Consumer Alert
Hang up on unwanted calls about loans
People are reporting getting calls (and calls) (and more calls) about their supposed “loan application.” Only they hadn’t applied for a loan. So what’s going on?
When people don’t pick up, the callers leave messages saying the imaginary “loan application” is on hold because the business needs more information, so please call back. The calls seem urgent — and they’re persistent. People report getting calls in bursts of anywhere from five to even 20 a day, all from different numbers, all with the same story. But there never was a loan application. It’s a tactic that some dishonest companies are using to offer loans.
If you get a call like this:
- Don’t press a number to “unsubscribe.” That only lets the dishonest company know your number is good. Instead, just hang up.
- Use call blocking to stop calls before they reach you. Learn how at How to Block Unwanted Calls. For your mobile phone, find a list of call-blocking apps at ctia.org, a website for the U.S. wireless communications industry.
- Don’t give information to businesses you don’t know, even if they seem to know you. That could be a set up to get your personal information.
- Register your cell and home phone for free at the National Do Not Call Registry. Registration never expires and is designed to stop unwanted sales calls from companies that follow the law. But it doesn’t block calls and won’t stop calls from scammers — though the scam calls are a lot easier to spot if scammers are the main ones left calling to sell you something.
If you’ve gotten calls like these, report unwanted calls at DoNotCall.gov.
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I get these calls often but I block them and they still call
In reply to I get these calls often but… by Latanya M Sims
I do too. In addition to blocking them, I plan to report them to the federal trade commission site stated in the previous window.
What about unwanted emails on loans that is waiting for me to complete ( I know their are scam) I’ve had to inscribe and delete
The Do Not Call Registry is a joke, I’ve been registered for years and I make sure to add myself annually and the calls still get thru!
In reply to The Do Not Call Registry is… by Valerie Stanford
Your registration on the Do Not Call list never expires. You don't need to register annually.
The List is designed to stop unwanted sales calls from companies that follow the law. But it doesn’t block calls and won’t stop calls from scammers.
In reply to Your registration on the Do… by FTC Staff
I have call block thru my cell provider and I also pay for additional protection, problem is, the calls come thru and it will have a green check mark that the caller has been "verified". Verified as what? That they too have a cell phone and can make calls? I HAVE to answer my phone as I use it daily for work, it gets extremely old when over half my calls every day are scammers. I hang up and block immediately, but these scammers just call back using a different number. I don't think there is a way for us to overcome this, there is not a place to report the numbers that actually does anything.
In reply to The Do Not Call Registry is… by Valerie Stanford
Ya same here I'm getting so much spam calls emails and text i can't even count um they will change the number and call again and rinse and repeat rinse and repeat constantly
The National Do Not Call Registry only works if you report every number, every time that number calls you.
It's NOT automatic.
I pursued this kind of call on the Internet recently. It seems to be generated in Pakistan and is 'offering' Pakistanis loans to help build homes. The calls are always from the same number and in my area code. May get 3-5 a day. I don't respond. I just delete them. The call blocker on my landline doesn't delete them, but does report spam.
Thanks for the warnings you post.
GS
Thank you for this useful information!
Thank you for your service in this area
Great information given here.
I get emails and text messages about the same thing. I just report as spam because I know I don't have a student loan.
Get 35 calls a day for accident up 2 years, tell you haven't been in one, they go into not just car, personal like falling, NO STOP CALLING.
ALSO GET calls Medicare, what you could get.. They start at 6:15am-8pm
A lot times these caller are for the former person who had the cell phone number. I have a great idea when someone gets rid of a phone number why not put it in quarantine for a few months and set up some type of recording or text and have it say this person name no longer has this phone number and have an automatic response for text message. I have had my current cell phone for years and I get text messages and phone calls for the former owner of the cell phone number I have. I do not respond to them I report them to the FTC all the time, but you never hear back from the FTC.
In reply to A lot times these caller are… by Ed
When I bought my cell phone a few years ago. It was getting calls before I even left the store.
I have 2 call/text blocking apps on my phone, and I am one of those that receive several of them a day. They get blocked, sure, but they also leave messages that quickly fill up my quota of voicemails which Verizon would charge me more in order for me to receive voicemails that may be important. They spoof or have people calling from different area codes, but they all leave the same phone number to call. So, while I appreciate the notice about these calls, I would appreciate it more if someone would track down the number they leave and do something about it. If I miss a voicemail concerning my health, it could be catastrophic. And I am 73, and retired and don't need the added expense of "upgrading" my voicemail so I can get all of my messages. This has been going on for most of this year, and it is more than an annoyance.
I receive in excess of 10+ calls a day that I don’t answer. Block the caller & they call right back from a different phone number. Has happened everyday, almost all day for several weeks now. All of my numbers are on the Do Not Call registry but these scam callers don’t care about my numbers being on that list. A headache for sure when everything I’m doing isn’t working that this article says we should do.
get these calls very often and dont answer the number that i dont know also i get emails too and i just delete them along blocking the email address
My daughter received a letter from a credit card company asking her for a copy of her govt issued id to complete her “application “. We knew it was a scam as she has had the credit card for more than a year. They used authentic looking letter head and company logo.
the "Do Not Call" registry is a joke, don't waste your time.
Phone scammers mask their phone numbers. I hang up. Sometimes I call back and I get a "nonworking number" message. What good is reporting those phone numbers?
For months (years?) I have done your procedures recommend previously, to no avail. The calls keep on coming. The callers are 'spoofing' phone numbers and when you block them,
all that happens is blocking the fake phone number and not the base number. On voice messages, if you can suffer through their tedious spiel at the very end some sellers will give out their real number. That is the number to write down & block.
Don't answer any calls from numbers you don't recognize. There is a new danger here that I don't see being addressed. Scammers are now using AI to create scam messages using your own voice. When you engage with them, they can record your voice to use to fabricate just about any scenario that suits their purposes. Never say the word "yes", and better yet, do not speak to these people at all. A legitimate caller will leave you a message. Always contact a company directly, not from an alternate number left on a message. Do not feel obligated to answer unknown calls.
It's only continuing to get worse and worse and will not get any better until authorities hold the phone companies themselves at fault for continuing to let bogus companies use their phone lines. Drop a 100K fine on a phone company for allowing criminal enterprises to use their phone lines. and see how fast they stop.
He do not call list or totally worthless because it doesn't stop criminals from calling people on the Do Not Call list. Also, there's no enforcement for people violating the Do No Call list. The do not call list is like an apartment complex with a remote control gate. It gives the appearance of security but anybody can drive in right after somebody opens that gate.
In reply to It's only continuing to get… by Alvin St.Clair
The FTC takes aggressive legal action to make sure telemarketers abide by the Do Not Call Registry.
To date, the FTC has resolved 147 enforcement actions against companies and telemarketers for Do Not Call, robocall, spoofed call, and other violations. In those cases, the FTC recovered $178 million in civil penalties and $112 million in other payments.
Read about FTC enforcement of the Do Not Call Registry: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/topics/do-not-call-registry/enforcement.
In reply to The FTC takes aggressive… by FTC Staff
Great work!
We never had this problem as much using landline phones.