The Federal Trade Commission said it has received reports from the public that they have gotten emails warning that their sensitive personal information is being sold.

The emails, the FTC said, claimed that the information was going on dark marketplaces. The information that was claimed to be stolen includes Social Security numbers, date of births, and driver’s license numbers.

The FTC issued the following tips:

Don’t click a link or use a phone number in the message. It could be a “phishing” email, designed to trick you into disclosing sensitive information to scammers. If you think the message is legit — for example, if you have a credit monitoring service or a credit card with a company that monitors the dark web — contact the company using a website or phone number that you know is real.

Change your passwords to secure your accounts. Start by changing the passwords on your email accounts. Email accounts often are the weak link in online security because password resets for other accounts go to your email. If your email account password has become known, then an identity thief can log into your account and intercept your password reset emails.

Check your credit reports. After securing your accounts, make sure nobody has opened new accounts using your information. Visit AnnualCreditReport.com to get an annual free credit report from each of the three nationwide credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Through December 2023, you can get a free credit report every week from each of them. If you find an account or transaction you don’t recognize, visit IdentityTheft.gov to report the identity theft and get a personal recovery plan.

Consider freezing your credit. A credit freeze, also known as a security freeze, is free to place and remove and is the best way to protect against an identity thief opening new accounts in your name. Alternatively, place a free fraud alert on your credit to make it more difficult for an identity thief to get new credit in your name.

The Better Business Bureau offers similar advice to those who receive these emails.

“Most of the information on the dark web is locked behind access-restricted doors. Monitoring services may have keys to some of those doors, but not all of them. There are layers within layers, with much of the illegal information exchanged privately. Also, the dark web is vast. The hundreds of thousands of pages those services scan is just the tip of the iceberg,” the BBB said.

The FBI is issuing a warning about a new scam that's costing victims millions of dollars.

A news release from the FBI alerts mobile carriers and the public about an increase in Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) swapping, in which criminals steal money from virtual currency accounts.

SIM swapping may not be what you think it is. It doesn't mean a cybercriminal has to physically take your SIM card, the memory chips that make your phone yours, according to McAfee, a global computer security software company.

SIM swapping is now happening remotely when scammers can access and use your personal information to impersonate you and convince the mobile carrier of your phone to reassign your phone number to a new SIM card. That's when scammers can gain control of your phone data, change your passwords and access your accounts.

Between January 2018 and December 2020, the FBI said its Internet Crime Complaint Center received 320 complaints related to SIM swapping incidents that resulted in losses of $12 million.

In 2021, the center received 1,611 SIM swapping complaints about losses of $68 million.

SIM swapping targets mobile carriers to access victims' bank accounts, virtual currency accounts and other sensitive information through a few techniques.

Scammers sometimes use social engineering to impersonate the victim and trick the mobile carrier to switch the victim's mobile number to a SIM card in the scammer's possession.

They may also conduct SIM swap schemes to pay off mobile carrier employees to switch a victim's mobile number to a SIM card in their possession.

Scammers can also use phishing techniques to deceive employees to download malware that is then used to hack the mobile carrier system to carry out the SIM swap.

Once a scammer swaps the SIM, the victim's calls, texts and other data are downloaded to the scammer's device, which allows them to use "forgot password" or "account recovery" options with the victim's accounts associated with their email and phone number.

SIM swaps can even outsmart two-factor authentication, where mobile app providers send a link or one-time passcode through text to a victim's phone number. SIM swapping allows scammers access despite this process to log in, reset passwords and gain control of the victims' accounts.

In its news release, the FBI provided some advice to avoid SIM swapping scams:

• Don't advertise information about your financial assets, including ownership or investment in cryptocurrency, on social media.

• Don't provide mobile number account information over the phone, including your account password and pin. Verify the call by dialing the customer service line of your mobile phone carrier.

• Try to avoid posting your mobile phone number, address and other personal information online.

• Use different passwords for your online accounts.

• Use strong multi-factor authentication methods like biometrics, physical security tokens or standalone authentication applications to access your online accounts.

• Don't store passwords, usernames or login information on mobile device apps.

If you think you're the victim of SIM swapping, you should contact your mobile carrier immediately to regain control of your phone number. You should also access your online accounts, change your passwords and contact your bank to place an alert on your accounts for any suspicious login attempts or transactions.

The FBI recommends reporting any information about suspicious account activity to local law enforcement, your local FBI field office or the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center.

BBB warns of 'romance scams' ahead of Valentine's Day

Updated: 7:10 AM EST Feb 6, 2022

With Valentine's Day around the corner, the Better Business Bureau is warning about romance scams. There are some steps people can take to protect themselves before dating online.According to the BBB, most online dating scams start with fake pictures -- basically good-looking men and women to get people on the hook, but there are some ways to find out if that picture is really of the person you are talking to online.Angie Barnett, president and CEO of BBB of Greater Maryland, said there are several reverse image sites to do some detective work. "Images.google.com -- put that photo in and what you will detect is where that photo is being used, other sites, other places and you may find. It's being used with different profiles and different people and that is one of your biggest warning signs," Barnett said.Romance scammers will also try to build trust quickly and move you off a dating site in order to take your money or your identity."They are going to say, 'I've never felt this way before, I'm so in love with you,'" Barnett said.They'll tell you a hard-luck story to get you to either send money or give over your credit card number."They will eventually give you plausible reasons why they need money. They can't get it quickly and they'll ask you for the money," Barnett said.Barnett said Pew Research shows 30% of online daters are 50 and older, and susceptible to losing the most amount of money. While knowing what to look for can help, she also said people should check website or app reviews before creating a profile. "Put in complaints, reviews, scam and look to see what others have to say about it. That's a tactic BBB uses all the time," she said.Barnett said another red flag is more red, poor grammar or using phrases that just seem off.Resources and tips to protect yourself from scams:First, make sure the dating website you are using is "legit". If it is an unfamiliar site, type in the website name along with the words "reviews" and "scams," keeping a close eye out for past users who the site might be fake or problematic.Use your credit card to pay for online services and membership. This way you can dispute any unauthorized charges if you find yourself at a fake website.Never send money or personal information that can be used for identity theft to someone you’ve never met in person. Never give someone your credit card information to book a ticket to visit you. Cut off contact if someone starts asking you for information like credit card, bank, or government ID numbers.Ask specific questions about details given in a profile. A scammer may stumble over remembering details or making a story fit.Do your research. Many scammers steal photos from the web to use in their profiles. You can do a reverse image lookup using a website like tineye.com or images.google.com to see if the photos on a profile are stolen from somewhere else. You can also search online for a profile name, email, or phone number to see what adds up and what doesn't.