Mauldin Police: Harassing Phone Calls Could be "Phishing" Scam

A series of harassing, automated phone calls to a Mauldin woman may be a form of "phishing" scam aimed at gaining personal information, a Mauldin Police report said.

A woman came to the police department last week to report she had been receiving automated phone calls from an unknown source, the report said. The voice on the other end would ask if she was the person named in the call, and if she wasn't, to "hang up in three seconds," the report said.

The person asked for was someone with the same last name that she had recently had had to have removed from her credit report. The automated voice said that if she was the person being asked for, she needed to call back and give them some information, the report said.

Mauldin Police said online research revealed evidence that calls such this have been identified as phishing scams that can be used to steal someone's identity. Police advised not to give any information through such calls and to contact the phone company to have the number blocked.

So far as the victim knows, she has not had any information breach or fraudulent charges as a result of the incidents, the report said.