PHOENIX (AZFamily)<\/b> \u2014 A Phoenix woman fell victim to an elaborate phone scam that left her on the hook for nearly $7,300 worth of cell phones after a fraudster posed as an AT&T representative.<\/p>\n
Sheryl Johnson had been experiencing trouble with her phone service and mentioned it to an AT&T representative, whom she says she met at a grocery store kiosk.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said, \u2018I\u2019m so sorry to hear that. Give me your phone number, I\u2019m going to have somebody reach out to you,\u2019\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n
A few days later, she received a call from someone claiming to be with AT&T.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome to find out, he was a scammer, and now AT&T is holding me responsible for $7,500 worth of fraudulent charges on my account,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n
How the scam worked<\/p>\n
The caller had access to Johnson\u2019s personal information and told her they needed to replace her phones due to a widespread issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had everything. He had all of my information,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cHe said, \u2018Because we\u2019re having to replace so many phones, we\u2019re having people go purchase phones at the stores.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Johnson went to an AT&T store and purchased three phones. She was instructed to send them using a prepaid shipping label to get them unlocked and activated.<\/p>\n
Two days later, the scammer called again.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe says, \u2018We received the phones, but they\u2019re damaged,\u2019\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n
The scammer told her to purchase three more phones with the promise of reimbursement.<\/p>\n
\u201cSame deal. \u2018Buy three phones, we\u2019ll reimburse you for the cost. And we\u2019ll activate them.\u2019 Admittedly now, in hindsight, I stupidly went down and bought three more phones,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The scammer called again two days later, saying the phones had arrived and would be unlocked and activated.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018And for the inconvenience of all this, we\u2019re going to be crediting your account for your monthly payment,\u2019\u201d Johnson recalled hearing from the scammer. \u201cI received an email saying my bill had been paid.\u201d<\/p>\n
The phones never arrived. Johnson later discovered the phones were sent to Las Vegas, not to an AT&T warehouse.<\/p>\n
Resolution and investigation<\/p>\n
Johnson reported the fraud to the FCC and police, and she filed a fraud claim with AT&T. The claim was initially denied.<\/p>\n
After being contacted by On Your Side, AT&T spent several weeks investigating the situation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe understand this customer was a victim of a sophisticated scam, something we take very seriously, so we worked with her to make things right with her account,\u201d AT&T said in a statement. \u201cFor tips on how to spot scams, please visit AT&T Cyber Aware<\/a>. Customers who want extra protection for their wireless accounts can also activate Wireless Account Lock<\/a> and add a passcode for extra security.”<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m off the hook for the phones,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cRight now, it says my bill has decreased by $7,240.\u201d<\/p>\n AT&T says it investigates fraud claims as quickly as possible. The company did not respond to On Your Side\u2019s questions about whether it tracked down where the phones were sent or if police became involved.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m happy with where we\u2019re at now, and fingers crossed, this is where we\u2019ll stay,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it<\/a>.<\/p>\n