Heads Up: A Theft and a Scam Worth Noting

Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) notified tens of thousands of Americans that their Social Security numbers had been posted on a public website since 1996.  The agency promptly shut down the website. But this places the people whose data were exposed at risk of identity theft, although the agency assured the public that there was no evidence of foul play.  USDA’s latest press release explained who was affected by the data breach, and provided resources for those with questions.  The affected individuals were all recipients of funds through the Farm Service Agency or USDA Rural Development program, and USDA will notify them by mail. They will also be offered free credit monitoring, although it will be taxpayers who foot the bill.

In other news, American investors should be wary of recent stock promotions touting huge returns on companies in China.  A recent Washington Post article explains this latest “pump and dump” scheme that involves scammers who promote stocks in order to drive up shares of a particular company.  Once enough people have bought into the scheme, they sell their shares for profit and leave other investors with the deflated shares.  The article recommends that investors avoid current claims similar to, “Grabbing massive profits in China has never been easier than right now!”  When faced with seemingly enticing claims such as this one, National Association of Securities Dealers Chairman Mary L. Schapiro suggested to investors, “The best way to avoid being taken in by a scam is to ignore these unsolicited stock recommendations or, at the very least, investigate the company and its claims before investing.”