AT&T employee accused of adding unwanted lines to customer accounts to make commission
STAFFORD, Conn. (WFSB/Gray News) – A former AT&T employee was arrested for adding unauthorized phone and tablet lines to customers’ accounts in order to make the commission, according to authorities.
Connecticut State Police identified the employee as 35-year-old Katie Ann Barnaby. She is charged with a third-degree computer crime, troopers said.
According to an arrest warrant, an AT&T customer reported to police in February 2024 that they noticed fraudulent activity on their AT&T account.
The customer said they initially bought a Samsung phone, a watch, and accessories from an AT&T store in Stafford Springs in Dec. 2021. The consultant in the store was Barnaby.
Following the purchases, the victim said that they noticed their monthly bills were higher than what had been discussed with Barnaby.
The customer told police that they also spoke with AT&T, who told them that Barnaby was part of an internal investigation for similar incidents with other customers.
The company told the victim that Barnaby added and removed protection plans and features on other customers' accounts between Nov. 2021 and Jan. 2022.
The victim said that AT&T told them that 30 different customers were impacted.
A former co-worker of Barnaby’s told police that Barnaby would access customer accounts without authorization and add lines to generate commission-based profit.
The coworker also said Barnaby would keep trade-in devices to resell them online.
AT&T internal records showed that Barnaby was fired from the Stafford Springs location in July 2022, but she was rehired at another AT&T store where she allegedly continued to manipulate customers’ accounts.
The company’s commission payment records for December 2021 to July 2022 showed that Barnaby received $1,150.
Barnaby eventually resigned, according to state police.
An arrest warrant was approved on Friday, and Barnaby was arrested Sunday.
She faced a judge on Monday, who set her bond at $25,000.
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