This is a very convincing scam and there’s no reason it couldn’t happen here in Raleigh. Keep up with your phone and do NOT call it and give your unlock code to whomever answers it!
Denver bar patrons are being warned of a popular new scam aimed at collecting financial information from stolen or lost smartphones.
Since May, there have been 37 cases of scammers posing as helpful bar owners who get access to stolen smartphones and then drain financial accounts from the phone’s apps, say Denver Police.
The scam begins when crooks steal smartphones from unsuspecting bar customers. They then wait for the phone’s owner to call the phone the next morning in hopes of getting it back. The crook, who often identifies himself as a helpful bar employee, asks the phone’s owner for their pass code to verify ownership.
The phone’s owner, thinking the crook is only trying to make sure the phone is returned to the rightful owner, gives the crooks the pass code. The scammer now changes all the owner’s passwords and then moves money via the apps the owner uses to reimburse his friends.
“Now, not only is her phone truly gone, but so is her money,” say police.
Source: Denver cops warn of phone scam brewing at local bars – The Denver Post