by you or a business (dumpster diving). A consumer may also be victimized through more high-tech crimes including a data breach, computer virus, phishing or an Internet scam.  Once the personal information is stolen, the crime can result in check fraud, credit card fraud, financial identity theft, criminal identity theft, governmental identity theft and medical identity theft.

Recognizing that awareness and education are essential tools necessary for consumers to protect themselves against ID theft, the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) has teamed with the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) to host the third annual Protect Your Identity Week October 17-23.  The week will consist of more than 175 local events in communities across the nation where consumers can take part in educational workshops, credit report reviews, responsibly recycle unused cell phones and have their personal documents shredded for free.

Consumers are urged to visit www.ProtectYourIDNow.org where they can locate events in their area, find useful prevention tips, victim resources, and take a quiz to assess their own risk of becoming the next identity theft victim.  Advice in Spanish is also available at www.cuidesuidentidad.org.

“A recent NFCC online poll revealed that a majority of Americans fear identity theft, and that is a healthy fear to have if it leads them to take action,” said Bob Ensinger, COO of the NFCC.  “The upcoming educational events should go a long way toward helping consumers protect themselves from the ever-present danger of identity theft.”

“BBB is committed to helping consumers fight fraud and identity theft is one of the largest threats we all face every day,” said Stephen A. Cox, president and CEO of the Council of Better Business Bureaus. “There are a few precautions that we can all take to protect ourselves, and taking part in Protect Your Identity Week is one easy first step to make.”

As part of Protect Your Identity Week, Cintas Corporation, national shredding partner for PYIW, is providing free document destruction at events nationwide with the goal of making the Guinness Book of World Records for the most paper shredded in a 24-hour period.

Additionally,  Intersections, Inc., a leader in consumer and corporate identity theft management services that also provides the award-winning Identity Guard® brand, serves as a presenting sponsor of Protect Your Identity Week 2010, and Wireless Alliance, national electronic device recycling partner, is providing free cell phone disposal at many community events.  MSN Money is once again serving as the national media sponsor for PYIW.

A number of national organizations are also putting their weight behind this initiative, joining the NFCC and BBB as Supporting PYIW Coalition Members.  This Coalition includes: American Bankers (more…)