We are proud to say we have partnered with long time local area consumer protection advocate Herb Weisbaum of KOMO to bring you Technology and Title Tips.
When someone calls you on the phone, it’s not always easy to tell if they’re a con artist pretending to be with a government agency, your bank or credit card company.
These imposters can be mighty convincing.
“I’m with the IRS and if you don’t pay right now with a gift card, you’re going to be arrested.”
“I’m calling from the courthouse and you owe a fine. You need to go out, buy a gift card, and pay it right now, or else.”
Before you listen to the call and run to the store to buy gifts cards, think about what you’re being asked to do and why it’s so ridiculous.
We are proud to say we have partnered with long time local area consumer protection advocate Herb Weisbaum of KOMO to bring you Technology and Title Tips.
Fraudsters are now sending emails designed to look like they’ve been sent from FedEx, UPS, DHL or the U.S. Postal Service.
The messages say a package is on its way, and you just need to click on the link or open the attachment to find out more and set up your delivery preferences. These bogus messages even have bogus tracking numbers. With so much online shopping going on right now, this is the perfect scam.
If you click on the link or open the attachment, you could put malware on your mobile device or computer, or you could be taken to a site that tricks you into giving away financial or sensitive personal information.
We are proud to say we have partnered with long time local area consumer protection advocate Herb Weisbaum of KOMO to bring you Technology and Title Tips.
You probably have dozens of online accounts and that makes it a real challenge to create strong passwords – passwords you can remember – for all of them.
That’s why so many people use a few simple passwords over and over again. But weak passwords – like 12345, password, 123abc, admin, or iloveyou – are easy to crack. And if that password grants access to multiple accounts, it puts all of them at risk, if just one of them is compromised. The solution is to use a password manager. It lets you create complex passwords and store them securely for easy access on all your devices.
We are proud to say we have partnered with long time local area consumer protection advocate Herb Weisbaum of KOMO to bring you Technology and Title Tips.
Contact tracing is one of the critical tools health departments have to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. Unfortunately, it’s also given criminals a new way to scam people. Impostors are texting people, pretending to be with a health department, in order to steal their personal information, money – or both.
Before calling, some health departments send a text message telling you to expect a call – from a specific number – about an urgent public health matter. Real contact tracers will ask for your name and address, date of birth, work information, and contact preferences. They will never ask for your Social Security number, immigration status, your bank account or credit card information, or ask you to pay for anything.
We are proud to say we have partnered with long time local area consumer protection advocate Herb Weisbaum of KOMO to bring you Technology and Title Tips.
Smartphones and tablets use the same USB port and a single USB cable for charging and sharing data. Plug that smartphone or tablet into a free charging station and unlock it – to check your email or go online – and all your data is vulnerable. It’s called “juice-jacking” and while this is certainly not the one of the major threats we face with our mobile devices, the potential for serious damage is real.
These are just a few of the items potentially at risk if a hacker gains access to your device…
You’re a real estate agent, so you know that buying a home can be overwhelming for many of your clients. Homebuyers can easily feel confused and frustrated by the mounds of paperwork they have to sign. Plus, all the fees associated with closing can sometimes be a surprise even to an experienced buyer.
Owner’s title insurance is one of those items often misunderstood by homebuyers at closing, yet its value is tremendous. As an important advisor to your clients, you are in the position to help them understand the value of owner’s title insurance and the dangers that can be incurred without it.
If a home is to be sold but the record owner is deceased it is imperative to identify who now owns the property. The transaction can then close if the proper parties execute a deed to the buyer.
A formal probate allows for the protection and orderly distribution, after payment of debts, of the assets of the deceased to heirs and/or devisees or a sale to a third party by the personal representative. Nonetheless, even though Washington probates are not expensive or time consuming, they often are not done. But how else will the buyer know that all of the title interest is properly conveyed? What if there are valid liens (including estate taxes or state Medicaid reimbursements) against the estate that would otherwise be paid in probate? That is where the “lack of probate” concept comes into play.
Three Basic Probate Situations
The owner was single – not married or a domestic partner
The owner was married or a domestic partner and it was community property
The owner was married or a domestic partner, but it was separate property (not community property)
There are variations: did the deceased have a will? Is the estate being probated (with or without a will)?
We are proud to say we have partnered with long time local area consumer protection advocate Herb Weisbaum of KOMO to bring you Technology and Title Tips.
Hackers are breaking into loyalty rewards accounts and stealing those hard-earned points and miles. This featured consumer tip covers how to protect yourself against this new online threat
Be sure to safeguard your frequent flier or loyalty account numbers
Use your accumulated rewards
Use strong passwords and enable 2-factor authentication if available
ID Thieves Are Now Targeting Unemployment Benefits
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to grow across the country, so do the number of COVID-19 scams that have been appearing trying to get access to personal and financial information. With this in mind we are proud to say we have partnered with long time local area consumer protection advocate Herb Weisbaum of KOMO to bring you Technology and Title Tips.
Fraudsters will always try to take advantage of new opportunities in a time of crisis like evictions, foreclosures assistance, stimulus payments, and unemployment benefits.
The Coronavirus (COVID19) pandemic is a dream come true for con artists across the globe.
“There is something for every scammer,” said Eva Velasquez, president and CEO of the non-profit Identity Theft Resource Center, who has been fighting fraud for more than 30 years now. “The scope and the scale of all the different types of scams stemming from the pandemic is something I’ve actually never seen before.”
“So we are getting calls from many people who are trying to apply for unemployment and they finally get through, which is an arduous task in itself, and they find that they’re not eligible, that they’ve already applied for it – when in fact, they know they haven’t,” Velasquez told me. “They’re crime victims and they are out that money at a time when they need it to live.”
“It can be difficult to decipher which emails, phone calls, social media posts or text messages are scams versus legitimate ones. People are scared, people are out of work, and government relief programs are distributing money in unprecedented amounts. Identity thieves are now targeting people who are out of work, trying to steal their unemployment benefits,” she said.
Unsure if something is legitimate? Go to the source of the potential assistance. That means if the offer of unemployment benefits seems to be uncharacteristic, go directly to the employment development department and check their website. If it has to do with housing – whether that’s eviction or foreclosure assistance – head to that source (local housing commission, banking institution, etc.). Don’t trust an inbound message that isn’t verifiable.
If you’ve been the victim of a scam or want to check on something before you click a link or provide personal information, contact the Identity Theft Resource Center (or call 888-400-5530) and talk or chat with one of their expert advisors.
Many of us will be getting a stimulus payment from the federal government, and phone fraudsters are using this to attempt to get our bank information.
Fraudsters are now using the the pending stimulus payments to take advantage of unsuspecting victims. If you receive any phone calls, texts or emails saying they are with the federal government to assist with the stimulus payment, hang up or ignore them. If engaged they will go on to ask for additional information to process your stimulus payment, and in some cases will send you an email that contains a phishing link to steal your banking information.
What to look out for?
The government is not contacting anyone via email, text or phone call about this.
Many payments will be automatically processed without the need to do anything.
