Phone scams you should let anyone you know about who isn’t tech savvy or cybersecurity aware. For Example: Grand Parents, Parents, Co-Workers, almost anyone. Basically I’ve been the target of all these calls, and I pick them up randomly to see what the newest scam is. So basically don’t take the call. Nine times out of ten it’s a scam.
Top Phone Scams to Watch Out for:
- Apple Customer Service – calling about your Apple ID being compromised. Apple will not call you unless it is initiated by an iPhone owner.
- Amazon Customer Service – calling you about your account being compromised. Amazon won’t call you.
- Malicious Phone Number Spoofing – the caller ID of someone living in your town, but you don’t know the individual. Example: same area code, same three digit prefix, and finally the similar 4 digit line number which is the last four digits of your phone number.
- 800 Service – Someone calling from 1-800-Service. It’s a scam about a credit card you own supposedly and there is some problem.
- Sheriff Arrest – Received a call from the Midwest area saying I’m going to be arrested by the Sheriff between 3 and 5 today if I don’t return a call to 402-5937107. I called the number to see what was going on and knowing it was a scam. The individual that answered had a very thick accent which was very intelligible. They were looking for my Social Security number and other personal data which I would never give. Reported the incident to the FCC and they are investigating.
- Free Medical Alert System – The call is a computer generated call that asks you to press 1 if you are interested. Then you are routed to a call center where a foreigner answers and starts to ask questions to information they should have if they are a reputable company. The call is always from your local exchange number/prefix number and similar 4 digit line number. Example your phone number is 508-358-7802 the scammers use something like 508-358- 7920. Any reputable company will not hide their Caller ID.
- Federal Reserve Calling – It’s the Federal Reserve calling about suspicious activity on your bank account. Trust me the Federal Reserve will not call a consumer about anything to do with your bank account or credit card.
How to protect yourself and others:
- Register on the FCC’s Do Not Call List
- Report incidents to the FCC. In the case of #5 the Caller ID was not masked so fill out a form on the FCC Website with any information you have. https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us/articles/360001201223
- Search for Nomorobo on the Apple App Store for IPhone or Google Play for Android. The Cell Phone service cost $1.99/month. The VOIP Landline Service is Free.
- Block numbers in your cell phone incoming call list that you do not recognize.
#Scammers #Cybersecurityawareness #Socialengineering #phonescam #Cellphonescam
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