Verizon Wireless customers beware!
There have been reports of con artists posing as Verizon Wireless representatives asking for Social Security numbers and other personal information.
The criminals call from a number that appears in the customer’s caller ID window with the name and phone number of Verizon Wireless. When the customers answer, they are greeted by a female voice that says, “Welcome to the Verizon Wireless national payment center” before asking for the customer’s Social Security number, date of birth and billing information.
Betty Sexton of KKTV11 broke the story out of Colorado Springs, Colo., when she was contacted by a couple out of Pueblo West, Colo., who received a suspicious call from the number 719-822-5190.
But it is not just a Colorado issue. The couple also informed Sexton that one of their relatives, who lives in Louisiana, was contacted in a similar manner.
The couple didn’t give the caller the information she was looking for and they called Verizon Wireless customer service and learned that it was indeed a fraudulent number.
A Verizon Wireless representative responded to the issue saying, “Fraudsters are tricky and customers should be cautious of anyone calling and claiming to be from Verizon,” Meagan Dorsch, who works in corporate communications at Verizon said. “Verizon never asks for information over the phone unless the customer is calling us and performing specific transactions such as upgrades.”
Dorsch said there are four things a real Verizon Wireless employee can tell you that a criminal can’t: the number of phone lines on your account, the amount of your last payment, the make and model of your current device and the date you became a customer.
Verizon Wireless said it is investigating the issue, but customers need to always be vigilant. “Fraud is in every industry that utilizes personal information,” Dorsch said. “It’s more important than ever for individuals to safeguard their information.”
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