Fake bankers target residents

 HOULTON, Maine — Phony “bankers” have aimed their criminal intentions at several local residents trying to get personal information over the phone that could potentially be used for identity theft, draining a bank account or running up credit card debt.
But, according to Houlton Police Detective Carolyn Crandall, residents reported the calls to police although they haven’t fallen for the scam or reported any financial loss.
It started sometime last week. Crandall said automated recorded calls asked the person at home “to punch in debit card numbers, expiration dates and pin numbers.” In some cases that could be enough to drain an account.
Donald Reynolds, executive vice president of Machias Savings Bank explained that “no bank or credit card company would make a phone call to a customer asking them to divulge personal information such as account numbers, pin numbers or Social Security numbers or any type of personal information.”
He emphatically stated that Machias Savings Bank would never originate such a call or ask their customers to provide that type of information to a recording or to a person. Some calls were falsely linked to Machias Savings Bank. One family, who asked not to be named, knew they didn’t even have an account with Machias and simply hung up. Reynolds said that’s the best thing to do.
On the other hand, when customers call their bank or financial institution, they will probably be asked for some information to identify themselves as bona fide clients.
Identities sold on black market
Personal information, according to Reynolds, can be sold on the black market to identity thieves or other criminals who use it to generate a plastic ATM card and drain an account. “These are professional criminals, often organized crime,” said Reynolds. He added that even when a caller ID readout looks like it’s coming from within the USA, the calls are usually generated from outside the country.
“Once you give them the information, the crooks immediately send it to an operative there or in the USA and they generate a false ATM card and draw out whatever they can. It happens in minutes, literally within minutes of that phone call. That’s why it is so important to safeguard that information. It happens so quickly,” said Reynolds.
Even he is not immune from bogus calls. Naturally, he didn’t fall for the scam, but said he has received these calls at his home and at his camp. “A person doesn’t sit there and dial. They use computers and have automatic dialing and can call hundreds of numbers. They literally dial every combination. The best thing to do is to hang up,” he said.
If successful, these calls are a form of identity theft — to derive a financial benefit, establish credit, get cash or purchase items. According to Reynolds, true identity theft occurs when the criminals actually hijack your complete identity and go out and apply for credit which, he added, does not appear to be the motive of the latest wave of calls.
Reynolds said people need to be on guard when anybody asks for personal information. “If you know who you are calling, you have a little bit of assurance. But, if someone is calling you, you need to be very careful.”