Phone Scammers Pick The Wrong Potential Victim

A phone call to the wrong individual may have helped put the kabosh on a credit card scam in Wisconsin. A Wisconsin Bankers Association employee received a phone call two weeks ago from someone promising to lower his credit card rate to 6.99% if he would supply personal information, according to Eric Skrum, an association spokesperson. When the employee asked for basic information, such as who was making the offer, the scammer hung up, Skrum says. So the association issued a press release Monday warning consumers not to release personal information, such as account or Social Security numbers, to unknown callers. If someone calls with an offer, consumers should call back only after obtaining the company's phone number from an independent source, the release states. The association does not know how many other consumers received the calls or whether anyone has been victimized by the scam, Skrum says.