Fraudulent Port of Phone Number
bwlikebob
Enthusiast - Level 1

On July 20, 2019, one of our phone numbers on the account was no longer working. We called Verizon later that day and discovered that someone went into a local Sam's Club Verizon kiosk and used our account information to purchase 2 iPhones and ported one of our phone numbers out of Verizon. 

We spent about 4 or 5 hours on July 20, 2019, trying to report the fraudulent charges and attempting to get our number back. This fraudulent port of our number creates a significant securtiy risk for our financial accounts.

Upon speaking with Kayla and Ruth from Verizon's customer support staff, on July 20, 2019, we were told that a person only needs the account number and pin number to port a number. According to the FCC and Verizon's website, verification of the person's identity is required before porting the number. Verizon specifically requires a Federal Tax ID or Social Security Number to verify a person's identity. There clearly is a gap in understanding of your own policies and procedures regarding porting a Verizon phone number because it was not followed here. The least that Verizon could do is to start porting our number back.

To that end, we faxed a police case number to Verizon on July 21, 2019, to begin the port process. Yet, nobody has any answers for us or what the next step will be. It feels that no one appreciates the severity of this issue. However, we have only been handed off to people that do not have any knowledge or understanding of the issue. We do not understand how a company can treat its customers this way, while it essentially allows criminals free reign to take people's identities. Given the fact that we have yet to get any answers or solutions we will file an FCC complaint for failing to follow minimum standards to protect its customers' personal information. We need Verizon to act on its customer's behalf, lest it be complicit in the breach of its customers' personal information. 

Re: Fraudulent Port of Phone Number
andreebembry
Enthusiast - Level 1

The exact same thing happened to me last night, except the scammer also used my number to reset my personal email password and completely lock me out. The past 24 hours have been a chaotic mess of phonecl calls to financial institutions, failed attempts to  access accounts linked to my email and cell phone, hours at the police department, and limited access to my bank accounts...

Interestingly, I just got off the phone with a representative at Capital One, who was unfreezing my account long enough for me to withdraw funds, and she shared that I was her SECOND CUSTOMER TODAY whose Verizon phone number had been ported out by an unauthorized third party.  Something's definitely not right...

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