Phone Scams
Every year, thousands of people lose money to phone scams. From a few dollars to their life savings. Scammers will say anything to cheat people out of their money. They may claim to work for a company you trust, or they may send mail or place ads to convince you to call them.
Scammers use exaggerated or even fake prizes, products, or services as bait. Some may call you but others will use mail, texts, or ads to get you to call them for more details. Here are a few examples of “offers” you may get:
Lamar University Benefits
Someone calls a Lamar University employee with what looks to be a Lamar phone number – (409) 880-XXXX – saying they are from Benefits. They then start asking personal and/or financial questions.
IRS
Someone calls saying they are from the IRS and have a warrant for your arrest. They say that if you do not pay the money owed you will be arrested.
Clearing House Sweepstakes
Someone calls saying they are from the Clearing House sweepstakes and you have won a million dollars and a new Mercedes. They want to know if you will be home at 2:30 that afternoon. You just need to get a gift card for $300 for taxes and call them back with that information.
Microsoft
Someone calls saying they are from Microsoft and they have been monitoring your home computer. They ask you to go to your computer to see if there is a certain file on your computer that proves that your computer has been hacked. (The file is on all computers.) They then tell you to download software from their site for $49 to get rid of the malware.
How to Protect Yourself:
- Common sense is your best defense. If it sounds too good to be true, it is. (No, you didn’t win a prize that you did not sign up for!)
- Don’t provide your credit card number, bank account information, or any personal information. Even if they ask to confirm information.
- Feeling pressure to act immediately? Hang up. That’s a sure sign of a scam.
- Be cautious of caller ID. Scammers can change the phone number that shows up on your caller ID screen. This is called “spoofing”.
- Hang up on robo calls. If you answer the phone and hear a recorded message, hang up and report it to the FTC. These calls are illegal. Do not press 1 to speak to a person or be taken off a list. That could lead to more calls.
- Do not send money immediately. You always should take time to research.
- If you win a prize, legitimate companies will not make you pay taxes before you receive it.
