Scammers Using Do-Not-Call List For Identity Theft

Scams

from the that-can't-be-good dept

A woman in Arizona apparently received a phone call from a bunch of scammers soon after putting her father’s phone number on the federal “do not call” list. From the description, it sounds like a traditional identity theft scam. She received a phone call from someone claiming to be Arizona Attorney General’s Office and the “Arizona Federal Trade Commission” (which should have set off alarm bells already – how is it “federal” if it’s Arizona?). Then, he asked the woman to verify the information she put into the do not call database, but said in order for her to be able to sue telemarketers who violated the list, she needed to give them her bank account info. The woman quickly realized it was a scam. The more interesting question, though, is how these scammers got her information out of the do-not-call database? It’s possible it was a coincidence, but the timing suggests not. Some are wondering if they hacked into the database to get the info. Of course, another possibility is that they set themselves up as a secret middleman. They could have set up some sort of website that looked just like the FTC’s, but is slightly different, and waited for someone to go there by accident. Then, they just take that info and use it to make their scam phone calls.