Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona is joining with over 30 federal, state, and local government agencies, and national organizations to promote consumer education during the 14th annual National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW), March 4-10.

“We’re very excited to be a part of National Consumer Protection Week,” said Kim States, BBB President. “This week is all about teaching consumers the tools to make smarter purchasing decisions, and that’s exactly what we plan to do.”

Each weekday during NCPW, BBB will issue a consumer protection tip via its Facebook page- www.facebook.com/soazbbb- on a variety of consumer related issues, such as credit and debit cards, buying a car, giving wisely to charity and other important marketplace issues. Consumers are more than welcome to offer their input or pose any questions they might have about each tip on BBB’s Facebook page.

One of BBB’s many partners in NCPW, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), recently issued its Consumer Sentinel Network Report for 2011. The FTC uses data from 27 federal and state law enforcement agencies, and a host of private entities- including BBB- to create the report. Some of the 2011 report’s findings included:

• Arizona ranks seventh in the U.S. in fraud complaints, and fourth in identity theft complaints.
• The Sierra Vista-Douglas metro area ranks 48th in the country for identity theft complaints.
• Arizona consumers filed 32,195 fraud complaints and 6,296 identity theft complaints last year with BBB, the FTC, and other law enforcement agencies.
• The top three national complaint categories in 2011 were: identity theft, debt collection, and sweepstakes/lotteries.
• Wire transfer services, such as Western Union, were used in 53 percent of fraud crimes committed in 2011.

To read the entire 2011 Consumer Sentinel Network Report visit www.ftc.gov. For more information about National Consumer Protection Week visit www.ncpw.gov.

Start the new year knowing your credit is in good standing and your credit report is accurate. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, consumers can receive a free copy of their credit report from each of the three nationwide reporting agencies — Experian, Equifax and TransUnion — every 12 months.

“Pulling your credit report annually is a smart way for consumers to understand their financial health, as well as avoid financial and identity fraud,” said Kim States, BBB President.

Many television advertisements and websites claim to offer “free credit reports,” “free credit scores” or “free credit monitoring.” However, Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona reminds consumers that AnnualCreditReport.com is the only authorized source for free annual credit reports under federal law.

Additionally, BBB reminds consumers that a credit report is different than a credit score. A credit report is a snapshot of your credit use history which gives a lender a view of whether you pay your debts back or not. Your credit score is a number which shows lenders how much of a risk you are in paying back a debt.

BBB offers these tips for pulling your annual credit report:

Do not access the Annual Credit Report Request Service through links from unfamiliar websites.  If you get an e-mail or see a pop-up ad claiming it’s from AnnualCreditReport.com or any of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies, do not reply or click on any link in the message. To help ensure the privacy and protection of your personal information, go to AnnualCreditReport.com directly to request your free annual credit report either by secure website, phone or email. AnnualCreditReport.com will not approach consumers via email, telemarketing or direct mail solicitations.

Consider pulling your reports quarterly. While you can pull all three credit reports at once, you can also consider pulling your credit reports quarterly. Pulling your reports separately allows you to better monitor your reports and keep track of any changes or new information that may appear on your credit report. If you pull all your reports at once, you won’t be eligible to pull your report for another 12 months.

Pull your child’s credit report. As child identity theft remains a national problem, it can be just as imperative to pull your child’s report as it is to pull your own. While the credit reporting agencies do not knowingly maintain credit files on minor children, you can contact the credit reporting agencies (more…)

Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona is warning of a  scam targeting cell phone users. “Smishing,” similar to “phishing,” uses text messages to bait consumers into divulging their personal information.

One form of the scam tricks consumers into believing their bank accounts have been frozen. The text message appears to come from the consumer’s bank and directs the victim to call a provided number to unfreeze the account. The number provided connects to the scammers, who ask for the victim’s personal information – account number, PIN and Social Security number.

The scam can take many forms, such as promising a free laptop, mortgage assistance or lottery winnings. Some texts might even offer a free product, such as a security app, to get you to click on a link which then downloads identity stealing software to your phone. Regardless of the tactic used, the overall objective is to steal your personal information.

According to online security firm Trusteer, cell phone users are three times more likely to fall for fake messages than computer users.

BBB offers these tips from AARP on how to protect your personal information from smishing texts:

• Do not reply. Replying to a spam text only verifies that your number is active, meaning more messages can be sent.
• Check with your bank directly. Separate from the text, look up your bank’s phone number and (more…)