jimkyle
Btrieve Guy
Premium
join:2002-10-20
Oklahoma City, OK
 ·AT&T Southwest
| [Phish] 601-923-1992
Got a strange phone call this afternoon from 601-923-1992, which appears to be a number assigned to Community Home Finance in Jackson, MS. According to Google this is a specialty company that finances contractors. The woman on the call identified herself as "Mandy" and was talking about a car payment due Tuesday, on a $3,000 loan in my wife's name. She did have my name and address correct -- but neither I nor my wife has ever dealt with any firm in Jackson MS or its area, nor have we ever taken out such a small car loan. We do have a current car loan but it's up to date and the most recent payment cleared our bank this week.
Is this a phone phishing expedition, some other scam, or simply a case of mistaken identity coupled with results of a web search for people with my name (last time I checked a white pages search there were more than 500 hits on it!)???
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Jim Kyle |
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nwrickert
sand groper
Premium,MVM
join:2004-09-04
Geneva, IL
 ·AT&T U-Verse
·AT&T Midwest
| You might want to check your credit report at
»www.annualcreditreport.com/
to see if there is anything suspicious there.
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AT&T dsl; Speedstream 5100b modem; Zyxel NBG334W router; openSuSE 11.0; firefox 3.0.11 |
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jimkyle
Btrieve Guy
Premium
join:2002-10-20
Oklahoma City, OK
·AT&T Southwest
| Good thought! I checked on Equifax and came up totally clean, no inquiries since my last auto purchase a year ago, and nothing negative, so it may have just been a name collision and a bad Google search. I'm saving the other two agencies to check in a few months -- and I dislike having any contact with TrueCredit since they've been spamming me regularly since my previous checkup there...
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Jim Kyle |
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DC DSL
Stays crunchy even in milk
Premium
join:2000-07-30
Washington, DC
·Covad Communications
·Verizon Online DSL
| reply to jimkyle
Your wife needs to check all three bureau reports for all accounts in her name immediately. If they call again, request a copy of the originating paperwork by USPS certified mail, return receipt. Certified mail/return receipt is important because that forces them to provide some kind of traceable location. If they provide bogus paperwork, it's easy documentation for the USPS to investigate as mail fraud.
If there are any unauthorized accounts or inquiries showing, immediately begin the process of mitigation. That includes filing a police report, notifying the three credit bureaus of fraud. Also, contact the lenders identified on the fraudulent accounts.
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There is no giant fur-bearing trout. |
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antiphishing
Phishing Scam Terminator
Premium
join:2004-06-09
Wilkes Barre, PA
1 edit | reply to jimkyle
said by jimkyle  :Got a strange phone call this afternoon from 601-923-1992, which appears to be a number assigned to Community Home Finance in Jackson, MS. To me, it looks like Community Home Finance only does home loans, unless some other company acting as a middle man is obtaining funds through them.
»www.communityhomefinancial.com/
PH: 888-236-1992
FAX: 888-841-1938
info@CHFonline.com
Community Home Financial Services Inc ; 234 E Capitol St ; Jackson, MS
601-923-1992
BELLSOUTH TELECOM (ATT) JACKSON MS
1-888-757-6500 (ATT customer service #)
»www.telcodata.us/telcodata/telco···ange=923
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Specializing in "takes downs" of phishing and advance fee scams
Send your Phishing/Advance fee scams to: phish@antihotmail.com
»www.phishtank.com
»www.fraudwatchers.org
»mozilla.com
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MGD
Premium,MVM
join:2002-07-31
Fort Lauderdale, FL
| reply to jimkyle
said by jimkyle :..... Is this a phone phishing expedition, some other scam, or simply a case of mistaken identity coupled with results of a web search for people with my name (last time I checked a white pages search there were more than 500 hits on it!)??? said by jimkyle :..... I checked on Equifax and came up totally clean, no inquiries since my last auto purchase a year ago, and nothing negative, so it may have just been a name collision and a bad Google search. I would place mistaken identity very high on the list, it occurs frequently in this area. As you mentioned many in both the finance and collections industry appear to use online searches with a close counts attitude. The fact that the individual called from a verifiable number, that checks to a properly registered business apparently in good standing, Community Home Financial Services Inc., mitigates the chances that the caller was not legitimate. (I am discounting the possibility of number spoofing for this event).
I also think the chances that they are following up on a loan that was made in your wife's name is minimal also, as I believe you would have received calls during the loan processing.
Again, high on my list is that they are trying to track down someone of the same name. I would advise following up by calling that 601-923-1992 number, and inquire as to why they specifically contacted you. That way you can eliminate the possibility that someone actually listed your address and phone number on loan documents, versus a novice intern playing fast and loose with Google.
You are correct however in being cautious whenever a call such as that is received, as it certainly can be a flag for numerous nefarious activities.
MGD |
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