Phone Scams

For almost as long as the telephone has been around it has been used by fraudsters to scam the unwary in various ways.

In todays data based society, criminals make use of the phone to fraudulently obtain information that enables them to steal your identity or defraud you in some way.

Often, but by no means always, these phone scams involves credit card fraud.

The identity thieves may have no information about you at all, or they may know all the items of information they need but one. For example they may know all of your credit card details but not have your security code (CVV2/CVC2 )

The caller may say that he is with the bank's security department and give you his badge number. He will tell you he is concerned about a transaction that has appeared for your credit card and give you your genuine card number. He will then ask something like “ Have you used the card to make a purchased of $176.30 for a 'blue widget' from XYZ company within the last two days?

When you reply that you most certainly have not, he will assure you that his suspicions have been confirmed and the charge was fraudulent. The caller will tell you not to worry the bogus charge will be taken off your account before your next statement.

Always being suspicious will greatly help prevent you from becoming a victim of phone scams and telephone fraud.

You may feel a sense of relief and gratitude. You are pleased that your bank is on the ball and have saved you from a fraudulent charge.

The caller then says that he just needs to confirm that the card is in your possession and will you give him the security code.

He thanks you for your cooperation and says that if you have any further questions at any time you can call him at the bank.

He is a happy identity thief, he now has all the information he needs. Soon your account will have a real bogus charge against it.

Never give out any sensitive information over a phone call that you did not initiate, a bank or other financial institution will not request it. It is possible that your card provider will phone you to confirm a purchase was made, but they will not ask for PIN or security numbers.

If you are at all unsure whether a call is from the financial institution/company they claim to be, phone them back. But do not use any number they give you, get the number from the phone book or a statement.

Who wouldn't like free money? We all would and if that money came from the government that would make it even sweeter for many of us.

However the government is not at all likely to telephone you out of the blue and offer you free cash without any strings attached, no not likely at all.

Yet every day the unsuspecting are fleeced by phone scams claiming to offer free government grants.

You receive a call telling you that you are eligible to receive a grant from the government for replacement windows (or any one of a hundred other things.) It just may be that you are thinking of replacing your windows and have been making inquires. Somehow the scammers have obtained this information and are making use of it to target you.

You are told that the government has a fund that they use to issue grants for home improvements. All you are required to do is pay a small amount for handling and shipping and you will receive a CD, or information pamphlet, telling you how to claim your free grant.

You will get your card charged for the S+H, you will also likely find your card charged for ongoing monthly membership, these are frequently quite hefty charges. What you will not get is your free grant.

Government grant phone scams take many forms. Often the fraudsters do not know a thing about you. In this case the reasons they give for the grant are often ridiculous, some even claiming you are entitled to a grant because you pay your taxes!

Alongside any money the phone scammers con out of you for the bogus grant they may also manage to obtain sensitive personal information from you. They can go on to use this information to commit other identity theft.

The government is not in the habit of phoning people offering free money in the form of a grant. If you get one of these phone calls – it's a scam. Do not supply any personal information, do not part with any money. Report these phone scams to the FTC.

Jury duty phone scams have been around for some time and see a resurgence every now and then.

For almost as long as the telephone has been around it has been used by fraudsters to scam the unwary in various ways.

You receive a phone call seemingly from a court officer. He tells you that you failed to attend court for jury duty. He then tells you that an arrest warrant has been issued or is being issued.

You naturally protest that you have never received notification. The bogus court officer ask for personal information for verification to help clear the matter up. Information such as your social security number, date of birth, bank account information and even credit card details.

Can you smell identity theft? The twist with these types of phone scams is the element of fear. It can be frightening to be told that a warrant has been issued. The fear makes the victim drop their guard and give out their personal details in the hope of establishing their innocence, without thinking whether the call is genuine or not.

Court officers would not try to collect personal information over the phone, they generally contact members of the public by snail mail.

You've won! A big prize too! And you don't even remember entering the lottery.

All you have to do is pay an upfront fee to cover taxes, processing or whatever. The upfront fee is a tidy piece of change, but it seems small compared to hefty major cash prize you have won.

If you fall victim to this fraud, you can kiss that upfront fee goodbye and you will never see any major prize.

Sometimes the fraudsters don't tell you that you have definitely won, but that you have been identified as standing a one in five chance. But to stand any chance of your monster cash lottery winnings . . . you've got to pay $xxx, give them your credit card details etc.

If you don't remember entering a lottery, sweepstake, prize draw etc. - you didn't enter it.

Incidentally, buying foreign (cross-border ) lottery tickets by phone or mail is illegal in the U.S., a violation of Federal law.

Foreign lottery phone scams take many variations of the above. Think, is your luck ever going to be that good that you win a huge amount of cash in a lottery that you didn't even enter? It's a scam, don't be a victim.

Always being suspicious will greatly help prevent you from becoming a victim of phone scams and telephone fraud. Always be wary of unsolicited phone calls. Never divulge personal information, if the caller asks for it - hang up.

A phone survey? Remember that many so-called phone surveys are nothing more than phone scams. Telemarketing? Although some legitimate sales outfits do sell by unsolicited telephone calls, it could be a swindle.

Anyone can claim to be anyone, or represent any company, when on the telephone. Caller ID can be spoofed. Be suspicious, be safe.

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