Here at the FTC, we think about scams all day long. What are the scammers’ new angles? How can we keep ahead of them? We hear from people about the scams they see, and we turn that into tips people use to spot and avoid scams.
But scammers find FTC staff, just as they find the rest of America. My colleagues and I have even gotten calls on our work phones, offering reduced credit card interest rates, or claiming to be tech support calling about problems with our computers. We also get the calls at home. In fact, someone claiming to work for the IRS called my house just last week:
This has all the signs of an IRS imposter scam. In fact, the IRS won’t call out of the blue to ask for payment, won’t demand a specific form of payment, and won’t leave a message threatening to sue you if you don’t pay right away. Have you gotten a bogus IRS call like this? If you did, report the call to the FTC and to TIGTA – include the phone number it came from, along with any details you have.
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The purpose of this blog and its comments section is to inform readers about Federal Trade Commission activity, and share information to help them avoid, report, and recover from fraud, scams, and bad business practices. Your thoughts, ideas, and concerns are welcome, and we encourage comments. But keep in mind, this is a moderated blog. We review all comments before they are posted, and we won’t post comments that don’t comply with our commenting policy. We expect commenters to treat each other and the blog writers with respect.
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In reply to Why aren't US laws more by erik1112
I received a call from someone who said that they were representing Microsoft Corporation. He said that his name was Alex, and his employee number is 53732. He said that my computer had a virus and that I have to follow his instructions in order to correct the problem. He was instructing me to press certain keys on my keyboard. When I resisted, he attempted to verify that he was legitimate by reciting my full name, address, phone number, and email address. He became very agitated as I continued to resist his instructions by stating that he could be anyone from anywhere, and that I had no intentions of following his instructions. What was really odd is that my computer began acting strange and was running extremely slowly the night prior to this call. I even received a pop-up screen stating that my computer had a virus and that I must press the button on the screen immediately. I ignored this warning, and thought that it was a phishing scam. I do not have the original phone number that was utilized to make the call. But I did tell him that I want the name and phone number of his supervisor so that I could call back and verify his information.
The information he gave me is: His name is Alex from Microsoft. His employee number is 53732. His Supervisor's name is David Johnson. His Supervisor's phone number is 631-661-6674. I am not sure, but I believe that this phone number is the same one that the phone call originated from.
In reply to I received a call from by mosaic
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In reply to I submitted an online report by Prutessa
As you finish filing a complaint at ftc.gov/complaint, you should see a reference number that verifies your submission, and some information on what you can do to resolve your issue. If you provide your email address, you should also get a confirmation email.
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When you get illegal sales calls or robocalls, it's best to ignore them. Don't interact in any way. Don’t press buttons to be taken off the call list, don't talk to a live person and don't call back. That just leads to more calls. These are useful details for a complaint. Please report your experience at ftc.gov/complaint.
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