In the past few days, Brazos Communications customers have reported they are receiving phone calls that display as a local 564 or 873 number…appearing genuine. When missed, various messages are left ranging from “there are no problems with your credit card number”, or “Do you know how much liability insurance coverage you have” to someone claiming to be the IRS. Those who have tried returning calls to the legit looking numbers are getting a recorded message that “this is no longer a working number” or when answered…the owner of the number has no knowledge of the call.
Unfortunately, scammers who use fake Caller ID information is nothing new, and it seems to becoming more widespread. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) scammers “use fake caller ID information to trick you into thinking they are someone local, someone you can trust.” Remember spoofing is always an attempt to trick you into giving out valuable information.
Here are a few tips for handling scammer phone calls:
- If you receive a strange call, hang up.
- Never give out or confirm your personal or financial information.
- Don’t send money…even if the name & number look real.
- If pressured to act immediately, hang up.
If you have received a call from a scammer, please report it to the FCC Consumer Complaint Center at https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us and the FTC Complaint Assistant at https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/