DeKalb Police Detective Angel Reyes normally investigates scams, but Thursday night he was targeted by one.

Reyes and other area residents have been targeted by a phone “phishing scam” since Thursday night, where the targets are receiving automated phone messages saying there is a problem with their credit card in hopes of getting account information.

So far, DeKalb Police have received 15 reports of these calls, but no one has lost money or compromised their account, said DeKalb Police Lt. Gary Spangler.

The recording will tell the target there was a problem with their card and mention a local bank’s name, Spangler said. The calls have come from various “1-800” numbers and will prompt the call recipient to give account or credit card information.

So far, the message prompts have been asking for credit card numbers, bank account numbers and expiration dates, Spangler said.

“Most of the calls we are getting are from people who don’t even bank with the particular bank mentioned,” Spangler said.

One other DeKalb detective received a call, and a DeKalb County Sheriff’s detective, Reyes said.

When Reyes was called, the message told him his credit card with American National Bank was suspended, where he does not have a card or account. Knowing he didn’t have an account with the bank, Reyes hung up and ignored the prompts.

Certain banks can call you about possible fraudulent activity, but they won’t ask you for information such as account or credit card information the bank wouldn’t already know, Reyes said.

After he was called, Reyes sent a mass e-mail to local banks warning them about the scam and telling them to warn customers.

“If you throw out bait to 100 people, maybe 50 people will have bank accounts,” Reyes said. “For people who have accounts, the bank won’t call and ask you for info they already have.”

The scam artists may have an extensive list of numbers in DeKalb County, because people are receiving calls on their department-issued phones, Reyes said.

Using the automated process, the scam artists are able to contact more people, and not worry about the person responding directly to them, Spangler said.

Anyone who receives a similar call they believe to be fraudulent is encouraged to contact local law enforcement or their bank before giving information.

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office could not be reached for comment.

All comments are moderated before being published. We will not edit your comments, but we also will not approve those that are abusive, off-topic, attack another poster or contain information we know to be libelous or false.

During peak weekday viewing times, most comments will be reviewed within six hours. For more detailed information, click here.

After submitting your comment, check below for a confirmation message.

• Your name:
• Enter text from image:
  

• Your comment:

* 300-character count. HTML formatting will not display.