RSS Feed |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
ALERT: Caller ID fraud You know that secure feeling you get when caller ID lets you know who is calling? Forget it! Phone customers can no longer rely on their caller ID to accurately tell them who is calling because of a new technology called "caller ID spoofing." That means you can no longer depend on caller ID on your phone to alert you to telemarketing fraud. Caller ID spoofing has emerged over the past six months as a tool for identity thieves and other scam artists. Caller ID spoofing enables them to pose as banks or other trusted authorities and drain accounts. When you receive a call from someone claiming to be from a well-known bank, sweepstakes company, charitable organization, etc. and then see that company's name on the caller ID display, you can no longer assume that the call is legitimate. The public is being urged to exercise extreme caution when telemarketers ask for personal or financial information, even if the caller ID display suggests that the call is legitimate. To help ensure that you don't get hooked by a telemarketing scam, the Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs suggests taking the following precautions: • Deal only with well-known companies. • Refrain from giving out personal or financial information to a telemarketer unless you are sure he is legitimate and that he truly requires the information being requested. • Ask telemarketers to mail you the information. • Never pay taxes, fees or other money up-front to claim a prize, get a credit card or loan, or to have your credit "repaired". • Hang up and call the company back using a number you've obtained from directory assistance, your personal records/ statements or the company's main website.
For more information, contact Bill Cloud in the Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs at 404- 656-3790.
|
for larger version       |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
