Last Friday, we wrote about new guidelines for security companies, specifically mentioning door-to-door sales. In the spirit of that theme, we received an e-mail today from a consumer who was taken by a door-to-door salesman selling meat.

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The Electronic Security Association (ESA) announced on Wednesday, March 24th that new stricter code of ethics and standards of conduct will now be enforced for its over 2,800 security company members. The measures are aimed at cutting down on the number of complaints the industry receives about both telephone and door-to-door salespersons.

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Yesterday, we released information from the Consumer Sentinel Network regarding Texas having the 3rd highest rate of identity theft in the nation per capita last year. However, identity theft was only a sub-category of overall fraud in the report. So how did Texas do in fraud complaints? Much better actually...Only the 30th highest rate of fraud complaints in the nation. As far as the cities in Central, Coastal and Southwest Texas go, out of 384 metropolitan areas nationwide, they were ranked as follows:

Austin - 91st
Corpus Christi - 338th
Killeen/Temple/Ft. Hood - 98th
Laredo - 382nd
San Antonio - 219th
Victoria - 359th
Waco - 361st

As you can see, most of the cities in your BBB's service area rate relatively well in fraud claims. However, the average Texan reported losing approximately $2,200 so the circumstances are still not very good for fraud victims. Remember to keep your personal information safe and be careful online. And keep your calendar open for BBB's Shred Day on April 10th so you can dispose of your sensitive documents properly and have them recycled.

Most of the time, consumers can be sure that an unsolicited letter from an unknown source asking for personal information is a scam. We like that consumers turn to BBB for advice when they receive one because it helps us stay ahead of the scammers and bring awareness to those who may become future victims. However, we received an inquiry from a consumer who received the following letter from TexasSure asking for information about their car and insurance and it was not a scam...

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Census Day is April 1, 2010 and most people will begin to receive their questionnaires in the mail in the next couple of weeks. But before that happens, you may notice another piece of mail from the US Census Bureau that looks like this...

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Consumers are busy filling out their tax returns or waiting for that refund check from Uncle Sam so it's only fitting that another scam is making its rounds through cyberspace seeking personal information. BBB was alerted to an e-mail from a consumer who received a phishing attempt from someone impersonating the Internal Revenue Service. The e-mail read something like this...

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