Attorney General Coakley warns of robo-calls tied to identity theft scam

September 12, 2011|Mitch Lipka, Globe Staff

Beware of robo-calls claiming your debit card has been "locked." They're part of an identity theft scam trying to coax you to give out personal and financial information, Attorney General Martha Coakley warned.

“There are widespread reports from consumers who have received the automated phone calls asking people to enter their debit or credit card number,” Coakley said in a written statement. “We are warning people not to provide any personal banking information based on an automated phone call. If you receive one of these automated calls, you should immediately hang up and contact our consumer hotline.”

The calls often come in the middle of the night and are also being placed to cell phones.
Coakley's office said it appears the calls started earlier this month.

After the caller is told that their account has been locked they are told to press a key on their phone to unlock it and are then told to type in their account number. More recently, the attorney general's office said, consumers are also being asked to type in the Social Security Number.

The office listed these are some of the numbers the calls are coming from:

(508) 475-1394

(214) 232-0615

1262 (just a four digit number)

Other calls appear on Caller ID as "Unknown," "Restricted" or "Private."

If you get one of the calls, Coakley advises you to immediately hang up and report it to her office through the Attorney General’s consumer hotline: 617-727-8400 or online.