Fredericktown man foils phone scammer
An alert resident called the D-N Thursday to advise of a phone scam which happened to him.
The resident answered a call in which an automated voice said they had a credit card payment that was 90 days past due.
The message further instructed the person to press one to be connected to a customer service agent. The resident believed this to be a phising scam, and pressed one to speak directly to the person calling. A lady answered and immediately asked for his credit card number. When the resident refused to provide the number, the caller hung up.
There are many types of scams, phising e-mails and calls going on. Anyone receiving such calls should hang up before providing any information the caller may ask for. Don’t open suspected e-mails from unknown senders. Never respond to foreign e-mails asking for your help in establishing a bank account Banks, credit card companies and other legitimate businesses should never call you and ask for your credit card numbers, phone card numbers or any other personal information. If you are in doubt when a call comes in simply hang up and call the company back on the phone numbers listed on your statement.
The Daily Journal is running stories about various scams that have been tried. You can call the DJ and tell them your story. 573-431-2010.
You can check out the following web sites for more information on protecting yourself and your identify as well.
AT&T information on phone card phising scams.
http://www.consumer.att.com/global/english/consumer_information/fraud_home.html#forwarding
To report IRS related phising e-mails to the IRS.
Internet Crime Complaint Center
If you think you have been taken advantage of by a spam scam, file a complaint with the FTC online at http://www.ftc.gov. Complaints will help the FTC find and stop people who are using spam to defraud consumers.
Description of Phising;
http://safecomputing.umn.edu/safepractices/phishing.html
If you’ve already been a victim or have given out personal information, this web site has some important information to help you.
http://www.antiphishing.org/consumer_recs2.html
You can call the credit unions to place an initial fraud alert on your credit report if need be. The alert will remain active for ninety days. More details can be found at their respective web sites too.
Equifax – http://www.equifax.com
800-525-6285
Trans Union – http://www.transunion.com
800-680-7289
Experian – http://www.experian.com
888-EXPERIAN (397-3742)
Keep this information on hand in case a problem occurs in the future.
