Columns

Thursday, January 29, 2004

fight back against fraud

Iowans are decent, honest, trusting people. And it is natural for us to expect to find these same fine qualities in others. But as we observe Consumer Protection Week, February 1-7, I urge you to become a lot more careful about the people you choose to trust with your personal information. America is in the midst of an epidemic of consumer scams, rip-offs, and identity thefts. And the odds are that, sooner or later, you will be a target.

Unfortunately, seniors are often especially vulnerable to consumer fraud. And because Iowa is second in the nation in the percentage of population age 85 or older, we need to be especially vigilant. For example, “Betty” (the name is not real, but the crime was all too real) from Fort Madison was targeted by dozens of bogus telemarketing and mail-order schemes. Sadly, she was taken in by offers of cash prizes, free cars, and vacations. By the time her family contacted law-enforcement authorities, she had been duped into spending nearly $25,000 on fraudulent contests.

As a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I have been able to secure major federal funding to support Iowa’s Elderly Fraud Prevention project, which is being run by the office of Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller. The project has sharply reduced telemarketing fraud and sweepstakes fraud against seniors, and has stepped up efforts against predatory lending, health care fraud, and prescription drug scams.

I applaud the aggressive work of Iowa’s law-enforcement authorities. But they cannot do it alone. They need Iowans of all ages and walks of life to be on the lookout for consumer fraud and identity theft. Here are some excellent self-protection tips from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the National Fraud Information Center:

• Do ask you family doctor if you have doubts about a “miracle cure” product someone is trying to sell you.

• Don’t provide your Social Security number, credit card number, bank account number, or other financial information to callers when you aren’t buying anything or paying with those accounts. Legitimate companies only ask for financial information to bill you for purchases you have agreed to.

• Do tear-up unwanted documents that contain personal or financial information.

• Don’t send money to someone telling you that you’ve won a prize and asking you to pay for processing fees, customs, taxes, or any other alleged expense. Legitimate prize offers do not ask for payment because it’s illegal.

• Do deposit mail in U.S. Postal Service collection boxes whenever possible, and try not to leave mail in your mailbox overnight and on weekends.

• Don’t give donations to charities that refuse to tell you how the money will be used and how you can verify the legitimacy of the charity and its work.

• Do regularly review your consumer report from the three major credit bureaus. If you have reason to believe you are a victim of identity theft, immediately contact the fraud units of those credit bureaus, your bank, and creditors. Also, file a report with the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-IDTheft.

For more tips and information, visit the National Fraud Information Center web site at: http://www.fraud.org/ or call at 1-800-876-7060. Report consumer fraud to the Iowa Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division at 515-281-5926. That’s what the family of ‘Betty’ did. The Consumer Protection Division has helped them secure over $80,000 from companies that targeted ‘Betty’ with misleading offers.