Scammers are on the rise, and being a victim of their crimes is getting harder to avoid. One of our customers, Tricia Lynn, found out that not only had her eBay account been hacked, but also that numerous fraudulent purchases were made with her credit card. The timing could not have been worse: A hurricane was bearing down on the state of Florida, where Tricia Lynn lives.
Despite these adverse conditions, she became her own detective and found information on the perpetrator using Spokeo.
Here’s what she had to say about her experience:
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“I was stressed out awaiting a hurricane to hit my state. When I looked at my eBay account to track hurricane supplies, I saw that someone had not only hacked into my eBay account but made purchases in the hundreds using my credit card!
I contacted the local police department where the items were delivered and they said that it was a case for the FBI and gave me the contact information on where to file a complaint.
I went to the FBI website to file the complaint and it asked for a lot of information. It was information that I did not have and I wanted this guy caught and held accountable!
I decided to become my own detective. I found out the name of the person at that address and I even found some court cases where persons with the same name were currently on felony probation. The name was so common though that I could not be sure if this was the same person. So that was when I came across Spokeo online!
When I saw that the information that I wanted was not free, I was apprehensive. I didn’t want to put my credit card information on the computer and I was unsure if it would even tell me anything that I didn’t already know but I figured I should give it a chance.
Well, I am so glad I took the chance! I found out the guy’s address, email accounts, family names and his birthday. I was able to cross-reference his birthday to locate his Facebook profile, even with his common name! As it turns out, he IS on felony probation. You better believe that I called and left a message for the prosecuting attorney requesting his probation officer’s phone number before the night was over.
I have worked for the state police and as an EMT/Firefighter, and now the playing field is levelled. You no longer have to be a state official in order to gain access to what IS public information. The nice thing about Spokeo is that there is enough public information in one place to put together all of the dots and FAST! You package it nicely and put a pretty pink bow on it! Nice!
Within minutes I was able to download a .pdf for this fraud and his ex-wife after accessing his name….all for under $2! You better believe that I plan to attach these .pdf files with all of this guys information to my complaint to the FBI! Thank you, Spokeo! Count me in! I will definitely be using you again in the future!
Another pleased customer,
Tricia Lynn, Florida”
Although you can’t always avoid being scammed, there are some precautionary steps you can take to keep yourself protected. You can also use Spokeo as a tool to help research and investigate any information you do know before filing a police report with the authorities.