Author Archives: Crystal Baldwin

About Crystal Baldwin

Crystal manages the publication and distribution of the CAP Connection blog.

When your child’s information is subjected to a data breach

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I get so many data breach notices that I am starting to view them as routine. Because of this, I decided to freeze my credit a long time ago. It is free, I am not looking for credit right now, and it gives me peace of mind that an identity thief cannot easily go about opening new accounts in my name without my knowledge or consent. When I got a notice yesterday that PowerSchool accounts related to my children were compromised, my stomach twisted into a knot. This is something new. This is something I am not used to having to think about. This is something I will need to address. 

As parents, we have a responsibility to keep our children safe and help them find their way to prosperity. When a notice says that some of our child’s information has been obtained by sources unknown to us, the alarm sounds that the child’s financial future might be jeopardized if their currently nonexistent credit record is ransacked by fraudsters.

What is a parent to do?

Monitor: Keep track of the information sent from the school and the breached company to stay informed on what information was breached. If you are identified as an impacted individual, you will likely be contacted again. It is important to verify the source of the contact and the information. The Attorney General’s Office posts breach notice letters so that you can verify the information on the notice you received is legitimate. Also, continue to regularly review credit reports.

More on credit monitoring

You can get a free credit report from each of the three credit reporting agencies annually, online, at www.annualcreditreport.com, or you can mail in a form


Safeguard: Be vigilant. Consider placing a freeze on your child’s credit report now, so you can worry less about potential identity theft. Children aren’t opening accounts right now anyway.  

You can freeze yours too, while you are at it. Before you start this process, decide on a secure place you will keep the passwords or pin numbers. There will likely be a day you will need to access credit and you will want to lift the freeze at your convenience. 

More on credit alerts and freezes

Place a fraud alert or freeze on your credit reports. You can find out more information from the Federal Trade Commission about fraud alerts and freezing your credit files. To place a fraud alert or freeze on your credit files, contact the three credit reporting agencies listed below.

Credit Bureau Fraud Contacts:
EQUIFAX 1-800-685-1111 
EXPERIAN 1-888-397-3742
TRANSUNION 1-888-909-8872


Be on guard: Name, address, and birthdate are pieces of information needed to open credit. So, be particularly cautious of phishing attempts that may contact you to obtain the Social Security number, or part of it. 

There are more scams than just identity theft to watch out for. The fact that phone numbers and email addresses were breached may not seem as problematic, but don’t forget that scammers like to use phone numbers to robocall and emails to spam. You may be less cautious if you think the contact comes from the school district, such as with spoofed phone numbers. You will need to verify every communication that requires your action. 

Know the experts: For thorough step by step guides on identity theft prevention after a data breach, the Federal Trade Commission is your primary resource:

Breach next steps:
https://www.identitytheft.gov/databreach

Child identity theft:
https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-protect-your-child-identity-theft

Learn more on the Vermont Attorney General’s website:
https://ago.vermont.gov/cap/scam-prevention-through-awareness-and-education/identity-theft

What to Do After a Data Breach video by the Federal Trade Commission (consumer.ftc.gov and identitytheft.gov)

References:

Federal Trade Commission: consumer.ftc.gov and identitytheft.gov

VT Digger: https://vtdigger.org/2025/01/08/nationwide-data-breach-affects-student-staff-information-at-vermont-schools/

Called for Jury Duty, or a Jury Duty Scam?

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Scammers posing as local law enforcement are calling, saying you missed jury duty and are threatening “serious legal consequences”. They first leave a message for you to call back, visit a website, or schedule a meeting. Next, they may demand payment of a fine and ask for your sensitive personal information. They may claim there is a warrant out for your arrest.

Jury Duty Scam Alert by VT Attorney General issued December 4, 2024.
Called for Jury duty, or...a jury duty scam? -Demands fee payment now! - Requires sensitive personal information, -Claims to be local law enforcement calling, - Threatens arrest or says there is a warrant for arrest. Hang up on unknown callers. Take steps to verify. Ago.Vermont.gov/cap | 1-800-649-2424.

While all these claims are very jarring, hang up and do not pay! Always take steps to verify the legitimacy of unknown officials, using publicly available resources. Connect with people you trust to discuss unexpected, urgent, unsettling, or unknown communications.

For jury duty specifically, know that you would be issued a letter, and you would not receive a threatening call about it, even if you actually did miss an actual jury duty assignment. Also know that, in order to serve jury duty, you first have to be selected through a process called a jury draw that occurs at the courthouse. If you were supposed to serve as a juror, you would have been informed.

When in doubt, check it out. The Consumer Assistance Program is your local Vermont resource for scam prevention information: ago.vermont.gov/cap or 1-800-649-2424.

Giving Season Go-To’s

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Giving gifts, whether to friends or organizations with meaningful missions can bring warmth and cheer during this cold time of year. Help yourself and others avoid holiday purchasing pitfalls by slowing down throughout your consumer transitions, taking steps to verify, and reaching out to your trusted community supports when questions arise. Talking about our consumer experiences—the good, the not so good, and the detrimental—can help others make informed purchasing decisions. Here are a few things I have learned:

  1. Give wisely – You can look up charities thoroughly before giving. You can see how they allocate funds and whether giving to them will count as a tax deduction. The EIN of charities are even online so that you can verify the organization exists.
  2. Plan out your online shopping – Always doublecheck the URL (website) is the one you know and trust before proceeding. For new stores, research thoroughly before buying by checking state business registrations, looking up BBB information, and searching for complaints online. Always ask friends for their opinion. All the information gathering will help you make an informed decision.
  3. Avoid fake ads – Just because you see it online, does not make it real. It can be the nicest looking professional graphic design around and it can still be a scam. If you are seeing ads that interest you while perusing the internet check it out on the site you know to be valid. Most sites have a promotions section so that you can see the latest deals being offered.
  4. Watch your “spaving” – That’s spending to save. Do you really need that extra set of doll boots that gets you to the site’s $150 free shipping minimum, or are you just spending more to get shipping (a $10 charge) for free? The same goes for buying bulk products you don’t use or need and participating in “buy more, save more” events (if you spend $100, you get 25% off).
  5. Use store rewards when it benefits you – When you sign up for store memberships with rewards programs, your consumer activity is tracked. The rewards program comes with an incentive for you to spend more to earn more rewards. (Another kind of buy more, save more). Periodically, you receive a coupon or credit representing the rewards you have earned that you can apply toward your future purchase. Store rewards can lead to savings when you use them to buy things for which you have a use.
  6. Pay with a credit card when you can, because credit cards come with built-in consumer fraud protection. A smart consumer spending choice is only charging what you can pay back right away so that you can pay off the amount without incurring more debt.
  7. Always watch out for scams – Scammers thrive during this busy time. When we have a lot going on, we become more susceptible to scams.

During this time of giving and kindness, keep your friends, family and community close, keep talking and you will help each other avoid consumer problems and scams.

If you have encountered problems with the purchase of goods or services in Vermont, you can contact the Vermont Attorney General’s Consumer Assistance Program by calling 1-800-649-2424, or by going to our website at ago.vermont.gov/cap.

Scams are crimes that we can try to avoid

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By Crystal Baldwin

A heartfelt thank you to Jeanette Voss and Martha “Mickey” Pullen for sharing your stories in a recent Seven Days article, Cyber Scams Are Leaving Older Vermonters Destitute, Frustrated and Saddled with Tax Debt. Your stories help us understand that scams are malicious criminal operations that succeed through thievery. You have helped others to see that responding to a scam is deeply human and natural. Scams are crimes. Scams are never the fault of the people they harm.

Findings by the Federal Trade Commission as well as AARP support that we humans are most likely to respond to scams when our emotions (positive and negative) are elevated—from anger to love, we have recently experienced two or more stressful life events, are living in isolation, and have increased exposure to scam encounters.

It could look like this: A new mom on maternity leave who lost her beloved father receives a call about an unpaid IRS tax debt. When scammers use carefully scripted dialog, the notion of unpaid taxes seems plausible. One may question whether claimed dependents had been properly updated, or if a burial tax was overlooked.

This new mom receiving an unwanted call from the IRS was me. During the call, I felt panic rise as I readied myself to engage. My sleep deprivation and my baby saved me. Upon receipt of the call, I was rushing out the door with my crying child. I decided I was too tired and overwhelmed to engage in a meaningful conversation. Exasperated, I said, “I just can’t right now,” and hung up. Once I was seated in my car, I expressed a long exhale. In that moment, I started laughing as I said aloud, “That was a scam!” My baby was not amused.  

When involved in a scam our brains are likely to experience an “amygdala hijack” —a term defined by Emotional Intelligence expert Daniel Goleman. This hijack is a natural response to emotional stimuli. When it is triggered, our response bypasses the orderly and fact-checking part of our brain. Scammers trigger this hijack by using manipulative psychological tactics. In the recent experience I shared above, my emotions helped me out of a tough situation. But I have experienced scams before where my emotion-based actions led me to monetary loss.

Scams frequently occur in isolation. Because of this, one of our best prevention strategies is to stay connected with our communities. That way, whenever you encounter something that is unexpected, urgent, unsettling, or unknown, you can engage a trusted contact, or community organization. This trusted support serves as your sounding board. They will help you to ask questions and expose the scam. Regularly engaging your trusted contact, such as when thinking about buying from a new website or making a high-dollar purchase, helps you to form scam avoidance habits. As burdensome as it may seem to activate a prevention strategy involving others, think of it like locking your door. It is a safety measure that will hopefully stop a thief from stealing from you.

Key Prevention Tip: When it's unexpected, urgent, unsettling, or unfamiliar: Slow down, Take steps to verify, Get community support.

If you have responded to a scam, know that you are not alone. Please report all scams to the FBI’s IC3.gov so that they can aggregate data to identify scam activity.

Steps when funds or personal information have been jeopardized:

STEP 1:
Immediately contact the Financial Institution’s Fraud Department.

STEP 2:
Immediately report to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center: ic3.gov or call 1-800-CALL-FBI
If personal information may have been stolen or compromised:  IdentityTheft.gov provides step-by-step recovery guidance or call 1-877-438-4338

STEP 3:
Consider engaging a trusted contact who will support you through the process.

STEP 4:
Engage Vermont supports when you need additional help:

VT Attorney General’s Consumer Assistance Program:
 ago.Vermont.gov/cap

VT Department of Financial Regulation:
dfr.Vermont.gov

Local law enforcement inquiry

United Ways of Vermont 2-1-1 Information and Referral Hotline

Stay safe and be well, Vermont.

Email Extortion Using Photos of Home

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In a new twist in the email extortion scam a photo of your home is sent with the threat to send compromising photos and videos of you to your contacts. Threats like these instill great fear and worry. The scammer advises you to scan a QR code, directing you to pay with Bitcoin or provide them with access to your computer. If you do not cooperate, they threaten to share your embarrassing photos and videos to your contacts.

In today’s internet age, information is easy to obtain. To find your home, scammers search related information about you to locate your address. Then, they use mapping programs like Google Street View to capture a picture of your house—even when thousands of miles away. While using Google Street View in Vermont, I was able to view the front façade of a hotel in Italy when referencing its address.

If Google Maps or another mapping service has traveled your street, a street view picture of your home likely exists.

Additional ways this photo may be obtained is through prior real estate listings, or potentially local tax appraisals.

These e-mails are scams. If you receive one of these e-mails, DO NOT send money and do not allow remote access to your computer. Only scan QR codes of known parties.

Tips from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (ic3.gov):

  • NEVER send compromising images of yourself to anyone, no matter who they are or who they say they are.
  • Do not open attachments from people you do not know. Links can secretly hack your electronic devices using malware to gain access to your private data, photos, and contacts, or control your web camera and microphone without your knowledge.
  • Turn off your electronic devices and web cameras when not in use.

If you are receiving email extortion threats:

  • Remember you are not alone as thousands are impacted by this scam.
  • Stop all interaction with the extortionist and do not be embarrassed or afraid to contact law enforcement.
  • File a complaint with the FBI IC3 at www.ic3.gov.

You can call CAP at 1-800-649-2424 if you need help determining if you have encountered a scam.

You can help stop scams by sharing this information with your community.

Reference:

Ic3.gov – https://www.ic3.gov/media/Y2021/PSA210902
www.icactaskforce.org/resource/RS00510153/view