Phone scams How to avoid being scammed
Every year millions of dollars are lost to phone scams. Some of the loss comes from businesses that get ripped off, but a huge amount of that money is stolen from us—people working for a living or living on what we managed to save while working. In this post I’ll show you how to detect a phone scam and what to do to avoid being ripped off. I’ll include a list of the most common rip-offs, who to notify, and how to report any attempts to scam you.
What is a phone scam
A phone scam is a dishonest scheme designed to defraud. Scammers employ telecommunications (in other words, your phone) as part of the process to deceive you. Whether it’s on your landline or cellphone, someone will call you and try to trick or bully you into directly giving them money, or information they can be use to access your financial accounts and steal from you.
Regardless of what you’re told during the call, the sole purpose of a phone scam is to separate you from your money. The scammer may convince you that you need to make payment to them. They could attempt to sell you something that has no value or will never be delivered. Sometimes, they’ll collect your personal information, often saying they need confirmation of account numbers or your social security number; they’ll hack your accounts later.
Be aware, there are a lot of dishonest people using many fraudulent schemes with the intent of making your money their own.
How to detect a phone scam
Anytime you received a phone call from someone you don’t know, be very careful what you say to them. Personally, if I don’t recognize the phone number, I don’t answer. I operate on the assumption that if it’s important the caller will leave a message. More often than not, even if they do leave message, it’s a recording, and only half the message is there. Their machine isn’t “smart” enough to wait for my machine to get ready to receive the message. I have a couple of thoughts on that: One, if they can’t leave a real message, they can’t really be too interested in me. The other thought sort of contradicts that one…Many people get a little curious when they only get part of a message. It can be tempting to use the number left in the call log on your phone and return the call—just to see what it was about. Usually, the number turns out to be a nonworking one. That in itself should be a heads up; there was something off about that call. If, on the other hand, someone picks up and it is some kind of scam (and it probably is), you’re like a half-hooked fish. You’ve shown some interest and a willingness to be engaged. You’ve done some of the scammer’s work for him.
Phone scammers frequently sound anxious or excited and in a hurry. Listen for that tone and rhythm. They hope to install in you a sense of urgency. Making an issue urgent is one of the ways scammers push you around. They don’t want to give you time to think. They want you to say “yes” and the sooner the better. In an earlier article I’ve discussed how you can protect your identity. Don’t let anyone push you into making a decision “right now.” Unless it’s a scam, every decision can and should wait until you’ve had some time to think things through.
Prove you aren’t scamming me
A number of phone scams involve sales of goods or services that many never be delivered or turn out to be of inferior quality. When you get unsolicited sales calls, you should have doubts about the authenticity of what they’re offering and proceed accordingly. If you use my rule of thumb and don’t answer in the first place, you don’t have anything to worry about. The problem is that many of these calls are about things we might actually be interested in: a new roof: windows: driveways: extended warranties…and it seems this type of call comes when we’re likely to be receptive to the sales pitch.
When we’re in the market for sales and services, we really should do our own groundwork, asking friends and neighbors for the names of companies they’ve had good experience with, checking ads in the newspaper and on the internet, perhaps following up with inquiries at the Better Business Bureau. We should be the party that initiates a connection and the dialogue. But, as I just said, sometimes these calls come at “just the right time.” If you do answer a call—or return one—you need to take some precautions.
Precautions
Get the caller’s name and any other information needed to identify that person specifically. It’s amazing how many companies that do telephone sales seem to have quite a few sales reps with the same first name.
Ask for company’s website address. Most honest companies have websites that are well designed and don’t have spelling and grammar errors.
Look for contradictions on the website. It may state something on the first page, but on another page, there will be a contradictory statement. Also, you may find contradictions to information you were given in the sales talk.
On the website, take note of their contact information—phone number and street address. (Most businesses provide a way to contact the company.) Call them and learn what you can. Ask about the person who called you and their offer. Do one more thing: Check on the internet to see if there is another business with the same name. If there is contact them. It’s not unheard of for a fraudulent business to mimic a legitimate one.
Getting back to the sales pitch… Phone scammers will tell you anything to get what they want. That would be your money. Of course, legitimate businesses also want your money. The difference is what you get in exchange—value or a rip-off. Scammers will go to extremes to offer reassurances. In the next section, I’ve listed a number of catch phrases scammers use. When you hear them, they should raise a red flag. I’ll also give you an idea of what you should be thinking when you hear them.
Red flag catch phrases for phone scams
You have been selected. (I’ve been picked for a rip-off.)
If you buy our product, we will give you a free bonus. (You’re bribing me? Must be a worthless product.)
You won big money in a foreign lottery. All you have to do to claim it is put up (How much good faith cash?) (Nope! Not going to happen.)
This investment provides a higher return than anywhere else. (Only if I don’t check it out.)
You need to decide now. (No, I don’t.)
You can trust me. (Trust you? I don’t even know you.)
You don’t need to check us out. (This one’s a dead giveaway… What are you hiding?)
We’ll just put the shipping charges on your credit card. (And what other charges will I find? If I can pay for this thing on line, surely, I can pay the shipping that way too.)
If you hear these words or similar ones, you are probably talking to a scammer. You should get off the phone immediately.
Common phone scams
As you can probably guess there are so many phone scams that it’s impossible to keep track of all of them, but I’ll list some of the most common ones.
Can you hear me
“Can you hear me?” If you’ve answered a call from a number you don’t recognize and hear this question, hang up. Whatever you do don’t give an affirmative answer. It’s quite possible the caller is a scammer who wants you to say “Yes”. If you say it, they can dub your “Yes” into a recording of any conversation about products or services that follows. They’ll make it seem like you agreed to buy what they offered (and you may actually receive something). If you dispute the purchase, you’ll get nowhere; payment will be demanded. Eventually, they may file suit for nonpayment and will try to use the recording as evidence that you agreed to the transaction. There are times they’ve been successful. Regardless, it will cost you to defend yourself.
This is the I.R.S.
The good news is the IRS will never call you and demand payment. Furthermore, they won’t send you to Walmart to get a money order or gift card to cover the amount they say you owe. They will not call to ask for identification verification, nor will they threaten to dispatch the police to arrest you if you refuse to comply. A scammer, however, pretending to represent the IRS, will do all those things.
If someone calls and tells you they’re from the IRS, they’re lying to you. The IRS initiates communications with a letter. The fear the phone scammer puts in you with threats makes this phone scam an easy phone scam to fall for.
Bank calls
There are times when your bank will call you. They may legitimately be investigating a suspicious activity on your credit card or in checking/savings accounts. Unfortunately, the call could also be from a phone scam trying to get information that will allow access to your accounts.
A scammer can sound just as professional as a bank employee. If you receive a call asking about account numbers, transactions, your social security number or other personal information, don’t give it out. Instead, get their name and the office/branch where they work. Then, hang up. Look up the bank on the internet and use that telephone number to conduct any business. Or, if you’re close and it’s convenient, you could go in; you can do business in person.
My Incident
Someone left a message on my phone to call my bank and left a number. I was advised there was an urgent incident with one of my accounts that needed to be resolved. No other information was given. That was bothersome… To find out what was going on, I used the number I normally use to contact my bank instead of the one left on my phone.
If I had acted on the gut-retching feeling that hit—had called the number that was left—when I started worrying that an account had been compromised, I would have been talking to a scammer. Who knows where things would have gone from there. The short story: The bank hadn’t called me: Phone scam averted.
One ring
Have you ever answered your phone, after just one ring, only to find that the caller had already hung up? There are several scams that use this technique. With one, if you return the call, they know they’ve reached a is a real person. They also know you will return calls to numbers you don’t recognize. This means you’ll probably answer questions. That’s what the scammers are looking for. Who knows how much information you’re will give up? They want someone who will give out personal information, so they can exploit it.
Phone number spoofing
As technology advances, people who engage in telecommunication fraud can now spoof their phone number. That means when you look at your caller ID you may see a familiar phone number. (Once, last year, my call log included a call from my own number; a message was left, too.) Now, you can’t trust your caller ID. (This makes it easier for more phone scams to be used.)
If you do a callback to the number they (supposedly) called you from, you could actually be calling a 900 number. If that’s the case, they’ll be charging you to talk to them. Guess what? They manage to keep most people on hold or answering random questions for quite a while. It can be very expensive.
Virtual kidnapping
What would you do if someone called you and said they had kidnapped one of your loved ones? They might not specify where they’re calling from, or they may claim to be holding that person in another country. This phone scam is very cruel.
It’s hard to keep control of your emotions, but you need to. The first thing you need to do is try to contact the supposed victim. If that doesn’t work, contact someone who’s likely to know where that person is, someone like a parent or boyfriend/ girlfriend. Even if you find your love one safe and sound, contact the appropriate authorities (the police),and report this phone scam. Under no circumstances take it upon yourself to deal with the so-called kidnapper. It’s a scam to get your money. (And in the unlikely event that that this is a real kidnapping, the police have a better chance at a favorable outcome than you do on your own.)
Note: In a common variation of this phone scam, someone calls saying they represent a foreign doctor, surgeon, or hospital, and they have admitted a relative of yours who is sick or injured and in need of emergency treatment or surgery. A third form of this phone scam says your relative has been arrested by police in a foreign country, but you could get him released by sending money. There are other—numerous—variations. Be aware, in any form this type of call is likely to be a scam. It’s a good idea to report them to the police.
Note: as you can see many of these phone scams have more than one variation.
Grandparents phone scam
What grandparent wouldn’t help one of their grandchildren out if they were in trouble? This is another variation of the kidnap scam. It’s successful for scammers because many families in the US are so scattered. Not everyone stays in touch frequently, so a grandparent might assume a caller is a relation, even though the voice doesn’t seem familiar. A sense of emergency can cloud perception. (Often, this scam is pulled late at night.) Also, as hard as it is to accept, sometimes an older person’s memory isn’t sharp, and they will just accept that they have a grandchild named you fill in the blank. As to how a scammer gets real information about someone’s family… Well, Americans tend to be very free with personal information on social media like FaceBook and when we make casual acquaintances in public.
If you receive a phone call from a loved one who seems to be in trouble, say they lost their wallet, got robbed, or have car trouble…go ahead and collect the pertinent information from the caller. Get a number you can reach them at, then tell them you’ll see what you can do (or something like you need to find your glasses or credit card before you can do anything else). Hang up with an assurance that you’ll call back soon.
Now, find a person that is close to that individual and verify their loved one’s location. Make sure they are really in need before you send money. And if it’s a scam, contact the police.
Your computer is running slow
There’s no one out there monitoring your computer for performance. Neither Microsoft nor Apple are going to call and tell you your computer is slow, or that it’s releasing personal information and dispensing it to the internet. This scam can go in several directions.
There’s a suite of programs on most computers that, if enabled, allow you to remotely access your computer from, practically, any other computer. If you allow them, other people can also get in. (pcAnywhere is a popular version of this function, but there are others.) Of course, there are security measures. Among other things, you have to give out a password. You can find instructions on the internet for turning on pcAnywhere or any of the others. You can be sure that if you don’t know how, scammers do.
Once scammers can “work on the problem” to which they, supposedly, alerted you, they can do a great deal of damage under the guise of giving assistance (for a price) in fixing it. If you allow them into your computer, they can download malware that will let them retrieve personal information now or later. If (more likely, when) you notice what’s happening, you won’t be able to track them down.
In another version of this scam, they’ll change some settings or download a virus. They’ll create a problem you will notice. After they’ve finished with the “fix”, they’ll tell you to give them a call if you need help again. In this version of the scam, they do respond to your call. Then, they’ll hold your computer hostage until you pay a significant ransom for them to really fix it.
In either of these cases, you’ll be out a lot of money. I’ve heard your credit card can be charged up to $90 an hour, and they’ll take hours to the so-called fix.
If someone calls you to tell you your computer is malfunctioning, hang up. If you notice a problem you can’t fix yourself, take your computer to a reputable repair shop in your area.
How to defend yourself against phone scams
You, personally, could be the target of a phone scam. But many of these scams work like a net. The scammers make a lot of calls; they throw out the net. Then, they go to work on whoever gets caught up in it. Regardless, you don’t have to fall for one. Here are some things to do to protect yourself.
- Never give out personal information on the phone, especially, if you were not the contacting party.
- If you don’t know for sure who you are talking to, assume they are trying to scam you. Give them no personal information. (In fact, you can just hang up.)
- If someone you don’t know leaves a message for you to call a number, don’t do it. Find an alternative number or at least check with the Better Business Bureau to insure they are legit.
- Don’t believe an unknown caller who gives you a scenario in which someone is ill, injured, in jail, or experiencing some other misfortune. If the caller claims a loved one is in the hospital or jail, and only quick money (and a lot of it!) can save him, ask the name of the doctor, hospital, or jail along with what country and city is involved. Check the information on the internet and find a good, safe number. Then, you can call the institution to verify the claim. After you understand the situation, you can take action, if necessary.
Note: Obviously, if you don’t talk, you won’t give a scammer any information that can be used to manipulate you. You can’t always know who is calling, but you can hang up at any time.
How to report phone scams
If you are a victim of a phone scam or fraudulent representation by phone (or text, or other electronic device), you should make an online report to the Federal Trade Commission. Find the category that best fits your complaint, and fill out all of the forms the best you can. The FTC investigate claims of fraud. They will take appropriate legal action, and they do manage to shut down many scammers. Unfortunately, it seems there are always more that come along. Also, unfortunately, the FTC doesn’t pursue recovery of your funds. That’s up to you to do through the courts and is difficult even if you win a suit against a scammer. (It’s always a case of “where is the money?”)
Conclusion
Phone scams are becoming all too common. Protect yourself and your money from scammers.