Identity Theft After Loss: Scams Targeting the Deceased

This week Joe and Dave share some listener follow up from Tim, who writes in to give some more information on a payment apps story in episode 302. Joe's story is on Suzy Enos, whose sister died, only for scammers to impersonate a family member and take over her phone number, leading to fraudulent charges on her accounts. Enos fought back to secure her late sister's assets and raise awareness about protecting accounts after a loved one's death. Dave's story follows how scammers exploit the "Automatic Billing Update" (ABU) program to enroll people in fake subscriptions and charge them even after their credit cards are replaced. To avoid this, you need to inform your issuer that it's a subscription scam and request them to block the merchant from using ABU to get your new card number. Our catch of the day comes from listener Felipe, who writes in share a letter he got in the mail where scammers were trying to convince him that he is owed money from a family member he has never heard of before.

Links to the stories:

• Her sister died. Then scammers took over her phone number and started racking up bills.
• Mastodon Royce Williams
• The little-known credit card program that lets companies share your information
• Keep your cards on file always up-to-date
• MasterCard Automatic Billing Updater Service

Have a Catch of the Day you'd like to share? Email it to us at hackinghumans@thecyberwire.com.