"Just don't fall for it" woman says of new credit/debit card scam



KENOSHA (WITI) -- Scam alert! The Kenosha Police Department says it has been flooded with calls about a credit and debit card scam they say is circulating in their city and others.

"Just don't fall for it," Ruth Chartier said.

Fortunately, Chartier didn't fall for it. She received two automated phone calls on her cell phone over the weekend and knew something was up.

"It's a private number. It was from Chase Bank. I think they said my credit card was compromised and they needed the number to verify it was not compromised," Chartier said.

The next call was from a 702 area code.

"The next day I get another one from Bank of America, but I don`t have any credit cards, so I hung up. It was automated, but it was the same voice," Chartier said.

Kenosha police say a credit/debit card scam has been circulating in cities from Green Bay to Kenosha. This past weekend alone, Kenosha police say they were contacted by a number of concerned residents.

"Our dispatchers have received approximately 125 to 150 phone calls from people who have received these automated messages to retrieve pin numbers, credit card numbers. They told the caller that their MasterCard was blocked or locked and that they needed to provide them some identifying information about their credit card to unlock or resolve the problem," Kenosha Police Lt. Bradley Hetlet said.

Lt. Hetlet says he's concerned about possible identity theft.

"For instance, one caller -- they asked for the last four of the social security number. They punched in those four digits and then the automated reply was just to confirm they asked for the additional five numbers of the social security number," Lt. Hetlet said.

Authorities have posted a scam alert on their Facebook page, hoping to inform the public about the bogus calls.

Lt. Hetlet says it is difficult to track the culprits down -- so preventing yourself from falling victim to a scam like this is up to you.

"There is no way to track where these calls are coming from," Lt. Hetlet said.

Police say the con artists involved in this scam are also using banks that are local, and using those bank names on the recording -- depending on where you are.

Police say you should never give out your personal information over the phone.

CLICK HERE to visit Kenosha Police Department's Facebook page.