I contacted Consumer Protection in my state and my credit cards. Changed all my accounts, filed a police report, and reported the incident to the FTC.BUT, I also learned that NONE of my banks had been contacted by David Shapiro, and NOTHING had been done to my accounts. Relieved? Hardly, because he had evidently had his own people PRETENDING to be my bank representatives---which is total fraud and identity theft. With my social security number (unfortunately, my bank has informed me it's easy to get that number anyway), and personal information, he obviously planned to use it to get that $800 fee he wanted, and possibly more.
I just now got a phone call from Citi Bank, informing me that I should call an 888 number, enter a message code provided, to check on the status of my Citicard. I have NO credit card with Citi Bank, and haven't had one since last I lived in NYC. Sound funny? You bet! I didn't call the number, as I figured it would activate an account or confirm a (fraudulent) account someone may have opened yesterday, or earlier today. Fortunately, nothing has shown up on my credit report concerning Citi, but they HAD requested info on me. I wish I could say that Experian doesn't give out credit information without my approval, but they insist the Federal Government requires them to by law.I may request a fraud alert be placed on my credit account, and I will be contacting them by phone tomorrow.
Get your credit report now, and do NOT do any business with unsolicited phone call or emails! I'll keep you posted as to future developments.
