Carrier How to deal with an AT&T fraudulent account

[KaliYoni]

I'm posting this because AT&T does not make it easy to report fraudulent accounts.

My situation
I began receiving emails from AT&T that made it clear an AT&T Wireless account had been set up using my email address. I got everything new subscribers receive, including welcome messages, verify your account information messages, paperless billing setup messages, and new bill notifications. I did not find any indications that other personal and financial details were provided to AT&T after checking my credit reports and online accounts. I haven't ever used AT&T as my mobile phone carrier.

What to do
Don't bother telephoning AT&T. You will get passed around by various call center reps. None will be able to do anything. Instead go directly to Mobility Fraud Inquiry Form (link current as of the writing of this post).

Tips
You don't have to provide any personal information beyond the fraudulently used email address, the last four digits of the fraudulently obtained AT&T phone number, and the fraudulent account number. AT&T eventually tells you the last two over the course of a monthly billing cycle in the emails it sends out. I put in obviously dummy information for my real name, address, SSN, zip code, etc. (e.g. n/a, 000-00-0000, 01234).

My experience
I did not receive any followup to my initial report. But when I began filing a report each time an account-related email appeared in my inbox, AT&T responded quickly. It cancelled the account and sent me an official confirmation that the account was fraudulent and should not have been associated with my email address.

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ETA: added more detail

 

[russell_314]

I'm posting this because AT&T does not make it easy to report fraudulent accounts.

My situation
I began receiving emails from AT&T that made it clear an AT&T Wireless account had been set up using my email address. I got everything new subscribers receive, including welcome messages, verify your account information messages, paperless billing setup messages, and new bill notifications.

What to do
Don't bother telephoning AT&T. You will get passed around by various call center reps. None will be able to do anything. Instead go directly to Mobility Fraud Inquiry Form (link current as of the writing of this post).

Tips
You don't have to provide any personal information beyond the fraudulently used email address, the last four digits of the fraudulently obtained AT&T phone number, and the fraudulent account number. AT&T eventually tells you the last two over the course of a monthly billing cycle in the emails it sends out. I put in obviously dummy information for my real name, address, SSN, zip code, etc. (e.g. n/a, 000-00-0000, 01234).

My experience
I did not receive any followup to my initial report. But when I began filing a report each time an account-related email appeared in my inbox, AT&T responded quickly. It cancelled the account and sent me an official confirmation that the account was fraudulent and should not have been associated with my email address.

That’s pretty scary.

What you should worry about is how did someone get your information to open that account. I believe most carriers now do a credit check so that means someone got your full name, address, date of birth, and maybe Social Security number but I’m not sure if that’s still used. You might want to check your credit and possibly freeze it. I bet if they can open up an AT&T account they can open up credit cards in your name.

 

[KaliYoni]

That’s pretty scary.

Yeah, that's why I took the time to get a resolution from AT&T. I was leaning more towards phishing at first but as more and more emails were delivered, the more likely I thought it was that an account had been opened.

I'm not too worried about it now, though, because no billing or account documents were ever delivered via USPS (I purposefully avoided giving AT&T any real information or authorizing e-billing in case the criminal is ever able to gain access to the AT&T account), the email address is an address that isn't used for anything important, and my credit reports have been frozen for years. But identity theft is definitely on my radar now.

I think the criminal used stolen credentials that aren't mine to open the account and either guessed or bought the email address. That way the "primary" victim wouldn't ever know their info was used because all of AT&T's communications were sent to somebody else's email.

In any case, your advice is sound and the same I would give to anybody who isn't already locked down and/or has their primary email address, USPS mailing address, or phone number compromised.

 

[russell_314]

Yeah, that's why I took the time to get a resolution from AT&T. I was leaning more towards phishing at first but as more and more emails were delivered, the more likely I thought it was that an account had been opened.

I'm not too worried about it now, though, because no billing or account documents were ever delivered via USPS (I purposefully avoided giving AT&T any real information or authorizing e-billing in case the criminal is ever able to gain access to the AT&T account), the email address is an address that isn't used for anything important, and my credit reports have been frozen for years. But identity theft is definitely on my radar now.

I think the criminal used stolen credentials that aren't mine to open the account and either guessed or bought the email address. That way the "primary" victim wouldn't ever know their info was used because all of AT&T's communications were sent to somebody else's email.

In any case, your advice is sound and the same I would give to anybody who isn't already locked down and/or has their primary email address, USPS mailing address, or phone number compromised.

Thinking about it I wonder why he used that email. I mean if he had your information he could just use another email address for a new account. If was using someone else's info he still could use an email account he just made. Maybe he goofed up because he was in a hurry. I know there are phishing emails like this that to try and get your information to cancel an account that never was. It doesn't seem like this was the case for you though since you talked to the real people at AT&T. I would at least change your email password in case the bad guy has access to it. It's kind of scary people do this crap. Just a few days ago I had someone trying to reset my Facebook password...

 

[jav6454]

Did your personal info get compromised or just your email?

 

[KaliYoni]

Thinking about it I wonder why he used that email.

There are a lot of possibilities. Maybe the criminal just wanted use of a cell phone for a couple of weeks and saw the email on a spammer's list. Or it could have been random; the email address is only a few characters long and is at a globally popular email service. Or it could have been a typo or error made by an AT&T employee. I have another short email address that to a native speaker of English is how a French name should be spelled. That account has received a number of emails from hotels and other tourist-oriented businesses. Or...or...or...

I would at least change your email password in case the bad guy has access to it.

Luckily, I LOVE non-SMS 2FA!!!

Did your personal info get compromised or just your email?

At the moment, it appears just email. But as I mentioned earlier, I've definitely moved into Condition Yellow status for identity theft awareness for at least the next few weeks.