Criminal racks up huge phone bill on fraudulent account

How does a criminal rack up more than $4,000 in charges on a bogus cellphone account?

One call at a time, apparently.

That's the billing total for a cellular phone account fraudulently opened using a Des Plaines man's Social Security number, police said Thursday.

The Verizon account was opened in March, police said. The 26-year-old victim reported the crime Tuesday.

Because of technological advances for criminals, protecting your personal data from thieves lurking on the internet or elsewhere has become really difficult, Des Plaines police Cmdr. Matt Bowler said.

You can try to safeguard that sensitive information, Bowler said, by shredding mail and personal documents when you're done with them or subscribing to a credit-monitoring service.

"And never (share) sensitive information online or over the phone," Bowler said.