Avoiding Phone Scams
Most people are used to giving out their phone number in person and online. Unfortunately, phone numbers have become one of the riskiest and potentially harmful pieces of personally identifiable information (PII) that you can give out. In fact, many experts claim that a cell phone number identifies an individual more strongly and readily than their full name. This is because people tend to be more attached to and engaged with their personal cell phones above all else.
Any access to a person’s phone number opens their risk of becoming victim to phone scams and fraud. Telephone scams have become so elaborate that the individual monetary loss due to such fraud is three times that of other scam types. With the technological power of autodialing and robocalls, phone scammers are able to reach ever-widening populations. Therefore, it’s essential to understand phone scams, current scheme trends, and the risks of providing phone numbers as identifiable information.
What Exactly Are Phone Scams?
Phone scams are a form of communications fraud with the intent to steal money or personal information. Telephone scammers use actual people, robocall messages, or text messaging to contact potential victims.
Such calls or messages may offer false opportunities to invest money, purchase products, or even donate to charity. Other phone scams involve threats such as prosecution or litigation if information is not provided or some payment is not made.
Telephone scammers frequently change their methods and their schemes can appear very realistic and legitimate. They often impersonate government agencies such as the IRS or Social Security Department, banking institutions, and other organizations. This tactic is meant to provide a sense of sophistication and authority to the scam so that potential victims are more likely to believe it.
In addition, these criminals often target vulnerable populations such as senior citizens. Unfortunately, this group of people is more likely to trust phony telephone claims and be less savvy when it comes to recognizing scams.
Examples of Current Phone Scams
Some phone scams are more well-known than others. However, since this type of fraud is continuously evolving, it’s important to recognize recent telephone schemes in order to avoid them. Here are three examples of current phone scams:
- Stimulus Payments: The dispersal of economic stimulus payments by the IRS has generated a phone scam promising economic impact payments for those who are willing to provide personal information over the phone such as bank account numbers. These scammers impersonate government officials in order to illegally obtain financial information from victims.
- Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security: Telephone scammers will often pretend to be from different government agencies to lure victims into providing PII. They often do this by asking those who answer to “verify” names or numbers.
- Grandparent/Family Emergency: A common phone scam involves criminals posing as someone’s grandchild or other relative in urgent need of money due to an emergency, such as COVID-19. This can be particularly disturbing and dangerous for grandparents who may be caught unaware and emotionally coerced into giving out PII or sending money.
Of course, there are many schemes that criminals use to commit fraud through the telephone. It’s important to remember that any caller attempting to coerce you into provide money or information is more than likely a scammer. This applies to offers for free products or lucrative “investments” as well.
Why It’s Important to Remove Your Phone Number from the Web
It’s important to remove your phone number from the web as much as possible so you can protect yourself from phone scams and other fraud. As PII, your phone number reveals your internet presence and data footprint. This can be used by criminals to access online accounts, passwords, and security responses as well as to commit phone fraud.
Falling victim to phone scams and fraud as a result of misused or stolen personal phone numbers is one of the most damaging situations possible since the onset of internet use. These scams can cause ruin when it comes to the victim’s reputation, financial situation, and even emotional state. In addition, it can take years to rectify the impact of such scams. Sadly, this damage generally prolongs economic and emotional stress with devastating consequences.
Of course, there are some situations in which providing your phone number online is almost unavoidable. For example, many industries such as online banking are utilizing two-factor verification for security purposes. This means that in addition to entering a username and password, a temporary code is also required for account access. The most common means of receiving such a code is through a text to your cell phone number, which identifies you as the proper account holder. However, in many cases you can use an email address as an alternative to your phone number for such verification.
Before you provide your personal phone number online, it’s essential to consider the potential risks of becoming victim to phone scams or other identity fraud. The best course of action is to strictly limit giving out your phone number, and to remove its presence from the internet as much as possible.
How to Avoid Phone Scams
The best and simplest way to avoid phone scams is to not answer your personal phone under any circumstances unless you recognize the full phone number. Even if you recognize the area code but not the number, it’s best to let the call go to voicemail. This gives you time to prepare in case the call is a scam, so you don’t act rashly in response.
It’s also essential to remember that government agencies do not use the phone to contact citizens. They utilize the U.S. Postal Service for communication. Therefore, any call you receive from a supposed government agency is most likely fraudulent. If you happen to answer such a call, do everything you can to verify the caller’s identity by asking specific questions—including how to reach their supervisor. This may cause the scammer to give up.
Ultimately, you should never provide or confirm any personal information of any kind over the phone to someone whose identity you don’t know for certain. In addition, you should never send cash, gift cards, or money transfers to anyone making such a request by phone.
