12/18/15 From the Council of Better
Business Bureaus The U.S. government's Office of Personal Management (OPM) has been notifying those affected by a recent cyber security breach that their personal data was compromised. Unfortunately, scammers are also "notifying" consumers. Here's how to identify a real OPM notification letter and the signs of a scam. How to Spot a Real OPM Letter: You don't have to be a U.S. federal employee to receive a notification from OPM. The breach was wide reaching, and there are many ways your personal information may have been included. Common ones include:
Real
Letters Contain:
Signs
of a Scam: Scammers love to take advantage of large government initiatives. Scams surrounding the roll out of the Affordable Care Act are a recent example. Be on the lookout for scammers attempting to cash in on this effort.
For
More Information: Learn more about the data breach and the U.S. government efforts to notify those affected on OPM's website. Check out BBB's Top 10 Scams of 2015: bbb.org/top10scams To find out more about other scams, check out BBB Scam Stopper (bbb.org/scam). To report a scam, go to BBB Scam Tracker (bbb.org/scamtracker). |