I just got a call saying that my Social Security number had been used to commit a financial crime in Texas and that I needed to press ‘1’ immediately to be connected with law enforcement.
A bad call to get under any circumstance, but it was especially upsetting to me because I just gotten off the phone with the Internal Revenue Service telling me that I needed to pay $5,000 cash to avoid having all of my assets seized.
OK, neither of those two things happened, but I have gotten these calls with increasing frequency over the past six-months.
Please keep your guard up as these scammers can be creative and persistent in their techniques. They count on us to follow the path of least resistance in order to gain access to our personal information.
Please take extra precautions to be absolutely sure you are communicating with is legitimate.
For example: If the IRS is calling, ask them for a case number or file number. Ask them for their name and tell them you’ll call them back. Then, look up the main service number for the IRS (800-829-1040) on the Internet or in the phone book.
Another example: If you get an email from your bank about some charges or potential fraud, call the main service number for your bank to get the details.
Anyone can get tricked in a moment of weakness or distraction.
Be vigilant and protect your data from the scammers.