Apparently, not all identity thieves call their potential victims to ask for information. Normally, pretexting fraudsters contact or approach potential victims. This Chicago man simply let them contact him. Harris Jones set up an 800 number in his home, claiming to be a Nextel representative. People would call information services for a Nextel rep and would be given his number. When they'd call, he would ask for their personal information, like Social Security numbers, birth dates, credit card numbers, and the victims, thinking they were talking to a sales rep, didn't think twice about giving him this information.
When Jones was arrested, he was found possessing 17 names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers, but an estimated 200 people called his 800-number. Jones is being charged with identity theft and deceptive practice.
Identity theft is definitely a crime of innovation. Thieves are coming up with new scams and new variations on older ones. In this case, people obtained this number from a reliable source, but were scammed because the number was registered as a Nextel number. If you are calling or otherwise contacting a company where credit card numbers or other personal information may be involved, verify the information at the company's website to be sure the person you are calling does, in fact, work for that company.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment