KING TV News recently broadcast a series on robocalls. It gives an insight into how robocall scammers work and some of the current limitations on stopping them.
Robocalls are those annoying calls that you receive
that may offer a product or service that is too good to be true. Scammers often
use robocalling techniques to make offers for fake goods/services as in the
tech support scam or to frighten you into giving your personal information or to
pay them with gift cards that cannot be traced as in the grandparent scam or warrant
scam.
Robocalling uses computer technology to dialing
thousands of phone numbers a day in hopes that just a few people will answer
and stay on the line long enough to be convinced to give over their personal
information or money.
The scammers who use robocalling techniques are
difficult to stop for several reasons. Part of it is that they can easily set
up operations anywhere. Journalists in the KING-TV series cited two robocalling
rings, one in Costa Rica the other in Florida. And scammers can operate anywhere
in the world. Russia, Eastern Europe, the Philippines, India, Nigeria, and yes
here in the U.S. you name it, there probably is a scamming ring in the country.
So, if U.S. law enforcement wanted to take a scammer to court, they would have
to work with law enforcement in other countries who might not want to make
scamming a priority. Federal law enforcement officials have gone overseas to
try to suppress scammers, but it takes time and patience to work with another
country’s law enforcement agencies. A good example of a bust outside of the
U.S. was the joint U.S. and India bust of scammers in India posing as IRS
agents to Americans a few years ago.
But even for those scammers in our country, getting
them to stop can be only a temporary thing. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regularly
takes scammers to court. But the FTC can only make civil charges which the
court may levy a stiff fine. For some scammers, they pay the fine, promise not
to do it again, then set up shop in another city. For scammers who the FTC
thinks could be charged criminally, the FTC refers those cases to other federal
agencies such as the FBI or Secret Service.
One way the FTC and other law enforcement agencies and
other organizations have been trying to reduce the negative impact that
scammers have had is to educate the public about simple steps they can take to avoid
becoming victimized by scammers.
Some things you can do to avoid being scammed by a
robocall are,
· Don’t trust your Caller ID. Robocallers
can “spoof” any number to make you think they are calling from a legitimate
agency or organization.
· Hang up on robocalls. The FCC suggests
that you do not answer phone calls from phone numbers that you do not
recognize. But if you do answer, and you hear a recorded or live voice trying
to scare you into action or starting a pitch for a product or service too good
to be true, hang up.
· Use call blocking. There are a few ways
that you can block calls from suspicious phone numbers. Register you phone
number with the Do Not Call List ( https://www.donotcall.gov/).
Yes, scammers do not pay attention to this list, but if one of them calls you,
you can complain to the FTC who can use that information in its investigations.
If you receive a scam phone call on your cell phone, block that number. Use a
call blocking service such as Nomorobo (https://www.nomorobo.com/)
or a call blocking app or the call blocking service provided by your telephone
provider.
·
If you receive a scam phone call report it
to the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/?pid=B.
For more information about robocalls check out the
following resources,
King TV News:
https://www.king5.com/robocalls
Federal Trade Commission:
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2021/05/unwanted-calls-just-block-em-and-report-em
AARP:
https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2019/robocalls.html?intcmp=AE-FWN-LIB3-POS14
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