Target 5: Reach Out And Scam Someone
Phone Scammers More Convincing, Ask For Less Information
POSTED: 8:24 am CDT July 20,
2005
UPDATED: 11:24 am CDT July 20,
2005
CHICAGO -- Maybe they got it out of her trash or were bold enough to go into her mailbox. Just as likely, it could have been an online hacker who got a hold of Ina Pinkney's credit card number.
Images: Phone Scammers Grow Smoother, Ask For Less
Video: T5: Reach Out And Scam Someone
"This particular scam was the most frightening because they really didn't ask me for any info," Pinkney said.However they got the number, they soon set about using it -- taking a cue from a script you may have seen.What happened to Pinkney, a restaurant owner, is reflected almost verbatim, she said, in a warning that's making its rounds via e-mail.Target 5 has received numerous copies of it over the last year. Entitled "Warning: New Credit Card Scam," it outlines the phone pitch used by scammers who first gain your trust, and only at the end gently ask you for what they need -- the three-digit security code on the back of the card."They were unbelievably convincing and incredibly smooth and created a sense of trust immediately," Pinkney said.The scammers pose as fraud investigators for Visa or MasterCard, and even offer a badge number, Target 5's Lisa Parker reported."I was already sucked in. I was already a believer that they were looking out for me," Pinkney said.
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Images: Phone Scammers Grow Smoother, Ask For Less
Video: T5: Reach Out And Scam Someone
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Trust Your Instincts
At her home in Joliet, Pam Banno had a similar tale to tell, which also started with a phone call."They said (that) we think you've been a victim of identity theft, that someone has stolen your Social Security number," Banno said.She said the call came from a sketchy-sounding company called Fraud Investigations that claimed to be based in Chicago, though the number on her caller ID said Georgia."I said, 'But where in Chicago are you located?' And she said, you know, I'm really not sure,'" Banno said. "I really had the inner gut feeling that this was a scam."When the questionable call ended, Banno started notifying her creditors.A letter she received last month told her not to take the suspicious phone call lightly."I had received a note from CitiFinancial, stating that in transport through a third party courier, all the records were stolen," she said.Banno was one of many consumers involved in recent high-profile security breaches of consumer data. All told, the breaches affected an estimated 50 million consumers.The story ends where experts say your documents should, too: in the shredder.From high-tech hackers to the thieves who do it the old-fashioned way, these were examples of how a little information can go a long way in the wrong hands."I have often said if all of the energy spent in trying to deceive people was spent in trying to help people, what a great world we'd have," Pinkney said.Both Visa and MasterCard said the message is worth repeating -- credit companies will never call you and ask for sensitive information.As for consumers like Banno who have had their information compromised, some help is on the way. A new Illinois law kicks in next year that allows consumers to place a security freeze on their credit reports to block access for identity thieves.Copyright 2008 by NBC5.com. All rights reserved.
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