I get about one of these a month but this was better than most. Sounded very professional(no accent either), said he was with the Department of health and human services and that I had been selected for a (substantial) government grant. When I asked for his name and government ID he quickly gave me both (later determined to be bogus). Of course, the grant could only be wired so he needed bank info. I then asked for the name and tax ID (or SS) of the person who had been awarded the grant as I knew the government did not pass out money to just a telephone number. That is when he hung up.
What is surprising is that the telephone company, local sheriff, local police and FBI all said they could do nothing as it was only attempted fraud, no fraud had actually occurred though you can bet he committed fraud from that number numerous times, just not in my case. They cannot even shut down the number.
This was the response I got when someone took a credit card out in my name in 1999. They had the correct SS number but a bogus date of birth and a south Houston address. Identity theft was just not taken seriously. After no luck with authorities I went directly to Wachovia Bank. They thought I was trying to get out of paying a bill. I pointed out the date of birth, the fact that I had lived in Saudi for the last eight years and the fact Wachovia failed to get a TDL number or any other credit card references. I got out of the amount owed but was told that it could not be removed from my credit report.
What is surprising is that the telephone company, local sheriff, local police and FBI all said they could do nothing as it was only attempted fraud, no fraud had actually occurred though you can bet he committed fraud from that number numerous times, just not in my case. They cannot even shut down the number.
This was the response I got when someone took a credit card out in my name in 1999. They had the correct SS number but a bogus date of birth and a south Houston address. Identity theft was just not taken seriously. After no luck with authorities I went directly to Wachovia Bank. They thought I was trying to get out of paying a bill. I pointed out the date of birth, the fact that I had lived in Saudi for the last eight years and the fact Wachovia failed to get a TDL number or any other credit card references. I got out of the amount owed but was told that it could not be removed from my credit report.
