Identity Theft

Skimmers are illegal card readers attached to payment terminals — like gas pumps — that grab data off a credit or debit card’s magnetic stripe without your knowledge. Criminals sell the stolen data or use it to buy things online. You won’t know your information has been stolen until you get your statement or an overdraft notice. Here are tips to help you avoid a skimmer when you gas up.

If you’ve been affected by a data breach, or otherwise had your information hacked or stolen, you’ve probably asked yourself, “What happens when my stolen information is made public?” At the FTC’s Identity Theft workshop this morning, our Office of Technology staff reported on research they did to find out.

We’ve got some Twitter chats planned for servicemembers, families, and anyone who works with the military community.

@MilConsumer and @DeptVetAffairs (Department of Veterans Affairs) will host a chat about avoiding and recovering from tax, child, and medical identity theft. Join in at #VeteranIDTheftChat: Wednesday, April 12, 11am ET (10am CT, 9am MT, 8am PT)

@MilConsumer, @CFPBMilitary (the Office of Servicemember Affairs at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau), and @StopFraudCo (the Stop Fraud campaign of the Colorado Attorney General’s Office) will host a chat with tips about your rights concerning debt collection and how to deal with debt. Join in at #Milchat or #Milconsumer: Thursday, April 13, 3pm ET (2pm CT, 1pm MT, Noon PT)

Three million of you called, wrote, or went online to tell us about fraud or identity theft in 2016. Each one of those reports is important to us – and to other law enforcement nationwide – and helps us bring cases against scammers of all kinds. Sometimes, these cases result in refunds for the affected consumers. But these reports also add up to a picture of what happened during the year.