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Benton police warn of ID scammers |
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Wednesday, 09 July 2008 |
Woman narrowly escapes ‘Medicare’ plot
Benton police said one Benton woman narrowly escaped becoming a victim of an apparent identity scam.
The incident serves as a reminder to be careful in divulging personal information, police Sgt. Kevin Russell said.
“The woman called the police department to let us know this was happening in Benton. She said someone had called her saying they were from the Medicare office and that they wanted to renew her Medicare card, but in order to do so, they asked her for her credit card information,” Russell said.
The woman suspected something was wrong and hung up on the alleged Medicare representative, Russell said. “It was an unlisted number, but she paid her phone company to do a trace back and a North Dakota number came up. When she tried to call back, it was non-working number.”
Fortunately, this woman was “wise,” Russell said. “This could have led to identity theft, which can ruin your credit.”
He added, “It’s important to remember that people from your bank or other place will never call you and ask for your personal information.”
“We’ve even had a case where the victim said someone supposedly from the Social Security Administration called him and asked for his Social Security number.”
He said police encourage residents to think carefully before giving away their personal information. “Ask yourself why would, for instance, someone from the Social Security office need your Social Security number.”
One way to help prevent becoming an identity-theft victim is to periodically check individual credit reports, Russell said. He said it’s free to check credit history online at www.freeannualcreditreport.com. It’s free to check it once a year, but Russell suggests checking it about every six months.
“This won’t hurt your credit history,” he said. “What can hurt your credit is if you do it ever two weeks or fill out numerous credit applications.”
If residents receive suspicious calls, Russell said there’s no harm in asking for the callers’ name and the agency they represent. “Investigate and call the agency that they’re allegedly from, and you’ll know if it’s a legit call.”
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