Accused of stealing credit card

[shugo77]

I got a weird call this morning at about 7:30AM. My caller ID said "Unknown" and the person kept calling and hanging up when the answering machine picked up, so I got angry and finally answered the phone.

Some guy came on and the first question he asked was kind of stupid, he said "is this your phone?" I paused, baffled and said "well you called and I answered, so aparrently it is my phone." Then he said that someone used my phone number and bought some kind of medical supplies or something online with his credit card. I said, "what are you talking about, It wasn't me" He said "sure it wasn't, give me your information" I said "your crazy, you need to call your credit company, I'm not giving you any information" he said something else stupid, he said "you already game me your info, you told me this was your phone" I laughed because it was so stupid, and told him "call your credit company, I didn't do anything", he said "don't worry, I'll find out who you are" and that was the end of the conversation and I haven't received any more calls all day.

This has been bothering me all day, obviously I didn't do anything wrong or illegal, but it still bothers me. Anybody have any advice or tips if this guy calls me again?

 

[Buzzdar]

I would suggest if he calls again i would call the police and let them know what is going on just incase some one is scamming people.

 

[TheForce]

I never answer any questions no matter how simple, I never engage in a conversation. When someone asks for me by name I say Who wants to know? When they tell me I ask why they want to know. The only thing they ever get from me, until I know them inside and out is more questions. As soon as they refuse to answer my question, I tell them Don't call this number ever again, you've been warned!. then I hang up.

 

[riffjim4069]

I block all calls that don't forward CallerID and I am quick to place any Riff-Raff on my Call Block Hall of Shame.

 

[fabero74]

You absolutely did the right thing not giving out any information at all. Just someone phishing via phone, hoping you'll panic and share useful info and then they can magically confirm what they were calling about with the info they just recieved, from you!!

 

[shugo77]

You absolutely did the right thing not giving out any information at all. Just someone phishing via phone, hoping you'll panic and share useful info and then they can magically confirm what they were calling about with the info they just recieved, from you!!

I was initially thinking maybe somebody was using some of my info to use his credit card but the more I thought about it, I think you are right, it probably was some kind phishing scam, I just never heard of one like this before.

 

[Neutron]

I'd call the police anyway and let them know.

 

[boston area dtv]

I think you spent way too much time talking to the guy.

A quick hey cupcake try that scam on someone else Im calling the cops would have sufficed.

 

[SatinKzo]

Not that I think you did anything there shugo77, but I was once a victim of CC theft in college and you would be surprised what information the victim has access too.

My example:
Kid working the front desk at the dorm, felt the CC in an envelope and took it. He ordered a bunch of stuff on from Eastbay. Eastbay rep thought the kids accent sounded suspicious (he was black and had a noticeable urban tone to his talk) when pairing it with my last name. I have a last name that is pretty darn easy to figure out countries of origin.
Anyways, rep called CC company to get my phone number on record to confirm the order.
They called me and obviously I did not order the stuff and they told me that someone had my CC. I contacted police and filled out the report. Shortly after ( a couple days) the local Postmaster office called and wanted me to fill out a mail fraud/theft complaint.

In my little interview, they told me everything I wanted to know about who they suspected. I filed a complaint with the university based on that info and the university told me where the person lived that I had accused of the crime and was informed that the police had already questioned the guy.

It went to federal court for tampering with USPS mail. Guy got 7 years and 250,000 fine all for $200 worth of NBA jerseys and a couple hats. I got my final update on this just over a year ago. Guy was finally release from federal prison after serving his full-term. He was not expected to fully pay the fine and the fine was forgiven for good behavior.

But in the course of things I learned all of the following before it ever went to trial:
His name
address
phone number
parents address
previous employers
current employers
credit history
class schedule
work schedule
make/model of vehicle

All of this could easily be used if I wanted vigilante justice. But due to many victims rights laws, this kind of personal info was easily obtained just by asking.

 

[shugo77]

Not that I think you did anything there shugo77, but I was once a victim of CC theft in college and you would be surprised what information the victim has access too.

My example:
Kid working the front desk at the dorm, felt the CC in an envelope and took it. He ordered a bunch of stuff on from Eastbay. Eastbay rep thought the kids accent sounded suspicious (he was black and had a noticeable urban tone to his talk) when pairing it with my last name. I have a last name that is pretty darn easy to figure out countries of origin.
Anyways, rep called CC company to get my phone number on record to confirm the order.
They called me and obviously I did not order the stuff and they told me that someone had my CC. I contacted police and filled out the report. Shortly after ( a couple days) the local Postmaster office called and wanted me to fill out a mail fraud/theft complaint.

In my little interview, they told me everything I wanted to know about who they suspected. I filed a complaint with the university based on that info and the university told me where the person lived that I had accused of the crime and was informed that the police had already questioned the guy.

It went to federal court for tampering with USPS mail. Guy got 7 years and 250,000 fine all for $200 worth of NBA jerseys and a couple hats. I got my final update on this just over a year ago. Guy was finally release from federal prison after serving his full-term. He was not expected to fully pay the fine and the fine was forgiven for good behavior.

But in the course of things I learned all of the following before it ever went to trial:
His name
address
phone number
parents address
previous employers
current employers
credit history
class schedule
work schedule
make/model of vehicle

All of this could easily be used if I wanted vigilante justice. But due to many victims rights laws, this kind of personal info was easily obtained just by asking.

Well, the guy that called me obviously did not have a lick of my info, because he was asking me to provide it to him. He didn't even know my phone number, all he said was "is this your phone number" he never quoted my number, never asked me if my name was "John or Bob or whatever" I feel pretty confident he was phishing. Also, the only time my caller ID ever says "unknown" or "unavailable" is when telemarketers call, so he must have been using some kind of auto dialer device and he probably didn't even know what number it was dialing.

But, a little piece of me is still wondering if maybe he was really told that my phone number was entered in an order that was placed with his credit card... maybe I am worrying too much, I don't know. I just sure would hate to get accused of a crime I didn't commit, seems like a horrible thing to have happen, really makes me think about these people that spend 15 years in prison just to get exonerated by DNA evidence.

 

[SatinKzo]

Honestly, I don't think you have much to worry about, sounds like he got a piece of info and tried to screw ya. But it might be worth checking into locally with police. They will know if there is a report out on you if this guy REALLY has something related to your phone number or you.

Your comment on your phone number used in conjunction with his CC number seems more plausible and when the order was placed, the CC company rejected it cause the phone number did not match what they had on file and they called the CC holder to check on it. I get CC calls alot when I make an "out of the ordinary purchase" or a bunch of purchases in cities and states I have never been in before.

 

[Hall]

I got a weird call this morning at about 7:30AM. My caller ID said "Unknown" and the person kept calling and hanging up when the answering machine picked up, so I got angry and finally answered the phone.

If he were phishing, something tells me he'd try your number once, maybe twice, and with no answer, move on to his next number....

 

[TheForce]

I wish I could use the unknown block feature but that restricts certain other features I pay for like call transfer which I use to get the landline calls to my cellphone.