The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WAITSBURG—Recently, I received a voice message from a number I was not familiar with. The message claimed there were actions filed on my social security number for fraudulent activities. The recorded message said I needed to call the provided number before they begin legal proceedings.

This is not the first call or email I have received from someone identifying themselves as a financial or government agency. Before I started getting calls like this, my parents received similar messages. One incident involved my very intelligent and computer-savvy father-in-law. He got a notice from his "...