Your phone rings. You recognize the number, but when you pick up, it’s someone else. What’s the deal?
Scammers are using fake caller ID information to trick you into thinking they are someone local, someone you trust – like a government agency or police department, or a company you do business with – like your bank or cable provider. The practice is called caller ID spoofing, and scammers don’t care whose phone number they use. One scammer recently used the phone number of an FTC employee.
Don’t rely on caller ID to verify who’s calling. It can be nearly impossible to tell whether the caller ID information is real. Here are a few tips for handling these calls:
- If you get a strange call from the government, hang up. If you want to check it out, visit the official (.gov) website for contact information. Government employees won’t call out of the blue to demand money or account information.
- Don’t give out — or confirm — your personal or financial information to someone who calls.
- Don’t wire money or send money using a reloadable card. In fact, never pay someone who calls out of the blue, even if the name or number on the caller ID looks legit.
- Feeling pressured to act immediately? Hang up. That’s a sure sign of a scam.
Want more tips for avoiding scams? Check out 10 Ways to Avoid Fraud.
If you’ve received a call from a scammer, with or without fake caller ID information, report it to the FTC and the FCC.
It is your choice whether to submit a comment. If you do, you must create a user name, or we will not post your comment. The Federal Trade Commission Act authorizes this information collection for purposes of managing online comments. Comments and user names are part of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) public records system, and user names also are part of the FTC’s computer user records system. We may routinely use these records as described in the FTC’s Privacy Act system notices. For more information on how the FTC handles information that we collect, please read our privacy policy.
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.
We don't edit comments to remove objectionable content, so please ensure that your comment contains none of the above. The comments posted on this blog become part of the public domain. To protect your privacy and the privacy of other people, please do not include personal information. Opinions in comments that appear in this blog belong to the individuals who expressed them. They do not belong to or represent views of the Federal Trade Commission.
In reply to This is illegal. Slavery is by mmsoroko
In reply to My own approach for avoiding by B Smart
In reply to this also works for me, and by benjimino09
In reply to My own approach for avoiding by B Smart
In reply to I too use this technique. It by Older but not …
In reply to I had an individual call me by Flowerpower
A scammer might have used your number to hide the number he was calling from. You may want to use your answering machine for a while until you stop getting mistaken calls.
05/4/2016 at 11:34 am.
I don't know who did send me how get my name and address, text message letter I am deaf, my legal name is Kharidja
Check by Person name Rich L. From West Nyack, New York send me check$ 114.00. Id Code 90092446 phone number 888-831-5723 I have all check from New York and I will mail and how know my name. By spam only and my bank did warning to me about Scam. I live at Redwood Dr NC home number 336-xxx xxxx and cell text number 336-xxx xxxx I never give peoples over it my private but I against Tech support doing it. thank you
In reply to 05/4/2016 at 11:34 am. I don by Kharidja
In reply to 05/4/2016 at 11:34 am. I don by Kharidja
In reply to the telecom companies know by Sacramento Ron
In reply to I totally agree, I have by frustration
In reply to the telecom companies know by Sacramento Ron
In reply to the telecom companies know by Sacramento Ron
In reply to the telecom companies know by Sacramento Ron
In reply to Received a scam call this by bewildered
I just began to get your alert emails about a week ago, and I find them very informative. I won't fall for another scammer's plan for me. Thank you for being available for me. Your alerts are valuable to me.
In reply to I'm a senior citizen who is by Taking Action
In reply to I agree the FTC should be by RATTERRIER LOVER
In reply to I'm a senior citizen who is by Taking Action
In reply to Not more than 10 minutes ago by Countrified Ci…
In reply to I have had a number of calls by TheyThinkImDumb
In reply to That happen to me someone by gabbys
If a company hasn't lived up to its promises about a product, you can file a complaint with the FTC at FTC.gov/complaint.
You can report international scams at econsumer.gov. That's a partnership of 36 consumer protection agencies around the world.
When you file a complaint with the FTC or econsumer.gov, the details you give go into a database that law enforcement uses for investigations.
In reply to Unwanted emails are sent to by Don't use your…
The phone number (1-877-382-4357) is the FTC's consumer response center.
I am a retired Telco employee; ATT,GTE & Verizon. I have stated this before: Every telephone number,or real is registered in a Telco. The Billing Dept. Bills the true number. CLID has nothing to do with billing. The TELCO simply does not want to go after the companies who are harassing the end user: You and me!Their rational is money from the perpetrators as well as we the victims! FTC is aware of that and yet they keep telling us how to avoid being scammed. I wonder why they don't do something significant ie, file a law suit or have a Congressional hearing!
In reply to I am a retired Telco employee by joerobsr
In reply to I have had my phone number by Hv
just wondering why on this site there are numbers 'the people' are giving out of these scammers and the fcc does not set a sting operation. some of these numbers are still in operation, i know this because i keep calling these clowns asking where do they want me to take the money-click is all i get-lol
Pagination