(WSIL) — Scott McCabe the Chief Deputy at the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office says all it takes is a little of your information and the caller could soon walk away with a new identity.
McCabe explains, "It could be posted on what’s called the dark web and your information can be sold to people who commit identity theft."
He says for the past few years, there have been consistent reports of phone scams. From the typical "you have an unpaid balance" to "there’s a warrant out for your arrest." McCabe says the department takes all reports seriously, but depending on the situation they’re not able to fix.
According to the , there have been more than 70,000 reports about this Social Security scam in the first 6 months of 2019, with $17 million in reported losses.
Rebecca Cross says she could have been a victim of that scam, but she knew better.
"I don’t pay any attention to that. The IRS doesn’t call you like that nor would they be in a room where you can hear multiple calls and noise in the background like this way," she explains.
In this scam, the caller claims to be from the and says your benefits will be suspended. The FTC says the will never call you to ask you to send or wire cash or threaten to take away your benefits.
Officials like McCabe want, take the extra steps in preventing yourself from becoming a victim.
McCabe explains, "When someone’s suffered a loss or their information has been compromised we usually provide the information to credit reporting bureau that they can place a fraud alert."
