Social Security:  Be Sure to Get Your Statement

By Ned Sledge
Social Security Public Affairs Specialist in Richmond , VA

Your Social Security Statement is an important document that can help you plan for your retirement.  Whether you’re a young worker just starting a career or a seasoned employee ready to retire, the Statement is designed to help you.

The Social Security Statement includes a message from the Commissioner and a record of your earnings each year.  It provides you with retirement benefit estimates using different retirement scenarios.  The Statement also provides estimates of disability and survivors benefits for you and your family in the event that you become disabled or die.

If you’re like most workers who pay Social Security taxes, you automatically receive a Statement in the mail each year, about three months before your birthday.  But there are situations in which a person may not be receiving a Statement each year.

For example, if you work each year, but your earned income is low enough that you do not need to file a tax return; you won’t receive an automatic Social Security Statement.  Also, if you are younger than 25 years old, or if you are already receiving benefits, you won’t receive an automatic Statement each year. 

However, if you need a Statement, you can request one.  Just go to www.socialsecurity.gov/mystatement.  There, you can learn more about the Social Security Statement, and request to have one mailed to you.  Keep in mind that if you’re already receiving benefits, your Statement will continue to show your updated earnings each year you work, but will not provide an estimate of future benefits.

Here’s what you’ll need to make your request:

• Your name as shown on your Social Security card;

• Your Social Security number;

• Your date of birth;

• Your place of birth; and

• Your mother's maiden name.

The online request also is handy for people who do receive their automatic Statement each year, but can’t find their most recent one and have some financial planning to do.  You can request to have one mailed to you at any time.

Keep in mind, however, that if you request to have one sent to you even though you already receive one automatically each year, the next scheduled automatic Statement will be canceled.  You’d then receive your next automatic Statement in the following year.

For more information, read the Social Security Statement page at www.socialsecurity.gov/mystatement. 
For general information about Social Security, visit www.socialsecurity.govor call us at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778).

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Help Elderly Relatives Avoid Being Scammed

Posted by Sheryl HarrisJuly 27, 2008

Sheryl Harris writes this column in The Plain Dealer on Sundays.

Many of you could relate all too well to last week's column about a woman's efforts to protect her elderly aunt from scams.

"My husband tried to steer his mother away from these sweepstake and prize offers for years -- the result was a bankruptcy and subsequent guardianship," wrote Peg. "The final blow was my husband giving his mom $200 for Christmas presents. She gave $150 to her in-home caregiver and gave us a card assuring us she was expecting a $20,000 check the next day."

The realization that a family member is flushing away money on scams can be the start of a wrenching journey for families, requiring them to balance a relative's desire for independence against their own desire to protect him or her from financial ruin.

Dr. Hans Geho, who treats geriatric patients at MetroHealth Medical Center, said most folks in their 80s and 90s experience some loss of cognitive skills, some minor, some more serious.

But just because an older adult spends money unwisely, he said, doesn't mean the person is demented.

If Uncle Joe has always been a generous man, Geho said, chances are he's just being himself when he gives away money by the fistful.

If Uncle Joe has always been a tightwad, though, that generosity takes on new meaning.

When an older relative's behavior changes radically, it's time to schedule a medical checkup. Sometimes untreated infections can cause lapses in judgment, Geho said. So, of course, can dementia.

Patients with early dementia may not be able to recognize a scam -- even one they've already encountered, according to Kathryn Betts Adams, an assistant professor at Case Western Reserve University who researches the subject. "They might recall this particular letter is a scam but not be able to realize a different one also is."

That inability to reason puts them at greater risk of being scammed.

Readers say they were tipped off to a relative's involvement in scams when they:

• Found rooms full of mail, particularly sweepstakes, charity and lottery pitches.

• Heard a relative complaining about sending away money but not getting prize winnings.

• Realized the phone rang too frequently for someone whose number was on the Do Not Call list.

• Heard a relative talking about new "friends."

If an older person can't identify scams because of dementia, Geho said, the best approach is gentle honesty.

"I've found most patients who do have cognitive impairment are aware of it," he said. Some may be relieved when a son or daughter steps in to help with bills, Geho said, but money is a sensitive issue for most people.

"If you can involve them in the process," Geho said, "that helps."

That's exactly what one reader did when her mother-in-law started to fail.

"My mother-in-law voluntarily asked me in January 2008 to start taking it over. She was just so confused and suffering short-term memory loss and would just throw the bills in piles on her table," Hillary wrote. "I think she just didn't care anymore."

Hillary balances the checkbook and goes over all the credit card bills.

"To keep them in the loop," Hillary said, "he still signs the checks. . . . I also keep a file for them with the paid receipts. And when I visit, I show it all to them."

You might offer to help a relative:

• Screen mail. As soon as someone responds to a scam offer, his name and contact information goes on a "sucker list" and he's sure to get plenty more fraudulent offers. Ask for permission to go through a scam victim's mail or have it forwarded to you so you can screen out scams.

• Screen phone calls. Get an older relative an answering machine so he or she can hear who's calling and choose whether to pick up. "I'd suggest a note attached to the phone . . . with rules, 'Only answer if X, Y, or Z calls,' " Adams said. "In other words, when to answer might be easier [for the person to understand] than when not to answer."

• Balance the checkbook, budget or pay bills.

• Monitor accounts. Janet Lowder, an attorney who practices elder law in Cleveland , said some of her clients let adult children set up automatic bill paying for them and monitor their bank and other accounts online.

If the situation becomes more dire, families may need to seek advice from an attorney.

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Retail Hacking Ring Charged for Stealing and Distributing Credit and Debit Card Numbers from Major U.S. Retailers

BOSTON – Eleven perpetrators allegedly involved in the hacking of nine major U.S. retailers and the theft and sale of more than 40 million credit and debit card numbers have been charged with numerous crimes, including conspiracy, computer intrusion, fraud and identity theft, Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey, U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Michael J. Sullivan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California Karen P. Hewitt, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Benton J. Campbell and U.S. Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan announced today. The scheme is believed to constitute the largest hacking and identity theft case ever prosecuted by the Department of Justice.

Three of the defendants are U.S. citizens, one is from Estonia , three are from Ukraine , two are from the People’s Republic of China and one is from Belarus . One individual is only known by an alias online, and his place of origin is unknown.

In an indictment returned on Aug. 5, 2008, by a federal grand jury in Boston , Albert "Segvec" Gonzalez, of Miami , was charged with computer fraud, wire fraud, access device fraud, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy for his role in the scheme. Criminal informations were also released today in Boston on related charges against Christopher Scottand Damon Patrick Toey, both of Miami .

The Boston indictment alleges that during the course of the sophisticated conspiracy, Gonzalez and his co-conspirators obtained the credit and debit card numbers by "wardriving" and hacking into the wireless computer networks of major retailers — including TJX Companies, BJ’s Wholesale Club, OfficeMax, Boston Market, Barnes & Noble, Sports Authority, Forever 21 and DSW. Once inside the networks, they installed "sniffer" programs that would capture card numbers, as well as password and account information, as they moved through the retailers’ credit and debit processing networks.

The indictment alleges that after they collected the data, the conspirators concealed the data in encrypted computer servers that they controlled in Eastern Europe and the United States . They allegedly sold some of the credit and debit card numbers, via the Internet, to other criminals in the United States and Eastern Europe . The stolen numbers were "cashed out" by encoding card numbers on the magnetic strips of blank cards. The defendants then used these cards to withdraw tens of thousands of dollars at a time from ATMs. Gonzalez and others were allegedly able to conceal and launder their fraud proceeds by using anonymous Internet-based currencies both within the United States and abroad, and by channeling funds through bank accounts in Eastern Europe .

Also today, indictments were unsealed in San Diego against scheme participant Maksym "Maksik" Yastremskiy, of  Kharkov , Ukraine , and Aleksandr "Jonny Hell" Suvorov, of Sillamae , Estonia . The indictments charge the defendants with crimes related to the sale of the stolen credit card data that Gonzalez and others illegally obtained, as well as additional stolen credit card data. Suvorov is charged with conspiracy to possess unauthorized access devices, possession of unauthorized access devices, trafficking in unauthorized access devices, identity theft, aggravated identity theft, and aiding and abetting. Yastremskiy is charged with trafficking in unauthorized access devices, identity theft, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. The indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation.

In addition, an indictment against Hung-Ming Chiu and Zhi Zhi Wang, both of the People’s Republic of China , and a person known only by the online nickname "Delpiero," was also unsealed in San Diego today. Chiu, Wang and Delpiero are charged with conspiracy to possess unauthorized access devices, trafficking in unauthorized access devices, trafficking in counterfeit access devices, possession of unauthorized access devices, aggravated identity theft, and aiding and abetting. Also in San Diego , Sergey Pavolvich, of Belarus , and Dzmitry Burak and Sergey Storchak, both of Ukraine , were charged in a criminal complaint with conspiracy to traffic in unauthorized access devices. All are believed to be foreign nationals residing outside of the United States . 

In May 2008, Gonzalez, Suvorov and Yastremskiy also were charged in a related indictment in the Eastern District of New York. The New York charges allege that the trio was engaged in a sophisticated scheme to hack into computer networks run by the Dave & Buster’s restaurant chain, and stole credit and debit card numbers from at least 11 locations. Specifically, the indictment alleges that the defendants gained unauthorized access to the cash register terminals and installed at each restaurant a "packet sniffer," a computer code designed to capture communications on a computer network. The packet sniffer was configured to capture credit and debit card numbers as this information was processed by the restaurants. At one restaurant location, the packet sniffer captured data for approximately 5,000 credit and debit cards, eventually causing losses of at least $600,000 to the financial institutions that issued the credit and debit cards.

"So far as we know, this is the single largest and most complex identity theft case ever charged in this country," said Attorney General Mukasey. "It highlights the efforts of the Justice Department to fight this pernicious crime and shows that, with the cooperation of our law enforcement partners around the world, we can identify, charge and apprehend even the most sophisticated international computer hackers."

"While technology has made our lives much easier it has also created new vulnerabilities.  This case clearly shows how strokes on a keyboard with a criminal purpose can have costly results.  Consumers, companies and governments from around the world must further develop ways to protect our sensitive personal and business information and detect those, whether here or abroad, that conspire to exploit technology for criminal gain," said U.S. Attorney Michael J. Sullivan.

"These prosecutions demonstrate that, through coordinated commitment, the United States Secret Service and the Department of Justice will penetrate and prosecute hacker organizations, wherever based and however sophisticated. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California is especially gratified that the work of the San Diego field office of the Secret Service contributed to an unprecedented effort to dismantle this international criminal enterprise," said Karen P. Hewitt, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California.

"Computer hacking and identity theft pose serious risks to our commercial, personal and financial security," said U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Benton J. Campbell. "Hackers who reach into our country from abroad will find no refuge from the reach of U.S. criminal justice."

"Technology has forever changed the way commerce is conducted, virtually erasing geographic boundaries," said U.S. Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan. "While these advances and the global nature of cyber crime continue to have a profound impact on our financial crimes investigations, this case demonstrates how combining law enforcement resources throughout the world sends a strong message to criminals that they will be pursued and prosecuted no matter where they reside."

"The Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division recommends charges in numerous types of financial crimes," said Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Chief Eileen Mayer. "Today's indictment is the result of a strong law enforcement partnership that brings together the necessary skills to follow alleged criminal activity from cyberspace to bank accounts.  We are committed to the government's efforts to stop this type of corruptive activity." 

These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Heymann of the District of Massachusetts, Assistant U.S. Attorney Orlando Gutierrez of the Southern District of California, Assistant U.S. Attorney Will Campos of the Eastern District of New York, and by Senior Counsel Kimberly Kiefer Peretti, and Trial Attorneys Jenny Ellickson and Evan Williams of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section. The Criminal Division's Office of International Affairs provided extensive assistance related to extradition matters. All of theses cases are being investigated by the U.S. Secret Service. The IRS-CI provided significant investigatory assistance in the Boston case.

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RLTV Poll: Many Seniors Unaware of DTV Transition 

Retirement Living TV: Almost one in four seniors not aware of DTV transition.

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 8/7/2008

Almost one in four seniors is not aware of the digital-TV transition, and that number increases to one in three for those with less formal education.

That is according to a poll conducted by Washington, D.C.-based Retirement Living TV.

Seniors disproportionately watch over-the-air TV and have been identified by the Federal Communications Commission, the National Association of Broadcasters and others as one of the target populations that will be most affected by the switch to full-power DTV in February 2009.

RLTV said its research suggested that the transition will affect almost 70 million households, or 23% of the total.

The network found that 31% of seniors without a college education are not aware of the transition and say they haven't heard about it.

"The DTV-transition-education campaigns are working, but more should be done to target the most vulnerable," said Patrick Baldwin, vice president of strategic development for RLTV, in a statement announcing the findings.

The poll was conducted June 4-10 among 800 randomly selected adults. It has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3.5%.

DTV website:

http://www.dtv.gov

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