The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office is warning residents about a phone scam that appears to come from the 408 area code. The way the scam works is the scammers will text Verizon customers and tell the potential victims they’ve been locked out of their accounts, according to a press release from the District Attorney’s Office.
After sending the first text message, the scammer will then send another text asking the potential victim to verify the account and click on a link.
“This is a classic phishing scam, where a scammer contacts (people) through email, phone, social media and/or regular mail,” the press release states. “The scammers try to get you to give them your personal information, like Social Security and credit card numbers, and/or your money.”
Legitimate businesses and government agencies will not contact people to get account information—or anything else that’s personal or sensitive—the District Attorney’s Office reminds residents.
“Do not assume that someone is legitimate just because they know your name, address, phone number, the name of your bank or anything else about you,” the press release states. “Do not respond to phone numbers, emails, websites, or anything else listed in this kind of communication.”
Basic personal information is easily accessible on the web, and the District Attorney’s Office recommends residents routinely search for themselves on Google and other search engines to see how frequently things like phone numbers, addresses and email addresses appear in a search. Residents may be able to opt out.
For a list of online brokers who have access to personal information or to learn more about your rights, visit https://www.privacyrights.org/online-information-brokers-list.
