Missing Persons Scam

The missing person scam is one of the most unusual and heartless scam someone can fall victim to. This scam preys upon individuals and families who have lost their loved ones and are willing to do or pay anything to locate them.

Some con artists thrive on this fact and set up fraudulent missing person recovery centers asking for a payment before releasing the details about the whereabouts of the missing person (s). For example, the Postal Inspectors recently followed up on such a recovery business scam, that requested $20,000 for disclosing the whereabouts of a California man’s missing former wife and children. The recovery bureau told the man to go to Michigan, and with no other leads, he traveled to the state in hopes of reuniting with his ex-wife and children. Investigation by officials revealed that the man’s ex-wife and children never visited Michigan.

Officials warn families with missing children, spouses, or other members and relatives to be cautious of the missing person scam. Bureaus asking for money for information on the whereabouts of missing persons are often fraudulent bureaus. If contacted with such a scam, contact your local law enforcement to check the validity of the claims made about the whereabouts of the missing person.

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Identity theft comes in many forms.

A person\92s identity can be 'borrowed' for the purpose of creating fictional credit cards or a person\92s entire identity can be usurped to the point where they can have difficulty proving that they really are who they claim to be.

Up to 18% of identity theft victims take as long as four years to realize that their identity has been stolen.

There are many ways to protect your personal identity and many steps you can take to prevent your identity from being stolen:

*Never give out unnecessary personal information
*Never provide bank details or social security numbers over the Internet
*Always remain aware of who is standing behind you when you type in your personal credit codes at ATM machines and at supermarket checkout swipe machines.