Pervasive new phone scam aims to steal your identity

A pervasive new phone scam aims to steal your identity by obtaining your social security number in order to be compromised.

“It was really legit, it sounded really legit,” said Roberto Ortega, who received a call earlier this week.

Scammers are impersonating “agents” with the Social Security Administration.

“They said my social had been suspended for illegal activity and they needed to confirm my identity,” Ortega said.

The scammer will then ask to confirm the social security number or threaten that your assets will be frozen. That’s the scam, but the catch is the caller may know more about you than you might think.

“He tells me my name, he tells me my phone number, he tells me my date of birth, even my address,” said Ortega. “It made it really believable.”

According to security experts, some victims are more susceptible than others. For example, if you’ve ever received a strange text asking to click on a random link; more often than not, that exposes personal information on your device. This then makes certain victim’s information more likely to be a target.

The text may also be referred to as a malicious link that aims to gain control of devices or access information.

“You can never be too safe or too secure with your personal information,” said Det. Jon Price, with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.

Price explains victims are just as susceptible to fraud on social media sites, like Facebook. It’s a simple search on sites like “Pipl” that allow anyone to dig up specific details about people’s lives.

Bottom line, tighten your privacy settings and block spam calls from your phone.

To do this for Facebook, go to your settings page and make sure “friends only” is selected in every box to keep limited access to your profile.

Report a scam?

Email me at Stephanie.Sierra@KRDO.com