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Why Did Another Company Start Managing My Loan? 03/26/2018 08:00pm • It might come out of the blue: a letter or email alerting you that the lender you originally signed with to take out a loan is no longer managing your account. Instead, a different company is taking over, and you'll be working with the new guys now. Why is your servicer or loan holder breaking up wi Retirees Get New Medicare Cards 03/25/2018 08:00pm • The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will begin mailing out new Medicare cards beginning in April 2018. The new Medicare cards will include a unique Medicare number instead of the Social Security number listed on existing cards. The change is intended to prevent fraud and identity theft 5 Signs of an IRS Tax Scam 03/21/2018 08:00pm • The caller ID may say IRS, but you shouldn't assume it's a government agent you're speaking with on the phone. It could be a fraudster hoping to intimidate you into providing sensitive information or making a payment on a tax bill that doesn't exist. Common IRS scams include demanding Social Securit Phone scammer pretends to be with Prince George's Sheriff's Office 03/12/2018 01:22pm • WASHINGTON ��� Phone scammers are working the D.C. area yet again. This time they're telling would-be victims that they're with Maryland's Prince George's County Sheriff's Office. Apparently, the scam involves scaring people into paying them money via wire transaction or with gift cards. "Do n Penny Stocks: 5 Ways to Spot a Pump-and-Dump Scam 03/07/2018 07:00pm • If you're going to invest in penny stocks, you need to know how to spot a pump-and-dump scheme. This is the devious practice of insiders promoting a stock -- manipulating its price higher through short-term hype ("pump") -- and then selling out themselves at the top ("dump"), leaving those who boug What to Do When Your Advisor Messes Up 03/05/2018 07:00pm • Planning for your financial future requires attention to detail, which is why you should choose an investment or financial advisor carefully, but even the best advisors can make mistakes, with a truly unscrupulous advisor potentially costing you your retirement. Considering the overwhelming number a How to Avoid Financial Scams 01/29/2018 07:00pm • If you think you're impervious to financial scams, think again. Fraudsters are an ever-present threat, stealing your personal information and exploiting your weaknesses to get access to your money and account information. In 2017, cybercrime impacted the lives of more than 143 million Americans, co How to Protect Yourself From Identity Theft 01/25/2018 07:00pm • For cyber thieves, your personally identifiable information is as good as gold. Your name, email address, phone number, Social Security number, passwords and other information can allow criminals to wreak havoc on your financial accounts, medical records, credit health and even your job prospects. Maryland's AG, comptroller highlight threat of elder financial fraud 01/09/2018 11:38am • WASHINGTON ��� Millions of people are ripped off by identity thieves scam artists and straight out crooks. Many of them are trusting seniors like your parents. And for Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot, it's personal. ���I���m very sensitive on this issue of abuse of seniors,��� Franchot sai IRS receives iTunes gift cards in taxpayer scam 12/13/2017 04:34am • WASHINGTON ��� Crooks who are posing as the IRS are��so convincing that��victims presumably��being pumped for personal information have been��sending the IRS iTunes gift cards. "We're looking into the matter right now," IRS spokeswoman��Cecilia Barreda said.��"I don't have specifics about their e Hackable Holidays: Bluetooth scam hits drivers at area gas stations 11/30/2017 04:12am • This is the fourth part of WTOP���s consumer series Hackable Holidays, which explores privacy concerns associated with smart devices and how consumers can better protect themselves this holiday season. WASHINGTON ��� Hackers are striking gas stations around the D.C. region in a new scam whe Hackable Holidays: Turn off the 'Big Three' in crowds to prevent cellphone hacking 11/29/2017 04:05am • This is the third part of WTOP���s consumer series Hackable Holidays, which explores privacy concerns associated with smart devices and how consumers can better protect themselves this holiday season. WASHINGTON ��� When people break out their phones in places such as the mall, or even a holiday Arlington police: Scammer sought ransom in fake kidnapping 11/27/2017 06:08pm • WASHINGTON ��� The Arlington County police say they broke up a kidnapping scam on Sunday, in which a woman was falsely told that her daughter had been abducted. The police said a woman called them at about noon Sunday and told them she had received a call from a man who said he had kidnapped her 11 Strategies for Keeping Your Health Data Secure 11/26/2017 07:00pm • How safe is your health data? How confident are you that your health data is secure? Protecting such personal information is crucial in light of several high-profile data breaches, such as the one in which as many as 145 million U.S. residents had their information hacked from Equifax Inc., which pr How to Avoid Fake Shopping Apps This Holiday Season 11/21/2017 07:00pm • With Black Friday and Cyber Monday around the corner, consumers and retailers are gearing up for a busy shopping season. Meanwhile, experts caution that scammers may have a new trick up their sleeves: fake shopping apps. Mobile shopping may soon surpass shopping on a desktop. According to the "Ho