Cellphone Thieves After Bank Account Apps
By Stan Bush
DENVER (CBS4)- Denver police are warning of a scam at downtown bars that has cost some victims thousands of dollars.
Police say they have had nearly 40 reported incidents since the summer where someone has stolen a cellphone. When the owner calls to locate the phone, the thief poses as a bar manager and asks for the security code to "confirm" that the phone is that of the person calling.
Once inside the phone thieves are using money transferring apps like Venmo to wire themselves whatever the victim had in their checking account.
"Women, if they have their phone in a purse or side pocket and it's not zipped up, that could give access to someone to walk by a busy place and take it," says Doug Schepman, spokesman with the Denver Police Department. "They not only have access to your personal information, but if you use a money transferring app, they have access to your money as well."
The crimes have occurred at the high occupancy bars in LoDo where it can be difficult to spot a thief during peak hours.
"I have my Chase account on it, my Venmo, I even have a notepad with all my passwords, like, for every account," says Margaret Coyne. "They would have my whole life. They could ruin my credit, my whole life."
Police say no arrests have been made in any of the reported cases. They say the best prevention is to treat your phone as preciously as your wallet.
Stan Bush is a general assignment reporter at CBS4. His stories can be seen on CBS4 News at 10. Read his bio and follow him on Twitter @StanBushTV.