The Fraudian Slip Podcast ITRC -Retail Therapy - Special Guest Merchant Risk Council

Show Transcript

Welcome to The  Fraudian  Slip, the Identity Theft Resource Center’s (ITRC) podcast, where we talk about all-things identity compromise, crime and fraud that impact people and businesses. 

We are days away from what will be one of the most unusual holiday shopping seasons in our lifetimes, coming off of an unusual holiday season. Or, if you have headed the warnings from retail experts, you already know we are in the midst of a second holiday season when supply and demand are not in sync. That means more people than ever are turning to online marketplaces to help Santa deliver the goods this year. However, it also means holiday identity theft.

2020 and 2021 have seen record levels of identity fraud, a lot of it related to shopping online. Before you throw your laptop or mobile phone out the window and vow to never shop the internet again, know that very little of that fraud is cybersecurity-related. Most of the fraud and scams are related to cybercriminals using good, old-fashioned scams (and maybe a few bad habits) to trick you into buying something that is too good to be true – because it isn’t.

Joining us to talk about how you can protect yourself and your holiday from holiday identity theft, and the haul from the Grinches that want to steal little Cindy Lou Who’s gifts and roast beast, is Julie Fergerson, the CEO of the Merchant Risk Council (MRC) and the ITRC’s own CEO Eva Velasquez.

We talked with Julie Fergerson about the following:

• What’s the MRC?
• Retailers that you do not recognize with deals that sound too good to be true; a quick Google search can show you complaints against a retailer or if they are fake.
• Triangulation fraud (auction sites).
• What to do if you don’t recognize a charge on your credit card statement.
• Alternative payment methods, like buy now and pay later (BNPL) or peer-to-peer (P2P). Payments like those may not have the same consumer protections, which regulators are discussing now.
• The importance that you trust your instincts to protect yourself from holiday identity theft.

We talked with Eva Velasquez about the following:

• The rise in Google Voice scams.
• What to do if you are a victim of holiday identity theft.

You can learn more about the identity scams that involve your identity, privacy or security, or get help if you have been the victim of holiday identity theft by visiting the ITRC’s website www.idtheftcenter.org.

Be sure to join us next week for our Weekly Breach Breakdown podcast. Next month we will look back to see how well we did with our 2021 predictions. We will also look ahead at what to expect in 2022 – on the December episode of The Fraudian Slip.