6 Ways to Avoid a Phone Scam

In 2017, spam phone calls pose a greater threat than just annoyance. An estimated 35% of phone calls you receive on your landline or cell phone are robocalls, which are autodialed or prerecorded telemarketing calls. And among those calls are a new type of phone scam:

A Federal Communications Commission news release warns, “The scam begins when a consumer answers a call and the person at the end of the line asks, ‘Can you hear me?’ The caller then records the consumer’s “Yes” response and obtains a voice signature. This signature can later be used by the scammers to pretend to be the consumer and authorize fraudulent charges via telephone.”

The scammers record your call from the moment you pick up the phone.

These callers may impersonate representatives from organizations that provide a service you’re familiar with, such as a mortgage lender or utility, to establish a legitimate reason for the call. Once you speak, they can use the recording your voice to authorize fraudulent activity.

A phone scam can also solicit personal information from you, leading to identity theft. A Microsoft robocall scam will tell you that your computer has a virus, then offers to fix it if you allow access to your computer. Another phone scam, claiming to be the IRS, demands that you pay “fines” by transferring funds onto a prepaid debit card. A jury duty scam requests to verify your Social Security number and date of birth.

If more than one third of the phone calls you receive are robocalls and spam calls, how can you protect yourself? Here are six precautions ReliaShield recommends:

1. Don’t answer calls from unknown numbers—even if they are from a familiar area code. Let them go to voicemail.
2. If a caller asks you to hit a button to stop receiving calls, just hang up. Scammers often use these tricks to identify, and then target (and re-target), live respondents. Once you have responded in any way, you’re sure to be targeted again!
3. If you receive a scam call, write down the number and file a complaint with the FCC so they can help identify and take appropriate action to help consumers targeted by illegal callers.
4. Find out if your phone service provider offers a robocall blocking service. If not, encourage them to offer one! You can also visit the FCC’s website for information and resources on available robocall blocking tools to help reduce unwanted calls.
5. Register all of your telephone numbers in the National Do Not Call Registry. This isn’t the end-all-be-all, because scammers often ignore this list. However, if they do target a number that’s on the list, it gives the FCC the right to come after them with legal action.
6. Have a reliable identity theft protection plan in place. ReliaShield’s protection services provide extra safeguards on the front end and all the support you need if you ever become a victim of identity theft.