By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
LINCOLN PARK — A con artist tried to trick a 69-year-old Lincoln Park woman into providing personal financial account information the morning of Aug. 1 by posing as a representative from the fraud division of the woman’s credit union.
The caller claimed that there was fraudulent activity on the woman’s account, and needed to verify her debit card information. The victim then provided her card number, expiration date and a three-digit code on the back of the card. However, she kept the woman on the line while she called her credit union to verify the legitimacy of the caller, upon which time the con artist disconnected the call.
The intended victim then contacted her credit union, which verified that no fraudulent activity had occurred. Her account was then closed and cancelled, and she was advised that no funds had been transferred out of her account. The credit union recommended that the woman file a police report, and she was counseled to never provide banking information over the phone.