12 Frauds of Christmas

CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) - With the joy of the holidays also comes the threat of scammers.  22News is working for you to protect your identity from the 12 frauds of Christmas.

According to Identity Theft 911, the number one holiday fraud is skimmed debit cards.

Thieves use skimmers, devices that are hand-held or placed over ATM card-reader slots, to capture data embedded on the magnetic strip.

Another popular scam this time of year is fraudulent emails.

A "Dear Customer" address or a request to download information should be a red flag.

Also never give our your personal information like bank accounts or social security numbers.
 
Identity Theft 911 has compiled these tips and more:
The 12 Frauds of Christmas:

1. On the first day of Christmas, an identity thief gave to me: one skimmed debit card
2. On the second day of Christmas, an identity thief gave to me: two debt collectors harassing me for debts I don’t owe
3. On the third day of Christmas, an identity thief gave to me: identity theft impacting all three of my credit scores
4. On the fourth day of Christmas, an identity thief gave to me: four ways of thieving — phishing, vishing, smishing and pharming
5. On the fifth day of Christmas, an identity thief gave to me: five fraudulent emails .
6. On the sixth day of Christmas, an identity thief gave to me: six Explanation of Benefits statements of medical treatments not administered to me
7. On the seventh day of Christmas, an identity thief gave to me: seven hacked accounts, forcing me to recreate new (and more secure) passwords
8. On the eighth day of Christmas, an identity thief gave to me: eight background checks from potential employers, all showing bad credit from debts that aren’t mine
9. On the ninth day of Christmas, an identity thief gave to me: fear that someone out there has access to my nine-digit Social Security number
10. On the tenth day of Christmas, an identity thief gave to me: the Top 10 Breaches of 2011
11. On the eleventh day of Christmas, an identity thief gave to me: panic about a data breach   that may have affected eleven (or are there more?) possible accounts that all use the same username and password.
12. On the twelfth day of Christmas, Identity Theft 911 gave to me: a round-up of tips  to keep me and my family.