Phone scams are the next risk in the wake of last week’s Equifax data breach, and state consumer protection officials want people to be aware of that prospect. An event of this scale is sure to bring scammers out of the woodwork, and one of the potential risks at this point is con artists preying on consumers through misinformation, according to Frank Frassetto, Administrator at the Division of Trade and Consumer Protection at DATCP.
Frassetto says neither Equifax nor any bank will call you and request your Social Security number or other sensitive information. So if you receive an unsolicited call, hang up and don’t engage. “Look at information that we have on our website regarding the data breach and what to do,” Frassetto says. “It’s a fact sheet that gives you a ton of information on steps that you can take.”
Equifax revealed last week that a security breach may have compromised the privacy of as many as 143 million consumers in the U.S.
