Protect Yourself Against PHONE Scammers!

Protect yourself against PHONE scammers!

Every year, thousands of people lose money to scams – from a few dollars to their life savings. They may claim to work for a company you trust, or they might send mail or place ads to convince you to call them.

If the person on the other end of the phone, mail, email or text message is pressuring you to give them your personal information, like your credit card or social security number, it’s likely a scam. If this happens to you, you can report it to the Federal Trade Commission at ftc.gov/complaint.

Here are a few red flags to help you spot a telemarketing scam:

1. You’ve been specially selected (for this offer)
2. You’ll get a free bonus if you buy our product
3. You’ve won one of five valuable prizes
4. You’ve won big money in a foreign lottery
5. This investment is low risk and provides a high return than you can get anywhere else
6. You have to make up your mind right away
7. You trust me, right?
8. You don’t need to check our company with anyone
9. We’ll just put the shipping and handling charges on your credit card

Register your home and mobile phone numbers with the National Do Not Call Registry at donotcall.gov. This won’t stop all unsolicited calls, but it will stop most.

If you answer the phone and hear a recorded message instead of a live person, it’s a robocall. Recorded messages that are trying to sell you something are generally illegal unless you have given the company written permission to call you.

If you get a robocall:

1. Hang up the phone. Don’t press 1 to speak to a live operator or any other key to take your number off the list.
2.  Consider asking your phone company whether they charge for blocking phone numbers.
• Remember that telemarketers change Caller ID information easily and often, so it might not be worth paying a fee to block a number that will change.
3. Report your experience to the Federal Trade Commission or by calling 1-888-382-1222.