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Default Jan 16, 2023 at 09:58 PM
  #161
I’ve been getting emails lately that tell me my score is higher than ever and I should click and see it,… they are scams the email is from a mailing list. Irritated me so much. I never click on an email unless I know who it’s from, but I imagine after you click on it it asks for info.

Skeezky I can check my report though my bank. It’s one of the perks they offer. I don’t check too often as I don’t apply for loans or cards. I have one credit card, that’s all I need. I never buy more than I can pay off in one go. So my credit is good. I have my phone service paid monthly though my credit card so there’s that every month and paying it off every month that way keeps my credit good. Occasionally my debt card malfunctions, the chip is wonky, so I use my card but again, it’s not more than I can pay off.

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Attention Jan 17, 2023 at 02:18 PM
  #162
Quote:
Originally Posted by Skeezyks View Post
Does anyone worry about their credit reports? I just read this article in a Malwarebytes article about some way people who weren't even experienced hackers could bypass your security questions on Experion and get into your credit report. I guess that particular problem has been fixed now. But who knows where the next problem will crop up? I think all of my credit reports are frozen. But I'm not sure. I guess you're supposed to check your credit reports yearly. But I'm not even sure how to go about doing that.
We are "supposed" to check our reports every year, and I've slacked off on this, especially during the last 3 years. Even before COVID I wasn't keeping up with it as I've had too much on my plate and it doesn't let up.

There's lookalike sites that offer your score but they charge you or it might not be FICO which is the most commonly used. There's others that I never heard of. The site one is supposed to go to is:

Annual Credit Report.com - Home Page

Since we get just 1 free report annually, I've read suggestions to "space them out", getting a report from each agency every 4 months so you're covered for the year. I don't get why we have to have 3 agencies that collect such sensitive data. And I've heard that they DO share info and also that they DO NOT.

I've had banks tell me to complain to the agency, and the agency say complain to the bank....Equifax had a breach years ago, and I expected a company like that, considering what they do, to have security as good as the NSA at least! After that I called them Equif***.

I haven't heard that thing about hackers getting into reports, but I have heard they can get in your phone even if you don't click on links in texts or emails! I don't know how they do it. It seems just receiving a text can be a problem but all this is freaking me out and I wish I didn't read all that.

Actually I've been feeling overwhelmed about all these things I'm supposed to do or eat: 6-9 glasses of water a day, eat avocado (don't like it), check my credit reports annually, take my car for an oil change every 3,000 miles, get your cholesterol checked annually at the doctor, etc. etc. etc. I'm too old for this.

More and more stories about what I can do to protect myself, yet the criminals are always one step ahead.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Nammu View Post
I’ve been getting emails lately that tell me my score is higher than ever and I should click and see it,… they are scams the email is from a mailing list. Irritated me so much. I never click on an email unless I know who it’s from, but I imagine after you click on it it asks for info.

Skeezky I can check my report though my bank. It’s one of the perks they offer. I don’t check too often as I don’t apply for loans or cards. I have one credit card, that’s all I need. I never buy more than I can pay off in one go. So my credit is good. I have my phone service paid monthly though my credit card so there’s that every month and paying it off every month that way keeps my credit good. Occasionally my debt card malfunctions, the chip is wonky, so I use my card but again, it’s not more than I can pay off.
I get a lot of scam TEXTS. Yes, clicking on a link will take you to a bogus site OR it can download malware on your phone or computer! Then it's like they have access to everything you do.

I get my FICO score on my Discover statement. It's the only card that gives it to me, but I don't need more cards. Like you I don't carry a balance and use the cards to have activity on them. Otherwise they can close it and not even notify you. (It's in the tiny print) This happened to me when I tried to use a gas card at the station and it said invalid.

True those chips on cards can be wonky and they are supposed to be more secure than those strips we swipe.

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Cautions for us seniors

Hmmm....looks like some good tips in here.


Cautions for us seniors

"Okay, enough photos. I'm a very BUSY Business Kitty, so make an appointment next time."
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Unhappy Jan 17, 2023 at 02:32 PM
  #163
And since most people are on to scammers' phone calls and Caller ID spoofing (or they have some app that blocks them), they've moved on to emails and texts. Same rule of thumb: If you don't recognize it don't respond. Don't even send "STOP" or "Unsubscribe" because it tells the scammer your email or number is "live". (A human will respond)

Then they will either contact you more or sell your info to another scammer.

I think I've gotten every scam in existence, and they don't just target seniors. I know we're supposed to more vulnerable (a bit ageist in my opinion) but anybody can get scammed. They are getting so clever, making even websites look legitimate. Or using a real number for a business as the Caller ID but they are really calling from some other number. They know how to hide their tracks.

Skeez forgot to say if you decide to print your credit report, you'll get not just that but 15 pages of your "rights" under some kind of Consumer Protection Act or whatever it is.


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Cautions for us seniors

Hmmm....looks like some good tips in here.


Cautions for us seniors

"Okay, enough photos. I'm a very BUSY Business Kitty, so make an appointment next time."
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Default Jan 18, 2023 at 02:27 PM
  #164
Yes, we also don't carry a balance on our credit cards. I'm with you, owl. "I'm too old for this." I just want to go and hide out somewhere most of the time.

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