Tips for evading scammers’ clutches

Here’s a modern set of New Year’s resolutions: exercise more, eat healthfully, recycle and don’t answer e-mails from Nigeria.

Scams are part of life in this digital era, but there are ways to guard against them, whether as obvious as ignoring promises of great wealth from distant lands or as subtle as avoiding real-looking counterfeit items sold online.

Can you absolutely scam-proof your life in 2008? No.

That’s because it’s partly out of your hands. Your personal financial data -- which is worth gold, almost literally, to identity thieves -- is scattered around the country in banks, credit bureaus, retailers, hospitals and other places that have been known to spring digital leaks.

Holders of this valuable information have been ordered, urged and shamed into doing a better job of protecting the data.

Still, much protection is up to the individual, and you can take actions in the new year to help guard against scams -- or at least spot them while there’s still a chance you can prevent widespread financial damage.

Here’s a bunch of suggested resolutions, culled from the current year’s consumer reporting by The Times plus guides issued by the Federal Trade Commission and the nonprofit Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.

May your new year be scam-free. And don’t forget about exercise, diet and recycling too.

Check your credit card and bank accounts often. Do it at least once a month when the statements arrive or even more if you have access to them online.

They can provide the first indication that a charge has been made to your account by someone who has illicitly accessed your financial data. You might even discover that your bank has “accidentally� levied a fee that you don’t really owe.

Check your credit reports. If they include debts you didn’t incur, it could be a sign of identity theft.

By law, you’re entitled to a free annual copy of your report from each of the major credit bureaus. Apply for them at www .annualcreditreport.com (not to be confused with the commercial site www.freecreditreport.com).

Be wary of certified checks. Counterfeit bank checks, especially from out of the country, started popping up far too often this year. Be suspicious of any such check that arrives from someone you don’t know well, including buyers of items on EBay.

A bank might allow you to draw funds on a check after a few days, but it’s not considered a fully legitimate check until it clears -- a process that can take much longer if it’s from overseas.

If the check ends up bouncing, you’re responsible for any funds you drew off it.

Don’t wire money to strangers. Once money is wired, it’s especially difficult to stop payment if you discover you’ve been scammed.

Don’t return part of a check’s proceeds until it clears. This type of fake-check scam -- in which a fraudster asks you to deposit a check and then send part of the money back -- is growing in popularity.

This scam takes many guises -- a “company� needs to send money through a U.S. bank, an “artist� needs to process U.S. payments, an “importer� must pay local taxes. You send the money, minus your “commission.� Then the check bounces and the company/artist/importer cannot be reached.

Use a pen with chemical- resistant ink to fill out checks. Check washing, a relatively old scam, has made a comeback. To help prevent a thief from removing what you’ve written on the payee and amount lines of your checks, use a pen such as the Uni-ball 207.

Watch out for counterfeit gadgets. They’re getting more real-looking all the time, including the packaging. If earphones, a universal remote control or other gadget is selling for an impossibly low price online, it could be a fake. Buying from an authorized dealer costs more but provides assurance you’re not getting an inferior knockoff.

Be wary of credit repair promises. Companies that say they can fix bad credit by simply challenging negative items are frauds, according to the Federal Trade Commission. And if they try to collect fees before doing any kind of credit repair work, that’s against the law.

Don’t open that electronic greeting card. There has been a glut of bogus greeting cards hitting e-mail boxes this year. Unless you know the sender, and the card is addressed specifically to you, don’t open the attachment in the e-mail. It could contain a virus.

Don’t buy miracle diet claims. Over-the-counter pills, drinks and patches that take off weight without diet or exercise (even while you sleep!) are a staple of spam e-mails and late-night TV commercials. Never has one proven effective, the Federal Trade Commission says.

Get a locked mailbox. Thieves looking for personal financial data or uncashed checks sometimes find what they’re looking for in unprotected home mailboxes. If your mailbox is outside, get a lock on it.

Beware of websites bearing free gadgets. They’re seldom free. Pop-up promises of “Free Laptop� or “Free iPhone� often lead to a labyrinth of commercial offers -- at least some of which have to be accepted -- if a consumer is to get the promised gift. In the end, the gift might not arrive anyway.

Check out a locksmith before hiring. Locksmiths are supposed to be licensed by the state and follow regulations. But consumers have reported a rash of overcharging and shoddy work by unlicensed locksmiths. The best defense is to identify a local locksmith shop with a good reputation before you might need it.

Don’t give out bank account or Social Security numbers requested in an e-mail. E-mails asking for that information are all bogus. Period. No legitimate financial institution or government agency would ask for that information via an e-mail.

Issue a fraud alert. If you believe you’re a victim of identity theft, you can demand that the credit bureaus put a fraud alert on your files. This requires you to be notified if anyone tries to open your files in connection with applying for a loan or opening a credit card account in your name.

If you call one of the three credit-reporting companies, such as Equifax (888-766-0008), it will notify the other two.

The alert is good for only 90 days but can be extended to seven years if you can show evidence of identity theft.

Freeze out identity theft. This is effective but can be a bother.

Under state law, you can put a security freeze on your credit file. This will prevent it from being opened without your permission. Freezing all three of your main credit files costs $30 unless you can produce a police report showing identity theft has occurred.

Directions for how to apply for a freeze are available at the state of California website at https://dev05.tdcweb.ca.gov. Follow the link to Office of Privacy Protection, then click on Security Freeze.

The catch: Anytime you want a frozen file opened for a legitimate credit check, it will cost $12 and take a few days to accomplish.

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