Lessons learned from a phone scam 

Last week, my cell phone started ringing incessantly. By "incessantly," I mean every two seconds. The numbers that came through were not 10-digit numbers, but sometimes 15-to-20 digits. When I answered, the call disconnected. I called Verizon and was told there was nothing they could do about it, that a machine was likely dialing my number and that it would take 24-hours for them to get the real 10-digit number behind the calls rather than the fake numbers showing up on my phone. (Verizon can only block 10-digit numbers.) I had a gut feeling that a scam was underway but Verizon assured me that no one could hack into my phone just by dialing it incessantly. After three calls with Verizon, I turned my phone to silent and hoped that the calls would eventually stop. I then got a call from a woman named "Maria" who claimed that she was from Verizon and apologized for the technical difficulties. She asked me to turn off my phone. I asked her for her name again and a call back number. When she hesitated in giving me the call back number, my suspicions that she was a scammer were solidified. I could not imagine what would happen if I turned my phone off but I knew I did not want to do what "Maria" asked. I kept my phone on until the battery drained from all of the calls and it shut off. I had been checking my bank accounts periodically online throughout the day. For some reason, I had hunch that the scam was going to be on one of my accounts. I have the Bank of America app on my phone and, although Verizon assured me that no one could get that information simply by repeatedly calling me, I still felt uneasy.