ALERT EBT card scam?

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Profit of Doom

Dismember
I just got a call that announced my EBT card has been locked. The voice was clean and mechanical, no accent. No indication of what agency this was from. It wanted my 16 digit number. Having no such card, I simply entered random digits. She read them back and I confirmed. Same with the PIN. That was it. Nothing about my identity to confirm they were calling the correct me.
I smell a scam. Organized, from the slickness of the recorded voice and reading it back to me. EBT is welfare or food stamps, right? So the users real victims giving their card and PIN might not be the sharpest crayon at the picnic, right? Who would I call to report this? I have the caller ID, but those can be faked. If I call it back some poor dude will have no idea about this.
 
phloydius

phloydius

Veteran Member
It is a pretty common phishing scam. The phone call one is similar to the texting one they reference here.

There really is no one you can report it to, and if there were they probably could not do anything about it.



Scam Alerts | Food and Nutrition Service

www.fns.usda.gov www.fns.usda.gov

SNAP Phishing Scam Alert 10/19/2022​

USDA is aware of several reports of criminals using phony text messages to obtain EBT card numbers and PINs and steal SNAP benefits. These are known as phishing scams and are a type of fraud. Do not provide your EBT card number or PIN by phone or text. If you think you are the victim of a phishing scam, please contact your local SNAP office.
 
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WalknTrot

Veteran Member
Of course it's a scam, and you can bet the authorities have already heard from buckets of potential or actual victims already.
Let it go and don't give these people the satisfaction of knowing you have a "live" phone number by speaking to them at all.
 
kyrsyan

kyrsyan

Has No Life - Lives on TB
I don't do anything but hang up. If my cu calls, they don't ask me for info. They list the last 10 transactions and ask me if I authorized all of them.

If I can't get through to them and have to call back, thwn I call the CU 800 number directly and they connect me to their fraud division. Same thing.
 
Blacknarwhal

Blacknarwhal

Let's Go Brandon!
SlipperySlope said:
I got a scam call yesterday from "Spectrum". I knew it was a scam because they were apologizing for their bad service and offering me a better deal. I know they don't care so I knew it wasn't them.
Click to expand...

Telecom companies. Lots of fun.

Bm-XJ7DCcAEUMyD.jpg
 
maric

maric

Short but deadly
Profit of Doom said:
Just called it back. Labeled “scam likely”, had a busy signal, then disconnected. Looked again, Jordan, New York. Not going to bother reporting it. I’m in California, no reason a real CA agency would be calling from there.
Click to expand...
Jordan NY is a small suburb just west of Syracuse
 
P

Publius

TB Fanatic
Hello FBI wire fraud department how can I help you? :D You can bet they will remove or block your phone number from their data base.
 
TammyinWI

TammyinWI

Talk is cheap
Dang, that is nasty! I hope that no one falls for that! <yeah, right!> That P.T. Barnum saying still applies, something about a sucker born every minute...except now, every second?
 
Lone_Hawk

Lone_Hawk

Resident Spook
My cell has a 410 area code. When I'm in the mood I answer calls and they are that my electricity is going to be cut off, press 1 to talk to an agent, so I do. I get some dude on the phone who tells me that my electric bill is passed due. "Oh my, I thought I paid that!" Can you give me your address and I will tell you what your balance is, so I make up an address, I haven't lived in Maryland in 14 years. "Sir your balance is $435.49." "Oh my, I thought I paid those." No sir, you didn't.

I tell him, well dude, I haven't lived in Maryland in 14 years, so what are you doing? "I'm smoking a blunt." "Cool, I just wasted your time so you aren't scamming someone else. He laughed and hung up.
 
cwr

cwr

Senior Member
Profit of Doom said:
I just got a call that announced my EBT card has been locked. The voice was clean and mechanical, no accent. No indication of what agency this was from. It wanted my 16 digit number. Having no such card, I simply entered random digits. She read them back and I confirmed. Same with the PIN. That was it. Nothing about my identity to confirm they were calling the correct me.
I smell a scam. Organized, from the slickness of the recorded voice and reading it back to me. EBT is welfare or food stamps, right? So the users real victims giving their card and PIN might not be the sharpest crayon at the picnic, right? Who would I call to report this? I have the caller ID, but those can be faked. If I call it back some poor dude will have no idea about this.
Click to expand...
Yep scam. The calls going out will not ask for info on a robo call. I’m in that line of business. I have heard people say they get those. I think the alpha agencies have a web site to report. Honestly. I never take the info. The financial institutions at least from my perspective don’t do much. I know there are other departments that look into stuff. Just not us on the front lines. Too much happening. We would never get our jobs done and people fuss at us enough about having to wait on hold.
 
WildDaisy

WildDaisy

God has a plan, Trust it!
Profit of Doom said:
I just got a call that announced my EBT card has been locked. The voice was clean and mechanical, no accent. No indication of what agency this was from. It wanted my 16 digit number. Having no such card, I simply entered random digits. She read them back and I confirmed. Same with the PIN. That was it. Nothing about my identity to confirm they were calling the correct me.
I smell a scam. Organized, from the slickness of the recorded voice and reading it back to me. EBT is welfare or food stamps, right? So the users real victims giving their card and PIN might not be the sharpest crayon at the picnic, right? Who would I call to report this? I have the caller ID, but those can be faked. If I call it back some poor dude will have no idea about this.
Click to expand...
No one to call for it because no one will care. Police will have no info to go on because the number that called can easily be spoofed. Dead end. The report will just come with a warning to you from the police about scams and the report going in the circular file.
 
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