In 2016, more than 35 million people in the U.S. changed residences. Each year, the May-September months are the most popular times of the year to make a move. And it’s no wonder why.  For one, the weather is warmer in the spring and summer, so no dealing with freezing temperatures or snow on the ground while moving. Additionally, millions of college graduates start to look for their first home and parents wait for summer breaks to minimize disruption for their school-aged children. It’s an exciting time, but if you are not careful, you may fall for the fraudulent rental scam.

The fraudulent rental scam begins innocently enough. A consumer searches for an apartment or house to rent on a listing website such as Craigslist or Zillow. After finding one that she is interested in, the consumer contacts the seller. Many fraudsters are careful to make sure their listings give off every impression of being legitimate. These scammers may negotiate the price, a pet policy, and even who is responsible for maintenance. Some fraudsters will even go so far as to make the prospective renter sign a bogus lease to give you every confidence that you are actually renting the apartment.

Once trust is developed, the scammer will then ask the prospective renter to pay a security deposit or the first month’s rent. While these scam artists may be convincing, they have no actual apartment to lease and simply disappear once they receive the money. In some cases, the victim will even show up with a moving truck to the place they thought they were renting, only to find out that the listing was fictitious, there is no actual apartment, and they are out a hefty sum of money.

A consumer who was moving from Texas to Connecticut recently shared her story with Fraud.org after she lost $1,600 in a fraudulent rental scam. After looking on Craigslist, she explained: “My mother and I…fell for the house this guy was willing to rent to us for $800. He provided us with pictures said he would mail us the keys when we paid him. … After he received the money, we stopped hearing from him and we realized that we were scammed. We never received the keys.”

Unfortunately, scam artists have become quite clever at luring consumers into  fake rental scams. Many  are patient and willing to answer your questions in order to give off a more legitimate appearance. Others have ripped off actual apartment listings so that the pictures, addresses, and details of the unit all look convincing. If you are in the market for a new apartment, pay attention to  these tips to avoid falling victim to the scam:

1. Never pay by wire transfer. Pay your security deposit/first month’s rent with a check, credit or debit card. Payments made with a wire transfer or cash are impossible to trace, leaving you with little recourse should you fall victim to this scam.

2. Do not pay for anything before you see the inside of the apartment. Many scammers will come up with convenient excuses for why you cannot see the apartment. You should insist on viewing the apartment before you pay any money. If the landlord or person offering you to rent does not comply, it is a scam.

3. If you are moving to a new city and cannot visit before the move, ask a friend to look at the apartment. Even if your friend cannot comment on the apartment’s appearance or location, knowing that the rental is legitimate will give you peace of mind and protect you from falling victim to a scam. If you don’t know anyone in the city and cannot travel to your new home before moving in or paying a deposit, do some research on the listing agent or management company to make sure that your contact is an actual employee. You can do this by using a search engine to find the phone number for the company and calling them.

4. Be wary of leasing an apartment from someone who is far away, but offers to mail you the key once they receive payment. This is a red flag of a scam. The fraudster will simply end communication with you once they receive your money.

Spotting a rental scam can be tricky. If you suspect that you have become a victim, report it immediately. You can file a complaint at Fraud.org via our secure online complaint form. We’ll share your complaint with our network of law enforcement and consumer protection agency partners who can and do put fraudsters behind bars.

Read our other Fraud Alerts here.

With less than seven weeks left before April 18, we have entered the height of tax season—the time of year when more than 70 percent of taxpayers turn to software or tax preparers to help prepare their returns. Unfortunately, it’s also the time when, if you are not careful, you can fall for one of the most common tax scams: tax preparer fraud.

In 2014, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration identified 2.1 million returns that claimed fraudulent refunds totaling more than $15.7 billion. In 2015 the Department of Justice shut down more than 35 fraudulent tax return preparers. Unfortunately, with a problem this large, enforcement alone can only do so much. That’s why it’s important for consumers to get educated about spotting the sign of tax preparation fraud to avoid becoming a victim.

In a typical scam, an unscrupulous tax preparer may falsify your earnings, have you claim credits you did not earn, or even steal your entire refund by having it deposited in their own account. Unfortunately, getting caught up in a tax preparer scam will not just cheat you out of your refund and scam you into paying bogus fees—it can also make victims liable for the hefty fines and even imprisonment associated with the criminal offense of filing a fraudulent tax return!

Fortunately, the vast majority of tax preparers are honest. But that doesn’t mean you should trust your taxes and personal information to just anyone. Tax experts advise that you give the same attention to selecting your tax preparer as you would to selecting a doctor. Here are some helpful hints to find a great provider you can trust:

• Take advantage of free and trustworthy tax help. If you make less than $54,000 per year, you probably qualify for free in-person help through Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Programs. These programs are staffed with IRS-certified volunteers who will help you file and get the refund you deserve. To find a local VITA click here.

• File for free with IRS Free File. If you make less than $64,000 per year, you qualify for online help through the IRS’s Free File program. This program allows you to use free, name-brand tax filing software for your federal return. To get started, click here.

• Ask around. If you don’t qualify for any of the free programs, ask your trusted friends and relatives who they go to for tax preparation and whether they would recommend their services.

Even if you are working with a highly recommended tax preparer, it is still a good idea to be on the lookout for the tell-tale signs of a fraudulent tax preparer:

• Make sure your tax preparer has a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN). In order to file taxes professionally, the IRS requires preparers to have a PTIN. You can check to see if your tax preparer has a PTIN and other credentials and qualifications by checking the IRS’s tax preparer directory.

• Never sign a blank tax return. If your tax preparer asks you to sign a blank tax return, he is probably trying to pull a fast one on you. A signed blank return enables a con artist to later fill in your tax forms with credits you did not earn.

• Always make sure your preparer provides you with a copy of your return. If you don’t get a copy, your provider could be filling in credits you did not earn to increase his fee.

• Never hire a preparer who bases their fee off of a percentage of your refund. Fraudulent preparers often use this tactic to increase their commissions by claiming credits you did not earn. By the time the IRS identifies the mistake, your preparer will have been paid and you will owe back taxes.

• Avoid fly-by-night operators. It is always helpful to have a preparer you know will be around for you, whether it is to answer a question, or to fix a mistake they made.

• Don’t trust a preparer that only needs your last pay stub to file for you. A legitimate preparer will always need your W-2s to file a return.

• Never pay a tax penalty directly to the preparer. If you owe taxes or penalties to the IRS, you will always pay the IRS directly. If you are asked to pay the preparer for owed taxes or penalties (instead of just the tax preparation fee), chance are that it’s a scam.

Fraudulent tax preparers are not always easy to spot. If you fall victim to one, immediately report it to the IRS and file a complaint at Fraud.org via our secure online complaint form. We’ll share your complaint with our network of more than 200 law enforcement and consumer protection agency partners who can and do put fraudsters behind bars.

Read our other Fraud Alerts here.

Happy 2017! The start of a new year means that tax filing season is right around the corner. While Tax Day is not something all consumers look forward to, it may mean that a much-needed tax refund will soon arrive for some. The annual refund check can be a financial lifeline for many of us, enabling us to pay down holiday expenses and medical bills or save cash in a rainy day fund.

For fraudsters however, the start of a new year also marks the beginning of something much more sinister: tax identity theft season. From 2011-2014, identity thieves claimed $23 billion in fraudulent tax refunds; money that was supposed to go to legitimate taxpayers, but instead ended up in criminals’ pockets. In 2015, thieves used fraudulent tax and wage information to defraud nearly a quarter million of Americans, making this kind of identity fraud the fastest-growing type of identity theft, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Tax ID fraud occurs when a scammer files a tax return using someone else’s personal information, then illegally collects the victims’ tax refunds. Filing a false tax return is surprisingly easy and only requires a victim’s name, Social Security number, date of birth, and a falsified W-2 form. Victims often only find out they’ve been defrauded after they try to file their own legitimate tax return and receive a letter from the IRS stating that someone else already filed in their name.

The IRS has been steadfastly fighting this scam for years and they’ve been able to significantly—but not completely—reduce the amount of fraud committed. And this year, thanks to a new law, they will have more time to stop scammers before the fraudulent checks get mailed. However, this may cause a delay in some consumers receiving their refunds.

Fortunately, there are several steps consumers can take that may help reduce the risk of tax ID fraud, save money on tax preparation, and prevent filing errors on returns.

1. File early. Filing early in the tax season is the easiest way to reduce the risk of an identity thief beating you to it and stealing your refund. The sooner you file, the better. Starting January 23, 2017, the IRS will begin accepting federal tax return filings. Waiting until closer to this year’s deadline (April 18) to file gives identity thieves more time to file a return in your name, receive your refund, and take your check to the bank.

2. Get educated about the law. A new law called the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act requires the IRS to hold refund checks until February 15 for consumers who claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC). While you may have to wait a bit longer to get your refund check this year, the delay will help the IRS identify and stop more tax  fraud. Beware of tax preparation companies who claim to be able to get you your refund sooner than February 15. Tax preparers who promise this will almost certainly be giving you a high-interest loan that will eat into your refund.

3. Check with IRS on the status of your refund. Due to weekends and the President’s Day holiday, some consumers who claim the EITC or ACTC may not get their refunds in their bank accounts until the week of February 27. To check the status of your refund, visit the IRS’s Where’s My Refund? website ‎or take advantage of the IRS2Go smartphone app.

4. Take advantage of free tax preparation help. For those who generally make $54,000 or less, you may qualify for free tax help. Skip the high-cost tax preparation outfits and, instead, take advantage of free tax preparation assistance from Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) programs in your community. VITA programs are staffed by IRS-certified volunteers who can help you navigate this year’s delay and prepare accurate returns safely and securely. For more information and to find a local VITA site, click here.

5. Use Free File to e-file. Consumers who make up to $64,000 per year qualify for the IRS’s Free File program, which allows the use of free, name-brand tax filing software from some of the biggest names in the tax prep business.For more information, click here.

It’s critical to act quickly if you fall victim to tax ID fraud. Take these tips to help reduce the damage:

1. Once you receive the letter from the IRS informing you that someone has already filed a tax return with your Social Security number, file a 14039 form with the IRS and follow the submission instructions at the bottom of the form. This will notify the IRS that you believe that your identity has been stolen.

2. If a fraudster is able to file a phony tax return with your personal information, they may have enough information to commit other types of identity theft, such as taking out credit in your name. To prevent this, consider placing a freeze on your credit report. By placing a freeze on your report, you will prevent any credit from being granted in your name unless you personally lift the freeze. For more information, visit the Federal Trade Commission’s frequently asked questions on credit freezes.

Lastly, file an identity theft report with your local police department and fill out our secure online complaint form. We share complaints with our network of nearly 200 law enforcement and consumer protection agency partners who can and do put fraudsters behind bars. For additional information on responding to identity theft, visit identitytheft.gov.

Read our other Fraud Alerts here.

Last year, nearly ¾ of Americans planned to travel between Thanksgiving and Christmas. For the vast majority of travelers, the holidays are a time to create memories that they will cherish for years. Thanks to scammers who prey on travelers, however, those memories can turn into nightmares. Take steps to protect yourself this busy travel season by following these easy tips for spotting and avoiding some common travel-related scams.

Avoid suspicious online hotel booking sites

When looking for a place to stay, many consumers begin by simply entering their destination plus the word “hotels” in an online search engine. Unfortunately, thanks to some booking sites’ aggressive online advertising techniques, consumers may think that they’re booking directly with a hotel, when in fact, they are working with an online booking site. While this may not pose a problem (many hotels do work with legitimate online booking websites), in the worst cases this can lead to:

• Consumers arriving at a hotel without an actual reservation;

• Paying more for the hotel room than the hotel’s asking price;

• The hotel being prohibited from issuing a refund in the event of a cancellation; or

• Special requests such as room accessibility for the disabled being ignored.

To avoid these problems, take care when searching for and booking a hotel online by:

• Verifying that you are booking directly through a hotel’s website before providing a credit or debit card number. A good way to do this is to look for the hotel’s phone number on another website (i.e., the corporate site for the hotel chain you’re booking, or by using online white pages) and calling to verify the hotel site’s legitimacy.

• Being aware that when you call a hotel phone number listed on a third-party booking site, it may actually go to a call center, where booking site employees misrepresent themselves as representatives of the hotel chain itself.

• Checking to see if the online booking site you’re working with is associated with an industry association like the Travel Technology Association or U.S. Travel Association. If it’s not, that could be a red flag.

Don’t lose airline miles to fraud

Anyone who has flown in the past several decades is probably familiar with frequent flyer programs. It is estimated that consumers are holding approximately 14 trillion unused airline miles and loyalty points, which can be redeemed for free flights and other merchandise. That buying power makes them a tempting target for fraudsters. Even better, from the scammers’ point of view, is that many consumers do not realize that airline miles are susceptible to theft. If left unprotected, fraudsters can hack into a frequent flyer account and transfer miles to their own account.

Here are some tips to prevent the theft of those hard-earned miles:

• Monitor loyalty accounts regularly for unauthorized withdrawals. If the point balance is lower than expected, report the discrepancy to their airlines immediately.

• Practice good cyber password hygiene. Hackers typically steal miles by logging into loyalty accounts using an email address and password combination that may have been used elsewhere online. To reduce the risk of this happening, be sure to use a long, strong, and unique password for miles accounts.

• Always remember, frequent flier miles are valuable. Keep your account numbers in a safe place. If using a paper boarding pass, flyers should dispose of the pass safely, since the loyalty account number could be printed on the pass.

Taxi meter fraud

When traveling, consumers often rely on taxis and ridesharing apps like Lyft and Uber to get around town. Unfortunately, some commercial drivers take advantage of a traveler’s unfamiliarity with a city to defraud them.

Some tips to spot and avoid these scams:

• Always confirm with the driver that the meter and credit card machine are in working order. If the meter is not working, either attempt to negotiate a fair price before beginning the trip or leave the taxi.

• Always travel with official, licensed taxis or through trusted ride hailing companies such as Lyft or Uber.

• An unscrupulous taxi driver may take an overly long route to a destination to inflate the fare. To catch this, plug the destination into a smartphone and pay attention to make sure the drive is taking a direct route. If the driver seems to be taking an overly-long route, be sure to speak up and question the driver.

• Consumers who feel like they’ve been cheated by a taxi driver should be sure to report the incident to the local taxicab commission (including the name and number of the driver, if available).

The free Wi-Fi scam

It can be tempting to join a “free Wi-Fi” hotspot while relaxing at a cafe or killing time at an airport. Unfortunately, scammers also know this and can set up fake “free” hotspots to lure consumers into signing on. When an unsuspecting victim connects to one of these hotspots, fraudsters may be able to see whatever the victim has on her screen, obtain access to sensitive files, and steal information sent over the Internet, including passwords, bank account numbers, and credit card information.

• Be aware that the name of the Wi-Fi network could be a ruse. Scammers often try to trick consumers by naming their fraudulent Wi-Fi after a legitimate cafe or airport. If there is any doubt about the legitimacy of a hotspot, ask an employee for the correct network name.

• Just because a Wi-Fi hotspot requires payment to connect does not mean that it is safe. Fraudsters have been known to set up Wi-Fi hotspots and then charge for access while also hacking the consumer’s computer. To truly be safe, always confirm the name of the network with an employee before signing in.

• Many modern smartphones come with apps that can turn them into a Wi-Fi hotspot (either for free or a monthly fee). Check with your wireless provider before traveling to see if your phone can be used as a hotspot. If you use a personal hotspot, be sure to protect it with a strong passcode.

Unfortunately, travel fraud can be hard to spot, and even the savviest of us are vulnerable. Consumers who have been victims of travel fraud should file a complaint at Fraud.org via our secure online complaint form. We share complaints with our network of nearly 200 law enforcement and consumer protection agency partners who can and do put fraudsters behind bars.

Read our other Fraud Alerts here.

The United States mail is supposed to be a way for consumers to send and receive important messages — account statements and bills, jury duty notifications, personal correspondence, and more. Unfortunately,  the mail is also a method for scammers to reach tens of millions of consumers with fraudulent pitches, potentially netting these criminals tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars in illicit profits.

In fact, mail fraud has become such a serious threat to consumers that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced a wide-ranging crackdown on mail fraud schemes targeting vulnerable Americans with promises of easy riches and good fortune. The DOJ and its agency and nonprofit partners are also launching a special educational campaign to open consumers’ eyes to the reality of mail fraud.

In one mail fraud scheme shut down earlier this year, scammers in the Netherlands defrauded thousands of consumers in the United States, including many seniors, out of more than $18 million with mailings promising big lottery winnings. All the victims had to do, the scammers promised, was send $15-$55 back to the scammers in pre-addressed envelopes provided by the scammers. In reality, there were no winnings to be gained and the scammers were just out to defraud vulnerable consumers.

Federal law enforcement agents like the DOJ and U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) investigate and prosecute these scammers. NCL is proud to be a partner of the DOJ’s efforts to urge consumers to be on the lookout for mass mailing fraud scams. The criminals running these scams are sophisticated and well-versed at making the letters that arrive on consumers’ doorsteps look convincing. However, by following the right advice, consumers can help stop mail fraud before it happens.

1. Beware of mail saying you’ve won a prize. Promises of big lottery or sweepstakes winnings is a common way that mass mailing fraudsters get victims to open their letters and engage.
2. Never pay to collect a prize. No lottery or sweepstakes program should require you to pay a fee in order to collect winnings. Claims that you must pay upfront “processing fees,” “administrative fees,” “taxes,” or other fees are big red flags.
3. Just because the envelope or letter is addressed to you doesn’t make it legit. Scammers know that the more personalized a letter looks, the more likely a victim is to open it and fall for the pitch. Because of this, mass mailing fraud letters often seem very individualized and may even look like they have handwritten notes on them. In reality, the are mass-produced and sent to thousands of consumers like you.
4. Watch out for mail from “psychics.” Earlier this year, a fraud scheme claiming to be associated with psychics was shut down, but not before it netted more than $180 million in ill-gotten gains for the scammers. If you receive a letter claiming a “special” message has been sent just for you, it’s almost certainly a scam.
5. If you receive a suspicious piece of mail, report it! Law enforcement needs your help to shut down these mass mail fraudsters. If you receive a piece of mail that looks like it might be part of a scam, report it to NCL’s Fraud.org campaign via our secure online complaint form. We share complaints with our network of more than 90 law enforcement partners who can investigate and shut down the scammers.

Read our other Fraud Alerts here.