Calls From Blue You Need to Hang Up

Many, if not most, scams today start with a phone, an email, by fax, a letter, or a text on your cell phone.  If you do not recognize the caller, it is best to disregard the call, hanging up.

Common scams include telling you that you have won a prize or grant that you did not apply for. These scams always ask for you to send money as upfront or handling fees.

Another common scam is telling you a grandchild or a relative is in trouble. If you have not seen this relative in years and wonder whether the call is real, follow your instincts and ignore it.

These callers tell convincing sob stories about being in an accident, being hospitalized or arrested, and desperate need of funds. It’s not uncommon for another scamster posing as a doctor or a lawyer will get on the phone and tell you that what the caller has asked for is needed. They prey upon your natural sympathy for people in trouble.

Another scam comes from people pretending to be from technical support from companies like Apple, Google, or Dell. They tell you they have determined you have a virus or malware on your computer. They tell you that need access to your computer and tell you to download a file. Ignore this. This is ALWAYS a scam to gain control of your computer and exact money from you. Hang up.

These calls will always ask for you to pay them with a wire transfer or cash, or a gift card.  Funds sent by wire transfer or cash are hard to track.  Asking for you to pay them with a gift card is always a scam.

Very common calls come from people claiming to be from the government, the Social Security Administration, or a law enforcement agency. This is not the way these agencies contact people. Hang up on calls from any of these phony callers.

There are area codes often used by rip-off artists. Seeing one of these area codes should trigger your warning lights:

268 area code – Antigua and Barbuda

284 area code – British Virgin Islands

473 area code – Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique

664 area code – Montserrat

649 area code – Turks and Caicos Islands

809, 829, 849, 876

473

268, 284

664, 649

767

What else can you do?

Best practices for consumers

• Download a call blocker. See if you can find a free app.  No-cost services from firms such as YouMail and Nomorobo work on all carriers.  Mobile carriers have free tools, too.
• Experiment with these call-blocking tools, apps, and options to strike the right balance between the calls you want — and those you don’t. It may take trial and error to avoid a “false positive,” the term for a legitimate call that is stopped.
• Let a call go to voicemail if it gets through a robocall app if you don’t recognize the caller. If the caller claims to be, say, from Citibank, don’t call back a phone number left on voicemail. Use a number you know is legitimate, such as one on a statement or credit card.
• Hang up if it’s a live person calling, as computer-based robocall systems allow. Do Not Let Them Engage you in conversation.
• Learn more from the major providers: at AT&T’s Cyber Aware, at T-Mobile and at Verizon.
• Heed the latest advice from the FTC and the FCC.

Here are some ways you can check out whether it is a legitimate call or not.

Ftc.gov/imposter, which is a site of the Federal Trade Commission.,

If you are over 55, then you can use services provided by the American Association of Retired Person (AARP)