Phone calls about compromised debit cards were Step 1 in $88,000 elder fraud, cops say
A Fort Lauderdale woman with a history of grand theft faces 47 counts of theft and fraud in relation to a scam that involved getting several Palm Beach County senior citizens to hand over their debit and credit cards.
Dierdre Dixon, 39, faces 14 counts of fraudulent use of a credit card over $100, 14 counts of fraudulent use of personal identification, 14 counts of grand theft from a person 65 years or older, three counts of possession of a stolen credit card or debit card, one count of fraudulent use of fake identification and one count of burglary. Prison records say Dixon has done three stints for grand theft between $300 and $5,000.
This crime would be as familiar to Boynton Beach, which released Dixon’s arrest report last week, as Dixon. In January, Boynton Beach police issued a warning about this kind of scheme after two senior citizens got ripped off and a third phoned his bank before the thieves could use his cards.
According to the arrest report, Dixon and two cronies stung three Boynton Beach octogenarians the same way:
Dixon calls the senior citizen and says she’s from the fraud department at Bank of America or Wells Fargo. Using some personal identification knowledge and some information about the elderly target’s bank account, she convinces the victim of her authenticity. She tells the victim that cards issued by the bank have been compromised. Someone from the bank will be by to pick them up and will return later with new cards.
Soon after, one of Dixon’s cohorts shows up to collect the cards. Once they have the cards, they buy money orders or, if they can get a PIN code, hit an ATM.
Using this method, the arrest report says, Dixon and her pals ripped off $88,194.
Things to remember:
▪ Banks won’t share bank information over the phone.
▪ Someone having some of your bank account information doesn’t mean they’re from the bank. Your checking account number is on each check. Other account numbers can be acquired a number of ways (including stealing mail).
▪ No bank is sending someone to your door to pick up cards that have been canceled or to deliver new cards. They trust you to cut or shred cards.
This story was originally published June 5, 2019 at 1:20 PM.
