Phone Scam and Identity Theft

Recently my roommate was attempting to contact an energy company in reference to our bills. The person who answered the phone sounded like a real representative saying all the thing you would expect a representative to say. The person on the phone then proceeded to ask for personal information including my roommates full Social Security Number, this number was not utilized responsibly, rather used fraudulently for identity theft.

The purpose of this scam was to obtain enough personal information to commit identity theft, which can be used to open accounts, access financial services, or damage someone’s credit.

Looking back, there were warning signs. The most important red flag was being asked for highly sensitive information over the phone. A safer approach would have been to hang up and call the company back using a verified number from their official website or billing statement. Scammers also often create urgency or pressure to prevent people from thinking carefully, which should always be a warning sign.

This shows how easily trust can be manipulated in any kind digital communication, and how important it is to independently verify who you are speaking with before sharing personal information.