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Jury duty phone scam springs up again 05/09/2017 02:00am • WASHINGTON ��� It's a scam that seems to come around every spring: The caller says you missed jury duty or there's a warrant for your arrest ��� but you can settle it right now on the phone with a credit card payment.�� It's not true. "Under no circumstances whatsoever will any member of the M What to Expect as the IRS Has Private Firms Collect Overdue Taxes 05/07/2017 08:00pm • If you owe money to the Internal Revenue Service, you may be hearing from them soon, if you haven't already. Actually, you won't be hearing from the IRS. You'll be hearing from their "friends." Last month, the IRS started using four private companies to collect overdue payments from taxpayers who o Homeland Security hotline number used in phone scam 04/20/2017 05:26am • WASHINGTON ��� A fraud alert has been issued by the Homeland Security Department���s Office of Inspector General after scammers altered caller ID systems to make it appear they were calling from an official phone number. The callers claimed to be from "U.S. Immigration,��� told victims they had b How Online Identity Thieves Are Getting Smarter 04/06/2017 08:00pm • Your credit card may now have a security chip inside it, but you're as much at risk for identity theft as you ever were. Javelin Strategy & Research recently came out with its 2017 Identity Fraud Study and concluded that 6.15 percent of consumers, or 15.4 million Americans, were victims of ident Ex-Trump University student wants the president's apology 03/29/2017 02:13pm • FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) ��� President Donald Trump's $25 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit that alleged fraud at his now-defunct Trump University may be put on hold because a former student in Florida wants a full refund plus interest and an apology. A federal judge in San Diego will d Too transparent? Montgomery Co. resident email addresses published 03/27/2017 08:56am • WASHINGTON ��� Montgomery County may have found the line between government transparency and your privacy. It started last week, when a Bethesda-based activist group called MocoVoters asked for all the email addresses used by residents to subscribe to various newsletters issued by county agencies From Zika to Terrorism, How to Protect Yourself While Traveling Abroad 03/05/2017 07:00pm • Take these precautions to maximize safety and eliminate stress during your trip.When you're preoccupied with packing, navigating airport security and collecting local currency for an upcoming trip to a far-flung locale, it's easy to overlook standard health and safety measures. But with a variety of Know Your Rights When You're on the Phone With a Debt Collector 03/01/2017 07:00pm • First the bad news: A debt collector can call, text or write you to request payment for a debt you owe. The good news: There are limits to what a collector can do when talking to you. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act prohibits collection agencies from being abusive, harassing or deceptive when Va. woman targeted by immigration phone scam part of trend 02/27/2017 10:51pm • WASHINGTON ��� The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office is warning of an increase in phone scams targeting immigrants. The scammers may be taking advantage of fears tied to President Donald Trump's stance on stringent enforcement of immigration laws and curbing illegal immigration. In a case report How to Avoid Tax Scams 02/21/2017 07:00pm • The IRS recently released its "Dirty Dozen" list of tax scams for 2017, and it includes fake charities, email phishing scams and even frivolous tax arguments, where the taxpayer refuses to pay taxes on religious or moral grounds. Two perennial threats that pop up year after year: tax ID theft, wher 3 busted in Loudoun Co. messaging app extortion scheme 02/16/2017 09:21am • WASHINGTON ��� Three people have been arrested in connection with a mobile phone messaging extortion scam, police in Loudoun County, Virginia, said. Yogesh K. Sharma, 56, of Sterling, Virginia, and two teenagers have been charged. Police said the three pretended to be a female on the Kik messa What to Do If Someone Files a Fraudulent Tax Return in Your Name 02/08/2017 07:00pm • Here's a message you really don't want to receive from the Internal Revenue Service: Someone has already received your tax refund. More than 237,500 taxpayers filed affidavits with the IRS in the first nine months of 2016 reporting that they had been victims of identity theft, according to the agenc Potential phone scam preys on those who say 'yes' 01/28/2017 10:46am • WASHINGTON ��� Falling victim to a scam, apparently, can be as simple as just saying "yes." The Better Business Bureau and several law enforcement agencies are warning of a potential phone scam that involves a caller asking, "Can you hear me?" As the victim answers "yes," his or her��reply is Tax scams and how to fight them 01/26/2017 06:49am • Q: What tax scams should I be watching out for this year? A: Many in the cybersecurity business refer to tax season as ���Christmas for Criminals,��� because of the amount of sensitive personal information that will be in circulation. The IRS reported a nearly 400 percent surge in phishing and Data Doctors: New Microsoft scam fooling many users 01/13/2017 11:33pm • Q: I got a message from Microsoft saying that my computer has been blocked because the Zeus virus was detected. Is this legit and what should I do? A: The ongoing game by scammers to convince people that their computer is infected has taken some seriously convincing turns in recent months. On