![]() You must be vigilant and know that these types of calls happen.Īlways err on the side of caution. Scammers are using new tactics every day to trick people into revealing personal information. It won’t prevent spam calls but adds your name to a “do not call” list for sales and marketing calls, so it will help cut down on those types of calls. If you haven’t already added your phone number to the National Do Not Call Registry, do it. Visit the FCC’s complaint center page here to file a complaint. To quote the agency website, “By filing a consumer complaint and telling your story, you contribute to federal enforcement and consumer protection efforts on a national scale and help us identify trends and track the issues that matter most.” You can report spam calls to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). If you’re expecting a call from your doctor or someone with whom you do business, unless their numbers are in your contact list, those calls will be blocked. This can be a useful feature, but it’s not a perfect solution. This allows you to block all calls from numbers that are not on your contact list. Many cell phones have what’s known as a “whitelisting” tool. Most providers now use some sort of spam identification utility that alerts you when a call is likely spam. You can also contact your cell service provider to find out what tools it offers to block or warn you of spam calls. Both iPhones and Android phones have options to do that. When you receive a spoof call, block the number. Scammers have called people and told them that their child or grandchild has been arrested and they need to provide bail money immediately. This is always a scam!Īnother tactic these crooks use is making something sound like an emergency so that you will respond immediately. The caller might tell you to pay using a gift card, prepaid debit card or cash reload card, or by wiring money or using a money transfer app. Never provide payment information of any kind. You might get a call from someone telling you that you’ve won some type of prize, but to receive it, you must pay some money in advance. You should always consider this type of call to be a scam, and hang up immediately without answering any questions or providing any information. They’ll threaten you with arrest or tell you that you must provide payment or information to avoid legal action. Some scammers claim to be law officers or workers with a government agency. When you press a number, you’ve just confirmed that your phone number is active. If the call is a recording, and it tells you to press a number to opt out of future calls or to be connected with a representative, do not press any number. If you do answer the call, do not respond to any questions - not even with a “yes” or “no” response. If you suspect the call is from a business you deal with, you can call the company back using a number you know to be legitimate. If the call is legitimate, the caller will leave you a message or call back. Instead, allow the call to go to voice mail. The best way to protect yourself is to not answer any calls from phone numbers you don’t know. What You Should Do When You Receive These Types of Calls Do Not Answer That gives the scammers a chance to talk you out of your private information, such as credit or debit card numbers or even your Social Security number, to use it for malicious purposes. The intention in both cases is to get you to answer the phone. The scammers hope that you’ll be curious enough to answer the call. Reflection spoofing is when the caller’s number appears to be the same as your own, a “reflection” of your number. The intention here is to make you think the call is local, coming from a “neighbor,” so that you’ll be more likely to answer the call. Neighbor spoofing is a call from a number that appears to be close to your own, often the same area code and first three digits of your phone number. There are a couple of different kinds: “neighbor” spoofing and “reflection” spoofing. It is called “ spoofing,” and the caller is using a fake phone number. How does that happen? Why Some Spam Phone Numbers Are So Similar to Your Own Number Have you ever gotten a phone call and noticed that the caller ID displays a phone number that is very similar to your own number - or is even the same as your phone number?
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