Scam Type
Identity Theft Scam
Business Name Used
Phishing Calls – ID Theft Scam
Date Reported
August 10, 2023
Postal Code
None
Total Dollars Lost
$ 0
Scam Description
I live in NY. I believe I have been a victim of a phone scam and would like to file a report so it may go on record. Ordinarily, I would simply ignore these kind of calls, but the man who I spoke with recited my entire social security number, home address, and email address to me. Obviously I very worried about my identity being stolen and fear for my safety.
Here are the details of the two incidents:
I received a voicemail message on Tuesday, Aug 8, from Phil Brooks of the NY State Processing Department. At the time of the call, I was in NYC, where I work. Mr. Brooks said “a notice of claim” was going to be filed against me in Orange County Court. Therefore I needed to call the offices of Fine, Webber, & Ross to inquire about this claim or I’d be summoned to court. If I didn’t call, a summons would definitely be given to me at my home and I would have to appear in court. I should therefore make myself available to receive this summons. As I had no idea what he was talking about, I thought the call was strange and thought to ignore the voicemail message. However, I did try to call the number he left, so I could find out more info. When I called the number, which was 844-205-4470, the area code changed to 877 and I received some real estate company in error. This confirmed my suspicion of the call being a scam, so I hung up the phone and thought to
let it all drop.
Then yesterday, August 9, I received a second voicemail message from Phil Brooks, saying since I didn’t call “Fine, Webber, & Ross”, the claim would be filed in court in Goshen, NY. I would therefore need to be at my home to receive a summons. I called the number again for the law firm and this time got through. An extremely rude man spoke with me. He asked for the reference number, which was ******* (left by Mr. Brooks), and I gave it to him. He said his client, “something American”, was filing a claim of nonpayment of a loan (for over $2,000) taken out with them. The loan was applied for using my social security number and email address, which he recited to me. I tried to explain that I knew nothing about this loan nor company. He screamed at me and was very rude. I asked him to please calm down and explain what this was all about. He said he didn’t care about that and that I would need to go to court, where I can dispute the claim if that was what I wanted to do. I obviously wasn’t home to receive a summons, as I was still in NYC at my job. I thanked him for his “kind help” and ended the call.
I am in the process of notifying the credit bureaus, the BBB, and the Social Security Administration to make sure my info is safe. I hope this comes to nothing, but I thought it prudent to file a report with the Orange County Police as well.
Please advise me if there are other steps I should take at this time. Thank you for your time and attention to this. I am quite concerned and more than a little frightened.
