Greg's Corner

Tagged: robocalls Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

• 

  Geebo 8:00 am on June 23, 2023 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: bank fraud ( 23 ), bank scam ( 70 ), impersonation scam ( 146 ), robocalls, Scams ( 1,366 )   

  Like we need another bank scam 

  

  By Greg Collier

  We’re pretty sure it goes without saying that bank customers are one of the largest targets of scammers. If we’re not being assailed by text messages telling us to protect hacked accounts through Zelle, our debit card information is being stolen through skimmers, or people are trying to get us to deposit phony checks. Now, bank scammers are pulling an old scheme which seems almost antiquated by today’s standards.

  According to a report out of Florida, several residents have received robocalls from scammers posing as banks. And we say banks, we mean a few different banks. At one point, a potential victim could receive a robocall that says it’s from Bank of America, while getting one shortly later that says they’re from Wells Fargo. However, both robocalls say the same thing.

  The robocalls will tell you a purchase you made with your debit card has been declined, and your card has been blocked. The message also provides a customer service number for the recipient to call. The customer service number leads to a scam call center, where the scammers will attempt to obtain not only your financial information but, possibly, your money as well.

  If you were to get one of these robocalls, and it says it’s from Bank of America, and you actually bank at Bank of America, that’s a coincidence. That also goes for most of the major banks. Scammers will set out the widest net possible in order to catch as many potential victims as they can.

  If you receive one of these robocalls, do not call the number they leave. Instead, call your bank’s customer service number from the back of your debit card. If you were to call the scammers’ number, they would only need a little bit of information or a touch of misdirection before they could empty your account and disappear into the wind.

   

  Leave a ReplyCancel reply
• 

  Geebo 8:00 am on October 1, 2021 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Android ( 8 ), apps ( 15 ), gift cards ( 101 ), Google Play Store ( 2 ), identity theft ( 107 ), robocalls, Scams ( 1,366 ), subscription fees ( 5 ), voice cloning ( 24 )   

  Scam Round Up: Android Apps, Recorded Calls, and more 

  

  By Greg Collier

  Today, we’re closing out the week with another trio of scams that you may not normally come across in your daily life.

  ***

  Internet security experts are reporting about a wave of apps from the Google Play Store that have scammed Android users. The apps vary from photo editing to astrology, but their real purpose is to add charges to your phone bill. The apps tell users that they’ve won some form of free gift. All the user needs to do is enter their phone number into the app. However, instead of receiving a gift, the app signs users up to a monthly subscription fee of $42 a month that’s added to the user’s monthly phone bills. For some users, that’s more than double their monthly phone bill. Even though there’s an app in the Play Store, that doesn’t make it automatically secure. Always checks the permissions the app is asking for and avoid giving the app makers any more personal information than they need.

  ***

  Robocalls have been a scourge plaguing humanity for a few years now. It’s safe to assume that most of us have received a call asking us about our car’s warranty, even if some of us don’t own cars. However, some of these spam robocalls are more sinister than they appear. According to security experts, your only response to these calls should be to hang up. The last thing you want to do is say anything on these calls. The call will ask you if you want to stop these calls, just say yes. If you say yes, scammers can record your voice and use it to authorize a fraudulent purchase on your credit card. It also shows that there is someone at your phone number, which could result in you being targeted for more scam calls. While some people like to engage scammers, it’s a better strategy to just hang up.

  ***

  And of course, we can’t talk about scams without usually talking about gift cards in some form or fashion. A couple in North Carolina randomly received a gift card in the mail that was supposedly worth $400. The couple contacted their local news channel to see if this was a scam and of course, it was. How the scam works is the letter will contain a web link you need to go to in order to activate the card. Once you go to the link, you’re asked to input personal information such as your name, date of birth, and social security number. If you do this, your identity is almost immediately stolen. Please keep in mind that gift cards are the currency of scammers and should only be used for their intended purpose.

  ***

  Thank you for reading, and have a great and safe weekend.

   
• 

  Geebo 8:00 am on April 2, 2021 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Amazon ( 108 ), customer service ( 50 ), customer support ( 23 ), false order ( 2 ), robocalls, Scams ( 1,366 )   

  Amazon robocall scam on the rise 

  

  By Greg Collier

  Not too long ago, we posted about an email phishing scam where the scammers posed as online retailer Amazon. Essentially, the victim received an email that said someone had made a large purchase on their Amazon account. When they called the phony customer service number included in the email they were told to buy thousands of dollars in gift cards to cancel the order. This scam seems to have returned with a vengeance across the county except this time in the form of robocalls.

  Robocalls are those automated spam calls that many of use keep receiving. It’s become an almost unavoidable everyday occurrence. Robocalls are illegal in the United States, but scammers rarely ever care about the law. This is why you still receive these calls even after being added to the national do not call list.

  Many reports are coming in from all over the country where consumers say they’ve been receiving robocalls purporting to be from Amazon. It’s an automated voice message that wants to confirm a high-dollar purchase that you supposedly made on Amazon. The message then provides a number to a phony customer service number which most certainly is not to Amazon. Other robocalls of this sort will ask you to press 1 to be transferred to someone who again, most likely does not work for Amazon.

  As we previously advised, if you receive one of these calls, do not call the number provided or press whatever number the call suggests to talk to someone. Instead, log into your Amazon account to make sure that no order of that type has been made to your account. If it has, you can dispute the order with Amazon right on their platform. We also recommend routinely changing your Amazon password if you receive one of these scam calls or emails.

   
• 

  Geebo 8:00 am on October 23, 2020 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Election ( 21 ), identity theft ( 107 ), robocalls, Scams ( 1,366 )   

  Campaign robocalls could be identity thieves 

  

  Robocalls are normally illegal in the United States. The exceptions to that law are that charities asking for donations and political campaigns. It’s the latter that we’re concerned about today.

  With the 2020 presidential election being so close and so heated, scammers have been using the guise of campaign robocalls to try and steal your financial and personal information.

  The Better Business Bureau is warning consumers that scammers are using robocalls that sound like legitimate campaign calls. Some of these calls Re even said to have used recordings that sound almost identical to the voices of major political candidates. The recorded message asks you to donate money to their campaign. If you stay on the line you’ll be transferred to an operator who will take your information.

  However, instead of your money going to your candidate of choice, the scammers will take your money and potentially use your personal information for identity theft.

  The BBB says that political campaigns will rarely use robocalls to solicit donations. The campaigns mostly use them to ask you to vote for their candidate. If you receive one of these robocalls claiming to be from a politician asking for donations, it’s more than likely a scam according to the BBB.

  It’s recommended that you hang up if immediately if you receive one of these calls. The call may ask you to press a number to remove your number from their list. Since these are scam calls, pressing 1 will do the exact opposite. It will let the scammers know that your number is an active one and they could try calling you with another scam in the future.

  While it’s a good idea to always sign up for the National Do Not Call Registry, please keep in mind that scammers do not abide by the Do Not Call list.

   
• 

  Geebo 8:59 am on February 26, 2020 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Election ( 21 ), robocalls, Scams ( 1,366 )   

  Robocallers are posing as campaigns to trick you 

  

  With the primary elections in full gear, you might receive phone calls from various candidates running for office. Whether it’s a local, state, or national election many politicians will be looking for your vote or possibly a donation to their campaign. Many of these calls may be automated and may even have the candidate themselves delivering a recorded message. As you can probably guess, not all of these calls are legitimate. Scammers are said to be posing as various political campaigns in order to take your money or your personal information.

  The scammers are using robocalls while posing as various campaigns or causes. They’ll have automated messages that may even use recordings of the actual candidates. They’ll then try soliciting you for money in the guise of supporting a candidate. Instead, the money is going to scammers and they may ask not only for your financial information but your personal information for possible identity theft. They’ll also try to use high-pressure tactics to get you to ‘donate’.

  [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wk8UvO_s1LA%5D

  The Better Business Bureau suggests signing up for the National Do Not Call Registry to cut down on the number of robocalls you receive. However, not only are political campaign calls exempt from the Do Not Call List, but scammers don’t abide by the list as it is. The best ways to handle these calls are to either let the call go to voicemail if you don’t recognize the number or hang up immediately if it’s a robocall. If you feel passionate about a certain candidate or cause, the best way to support them is directly through their websites. A quick web search should be able to get you to the official website of the candidate you’d like to support.

   
• 

  Geebo 8:00 am on June 19, 2019 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Boston ( 3 ), healthcare ( 39 ), robocalls, Tufts Medical Center   

  Robocalls could be a health hazard! 

  

  Yesterday, we talked about how robocalls have become such a nuisance in our day to day lives and what the government is doing to try to stop them. Normally, we wouldn’t be talking about them again so soon as we like to give our readers some variety. However, news recently came out about how robocalls could potentially put lives in danger. As we previously stated, many people have taken to ignoring most phone calls if they don’t recognize the number. But what if you weren’t able to ignore any incoming calls? That’s exactly what happened to one prominent hospital last year.

  On April 30th of 2018, Tufts Medical Center in Boston received an onslaught of robocalls to their facility. The hospital received thousands of robocalls that tied up their phone lines for hours. The calls were in Mandarin Chinese threatening deportation if the person receiving the call did not divulge their personal information. This is a common scam perpetrated on new residents of our country and Tufts happens to be in Boston’s Chinatown. As you’ve probably guessed, facilities like Tufts can’t exactly take their phones off the hook or let them go unanswered. To do so would be putting their patients’ lives in jeopardy. Now imagine a busy hospital where not only do the staff have to treat patients but also have to deal with constantly ringing phones that are nothing but scam calls.

  [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKKGDwmsYN8%5D

  While there has yet to be any evidence that these robocalls to hospitals have impacted anyone’s treatment negatively, they definitely have the potential to cause enough chaos to do so. If a large hospital was responding to a major disaster and came under attack from one of these robocall outbreaks it could seriously hamper their efforts to treat gravely injured patients.

  Unfortunately, most of these robocalls come from overseas where it would be hard to track and prosecute the perpetrators. Hopefully, the government and the phone carriers can come up with a plan to put an end to robocalls once and for all before they become dangerous.

   
• 

  Geebo 8:00 am on June 18, 2019 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: FCC ( 29 ), robocalls, SHAKEN/STIR   

  Are robocalls about to become defunct? 

  

  In the past, we’ve been somewhat critical of the Federal Communications Commission for the way the FCC has handled net neutrality in the United States. However, it seems that the FCC has taken steps to put a stop to one of today’s greatest nuisances, robocalls. These are the calls that often appear to be a local call making you think that it might be someone you know. Except when you answer the call it’s either some sales pitch or phone scam. It’s gotten to the point where many people won’t even answer their phone if they don’t recognize the number.

  Earlier this month, the FCC passed a provision that would require the major wireless providers to implement a new technology designed to stop robocalls. The carriers have until 2020 to implement the technology known as SHAKEN/STIR. You can read more about SHAKEN/STIR at this link. In essence, SHAKEN/STIR is said to be able to determine if the number calling you is coming from the phone number that shows up on your phone’s screen.

  [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTyfBYY3IfI%5D

  In the meantime, there’s plenty you can do to block robocalls before SHAKEN/STIR is implemented. Many carriers have services or apps that can go a long way in blocking robocalls. Some of these services also let you report any potential robocall numbers to your carrier. Many of the services are free but some require an additional monthly fee. Speaking of fee, it’s not known yet the cost that the implementation of SHAKEN/STIR will cost the carriers and how much of that will be passed on to the consumer. While the potential end of robocalls sounds great it could result in an even heftier phone bill.

   
• 

  Geebo 9:02 am on June 2, 2017 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: FCC ( 29 ), robocalls, telemarketers   

  FCC could allow telemarketers to go straight to your voicemail 

  

  We’ve all gotten that call. We see a number we don’t recognize, but we answer the call anyway. There’s a longer than usual pause after you say hello before you hear a vaguely robotic voice attempting to offer you some unsolicited deal. If certain businesses and politicians have their way, we could all be avoiding those calls, but not necessarily in a better way. Telemarketers and the RNC are asking the FCC to allow their calls to bypass ringing your phone and let them go straight to your voicemail.

  The companies behind these annoying robocalls claim that allowing their calls to go to voicemail does not violate the 1991 Telephone Consumer Protection Act since the phone doesn’t actually ring. The RNC is in favor of this because they say not allowing this could affect political outreach campaigns. When telemarketers and politicians agree on something we should all be a little concerned. The FCC says the complaints they receive most are due to robocalls, but considering they ruled on the side of big business with the proposed repeal of net neutrality regulations it seems like they could actually agree to this practice.

  What do you think? Do you think this is a worse better or worse option than actually taking the call? Are you worried about your voicemail being flooded with telemarketing messages or do you look at it as a way of avoiding talking to them altogether?