MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Experts are warning people about a phone scam. According to victims, they lose their phones, then crooks contact you later saying they bought it and need your information to activate it.
That’s what happened to a WREG News Channel 3 viewer four months ago. They lost their iPhone, and just a few days ago got a voicemail from a man.
The message from a man who identified himself as Richard said, “I’m assuming you lost your iPhone awhile back. I bought it off EBay. I would like to know if you could give me the activation code.”
The voicemail was left on the viewer’s boyfriend’s phone after leaving the number on the Find My iPhone app.
“It’s a scam,” Mila Phillips with Best Buy said.
“You definitely should never give anyone your activation code,” she continued.
The viewer thought so, too. A quick Google search of the number brought up other complaints.
One person said their parents got a call telling them their MLGW service was going to be terminated, another person said they were told they won a million dollars and a Mercedes. Another complaint even said the man posed as a state trooper and said the victim would be arrested if they didn’t pay off a ticket.
Phillips said this scam isn’t unusual, and people do fall for it.
“It’s becoming more and more common as devices get more sophisticated,” she said.
Phillips offered this advice to protect yourself from this happening to you: “Try to back up all your info, try not to keep anything important on it.”
