Somebody Really Wants to Scam Me. What Should I Do?

[+ Axiom2001]

Last week I was scammed big time while I was doing some banking via the net.  ...had my bank accounts and associated credit cards changed.  

On Saturday I went to Best Buy and purchased an Android, for I am a neophyte when it comes to cell phones.  

Today I rang American Express to ask about my card, for it was one of the initial ones that was hacked.  Unfortunately, I used my newly unprotected Android.  The voice asked for my number on the card; I rendered it.  The voice stated that it did not recognize the card and wanted my COMPLETE SS# which I know is definitely a NO, NO!  

I hung up, for my Gold card was compromised along with other cards which I'd cancelled and requested a replacement.

When I rung my sister a few minutes ago and discussed the aforementioned with her, my new cell went a little crazy.  That gave me the thought that I'd been hacked via the new telephone number that the scammer had received from my AMEX conversation.

Should I purchase a new phone and have the technician or seller put in some apps for protection?  

I know this is the beginning of an acute holiday time period, for when I made an appointment at the APPLE Store to change things in my email addressed that had been hacked--the mall was full of folks by 10:00 A.M.  It was a little daunting.

Well, guys, please be kind; I cannot afford an expensive cell phone but think about keeping my current one and getting support as I stated in the above: get that phone proofed by the man who sold it to me or by another techie in his department.

Advice is wanted!

[Guest MikeThomas]

Sorry, but I really don’t understand what happened to you.

[hungry4darkmeat]

First turn off your phone. Restart it in safe mode - you may need to wipe it and restore it from the cloud but first you need to change your passwords- so switch to a different device and reset all your passwords on email accounts and all financial apps  credit cards and other sensitive apps

if you change your passwords on a different device you should be able to take a breath.

next - Get lifelock immediately. 

then either get a malware removal app or wipe it and restore your data minus the malware 
 

[maninsoma]

1 hour ago, MikeThomas said:

Sorry, but I really don’t understand what happened to you.

I also don't understand it.

A brand new phone purchased from Best Buy wouldn't be compromised.  

I wouldn't waste money on LifeLock.  You can just contact the credit reporting bureaus and put a lock on your credit.  The only problem is having to remember to unlock if you decide to apply for a new card/loan.

[MaybeMaybeNot]

It wouldn't hurt to run this through chatgpt to get advice.  I can't imagine how your new phone got hacked.  Also, I would definitely go to where you purchased it and tell them what happened.  It is possible when you came AmEx, you Googled and got a number which was really a scam number? Did you call the number on the back of your card?

[+ cougar]

Anytime I need to deal with a company, I have found it was always best to reach them directly through their website. Be careful with trying to google a company to get their contact information as I have seen news reports about people doing that and not realizing they did not select the correct info on their google searchj. Good luck as I too am having a difficult time following your situation. 

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

Only call from a land line, using an 800 number. 

Pay with cash unless you need to finance it with a credit card. 

Always do cash withdrawals and check deposits in person at the teller, so you don't need a debit card.