Released: June 07, 2007

Credit freezes prevent fraud but take time to thaw

Source: Michelle Singletary, Washington Post (Free Registration)

A recent warning from the Internal Revenue Service raises the question of when it is wise to consider placing a security freeze on your credit files.

The IRS warning focused on a bogus e-mail intended to fool taxpayers into thinking they were under investigation by the agency’s criminal division.

The scam tries to entice people to click on a link or open an attachment. If either one is opened, culprits get remote access to the person’s hard drive with the ultimate goal of obtaining personal and financial information that could be used for identity theft.

This type of warning is so frequent these days that I wonder who is falling for these fake e-mails. But people do.

Read Full Article: Credit freezes prevent fraud but take time to thaw