KGVY Radio, Monday, March 31, 2008

Green Valley Sheriff’s Auxiliary Volunteers

Bill Roskey

Arizona ranks first in the number of identity thefts nationwide, and that news comes as no surprise to Green Valley residents. We’ve been targeted time and time again by the people who practice this kind of deception. As in any profession, some identity thieves are not too clever, while others are very slick indeed. It’s hard not to laugh at someone who calls you claiming to be bank official, and tells you that your bank has lost your account number so he needs to get it from you over the phone. It’s too bad that all of them aren’t that inept. But some are very convincing and have successfully bilked people of a lot of money—sometimes their life’s savings—by convincing people they are who they say they are and getting them to provide personal information like Social Security numbers, bank account numbers, dates of birth, and credit card numbers. Oftentimes, they will pretend to be from gas or electric companies, telephone companies (as happened in Green Valley this past week), or banks. Some say that they work for the Internal Revenue Service, the Social Security Administration, or other Federal or state agencies. And, of course, they use e-mail as well as the telephone. They also offer financial inducements to provide the personal data, as in another case in Green Valley this past week, when a woman was offered a loan if she just supplied her savings and checking account numbers.

Some Green Valley residents have recently reported to SAV that they’ve had items stolen from their unlocked vehicles, so please take that extra few seconds to lock your car or truck before you walk away.