BECKLEY, W.Va. — The Beckley metropolitan statistical area has the ninth highest rate per capita of identity theft-related complaints countrywide, according to a recent Federal Trade Commission study.
For context, the Eastern Panhandle of the state, which is included in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan statistical area, ranked 40th in ID theft complaints, the study found.
The study caught the attention of Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, who is now warning West Virginians to practice caution when giving out Social Security numbers and other vital information that thieves can use to steal an identity.
The attorney general’s Eastern Panhandle Consumer Protection Office was recently contacted by a consumer who claimed a person posing as a DirecTV employee called to verify the account. The woman was asked to provide the last four digits of her Social Security number.
The customer did not provide her last four digits; instead she contacted DirecTV, which told her the call was a scam…
