CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — A Chesterfield woman is speaking out after she says she lost $7,000 from her bank accounts in a cell phone scam.
Shona Goodwin says she was shocked and hurt when she found several charges to her Cash App, Zelle and checking account — none of which she had made herself.
Goodwin said that when her two-factor authentication wasn’t working, she began to believe she fell victim to electronic SIM swapping, or phone cloning — which occurs when a scammer takes over your device and the information inside by acting as its owner.
“I never had any clue that somebody can actually just walk next to your phone and do a quick transfer and just take everything you got all your info,” Goodwin described.
Goodwin added that the scam has heavily impacted her ability to support herself financially care for her family.
“It’s impacting me being able to buy groceries. I’m a caregiver for my mother. I mean, I literally had to close my business down. I have for almost 30 years and move my business here in my garage at home to take care of my mother,” Goodwin said.
After experiencing the affect of a scam like this, Goodwin is warning other not to fall victim to the same thing.
“I just want to warn everybody out there is that if somebody cloned your phone, that they can do their ‘naughties’ and it looks like it’s you, it’s coming from you. They actually have your number. They transfer your MPOs completely over to their phone,” Goodwin said.
If you think you believe you have been a victim of SIM swapping or another form of cell phone fraud, the Federal Communications Commission (FTC) advises you to take the following steps:
- Contact local law enforcement and file a police report. You can also file an identity theft report with the FTC.
- Notify your current service provider as well as the service provider for the fraudulent account.
- Place a fraud alert on any of the three major credit reporting bureaus — Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion. The one you notify will share the alert with the other two.
