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Law enforcement from all over the area spent the afternoon focusing on crimes that affect your pocketbook, issues like ID theft, mortgage fraud and online scams.
Every year the Utah Attorney General hosts what's called the Economic Crime Conference. One thing we learned today is that online scammers are getting better, which means consumers have to be extra vigilant.
You never know who you're going to meet on Main Street. The person passing by could be an identity thief, or as we found, a victim of it.
A man called Danny says his wife is a victim of identity theft. "We had a bunch of credit run up on my wife's name," he said.
Minutes later, on the next block, AnnaDee Hooper said, "I actually have a sister who got her identity stolen."
It's a common story, and it's exactly what police and bankers were talking about at the Economic Crime Conference at the Embassy Suites in downtown Salt Lake City.
Carl Snyder, president of Internet banking at Zions Bank, was one of many speakers. His topic was the latest online scams.
Preston Wood is Zion Bank's chief security officer. He said, "The fraudsters are becoming much more technically savvy and are attacking the weakest link, which is often the consumer."
Snyder said, "In the last two years, we've seen more sophisticated phishing sites."
They warn of e-mails and Web sites that appear to come from legitimate companies but are fraudulent, or even phone calls to your home from people who you think are bank officials asking for financial information. It's called vishing.
"They're able to use it so that the caller id says the bank that they're calling from. Therefore the consumer believes it's actually the bank calling," Snyder explained.
AnnaDee Hooper said, "I would be more likely to get a number and call them back."
That's a smart move, but some on Main Street admit they're not watching their money as well as they should.
Shelene Brown said, "I should be more concerned about it than I am."
Danny said, "It took me to have a problem to be smart about it now."
Just a reminder: Banks will never call or e-mail you asking for information.
This conference is designed to help police and bankers stay ahead of the criminals. It's a two-day event. Tomorrow, Chris Hanson from NBC's "Dateline" will speak.
E-mail: gkennedy@ksl.com
E-mail: tcallan@ksl.com
