2-18-05 – An Atlanta-based credit company, Choice-Point, announced hackers broke into their database and stole thousands of consumers’ personal information. Now scammers are taking advantage of the problem, one local woman became a victim this week.

Choice-Point is trying to notify potential victims of their leak. Denison resident, Olive Ford, was not one of the consumers affected by the Choice-Point hacking, but a person claiming to be from a bank called and said Olive’s account was in jeopardy.

The woman on the phone said she was a representative of California-based Cal-Net Bank. She claimed to already have the 86-year-old’s information and just for verification in order to protect Olive’s accounts.

Olive was skeptical, but says the caller caught her off-guard and managed to get her bank account number. The caller told Olive the account protection wouldn’t cost any money if she joined their club. Two days later, a $400 debit appeared on her bank statement.

Lucky for Olive, she told her family about the call just after it happened. They canceled her bank account and the $400 charge was rejected.

Police say if someone calls your home, ask them to send you some information by mail or get a phone number and call them back to protect yourself.

Choice-Point is only contacting potential victims by mail. If you get a call, ask questions and verify the legitimacy of the company with the Better Business Bureau.