DeMarrais: Hang up on scammers - News - NorthJersey.com
DeMarrais: Hang up on scammers
By DeMarrais, Kevin	Town News
Impostor scams — crooks pretending to be a friend, relative, business or government agency — are soaring, as we reported on Sunday. Usually you can get rid of the threat simply by hanging up on the would-be thief who calls you, but, as Sonya Fitzmaurice of River Vale discovered, some are persistent.
"I received a call at home from a heavily accented Indian chap, asking for me by my full name," she said. "When I confirmed he was indeed speaking to Sonya Fitzmaurice, he proceeded to tell me that he was calling from Google service and that I needed to take care of an error with my account, referring to my computer. "I replied, 'You are not from Google and this is a scam,' and abruptly hung up on him. The fella had the nerve to call back immediately and continued to convince me that he was legit. "I told him I was not fooled and was going to report his number to the police. He hung up.
"Unfortunately, the caller ID was only a four-digit number. "A week later, I received the same call. It sounded exactly like the same guy, but the caller ID was different. Same thing happened; I hung up on him the first time and he called me back a couple of seconds later. "Again, I told him I was going to report the number, and luckily, the number was available on the caller ID this time. Is there a central agency (legitimate) where I can notify the authorities to this? "These guys are really annoying and need to be stopped."
If you get a caller ID number, you should report the caller to the Federal Trade Commission. Go to consumer.ftc.gov and look for the "File a Complaint" button under "Take Action."
As happened with Fitzmaurice, caller ID may be blank, and even if you get a number, it may be a phony or have no connection to the caller. But a formal complaint alerts regulators and helps them track down these illegal activities.
Also, heed the advice of reader George Friedman, a former senior officer at FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, in response to Sunday's column:
"One ironclad rule your readers might adopt is this: 'Never, ever give out sensitive information or send money in response to a phone call you did not originate. Period.' Hang up, call the number listed on your credit card, bank statement, etc., and find out if the 'problem' is real."
And don't engage in a dialog with the caller, even to say you are reporting the call to authorities, because (a) he doesn't care what you say, (b) he knows that you probably can't identify him and (c) you let him know he has a live number and is more likely to call back.
Too many people still think it's not polite to simply hang up. They're called victims.
Free checking lives Does free checking still exist?
Most likely, if your account is at a credit union, rather than a large bank, a new Bankrate.com report shows. It found that 72 percent of America's 50 largest credit unions still offer stand-alone free checking accounts, while an additional 24 percent waive fees if certain requirements are met. At the same time, only 38 percent of the largest banks and thrifts have free checking, down from 65 percent since 2010.
If you prefer to stay with a bank, look into small local banks. Many still offer fee-free accounts with no or low minimum balance requirements.
DeMarrais: Hang up on scammers - News - NorthJersey.com
DeMarrais: Hang up on scammers
By DeMarrais, Kevin	Town News
Impostor scams — crooks pretending to be a friend, relative, business or government agency — are soaring, as we reported on Sunday. Usually you can get rid of the threat simply by hanging up on the would-be thief who calls you, but, as Sonya Fitzmaurice of River Vale discovered, some are persistent.
"I received a call at home from a heavily accented Indian chap, asking for me by my full name," she said. "When I confirmed he was indeed speaking to Sonya Fitzmaurice, he proceeded to tell me that he was calling from Google service and that I needed to take care of an error with my account, referring to my computer. "I replied, 'You are not from Google and this is a scam,' and abruptly hung up on him. The fella had the nerve to call back immediately and continued to convince me that he was legit. "I told him I was not fooled and was going to report his number to the police. He hung up.
"Unfortunately, the caller ID was only a four-digit number. "A week later, I received the same call. It sounded exactly like the same guy, but the caller ID was different. Same thing happened; I hung up on him the first time and he called me back a couple of seconds later. "Again, I told him I was going to report the number, and luckily, the number was available on the caller ID this time. Is there a central agency (legitimate) where I can notify the authorities to this? "These guys are really annoying and need to be stopped."
If you get a caller ID number, you should report the caller to the Federal Trade Commission. Go to consumer.ftc.gov and look for the "File a 
Complaint" button under "Take Action."
As happened with Fitzmaurice, caller ID may be blank, and even if you get a number, it may be a phony or have no connection to the caller. But a formal complaint alerts regulators and helps them track down these illegal activities.
Also, heed the advice of reader George Friedman, a former senior officer at FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, in response to Sunday's column:
"One ironclad rule your readers might adopt is this: 'Never, ever give out sensitive information or send money in response to a phone call you did not originate. Period.' Hang up, call the number listed on your credit card, bank statement, etc., and find out if the 'problem' is real."
And don't engage in a dialog with the caller, even to say you are reporting the call to authorities, because (a) he doesn't care what you say, (b) he knows that you probably can't identify him and (c) you let him know he has a live number and is more likely to call back.
Too many people still think it's not polite to simply hang up. They're called victims.
Free checking lives Does free checking still exist?
Most likely, if your account is at a credit union, rather than a large bank, a new Bankrate.com report shows. It found that 72 percent of America's 50 largest credit unions still offer stand-alone free checking accounts, while an additional 24 percent waive fees if certain requirements are met. At the same time, only 38 percent of the largest banks and thrifts have free checking, down from 65 percent since 2010.
If you prefer to stay with a bank, look into small local banks. Many still offer fee-free accounts with no or low minimum balance requirements.