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However, if you get a call from a phone number or area code you don’t know, it’s likely best to avoid picking up the call and research the following before you call back:
According to the Federal Trade Commission, scammers will send fake text messages to try and trick you into giving them personal information, like a password, account number, or Social Security number.
• Fake email addresses - Malicious actors sometimes send from email addresses made to look like an official email address but in fact is missing a letter(s), misspelled, replaces a letter with a lookalike number (e.g. “O” and “0”), or originates from free email services that would not be used for official communications.
Phone scams are on the rise as scammers see opportunity thanks to many Americans getting stimulus checks, an increase in concern about COVID vaccine distribution and soon, the annual tax season.
A variant is a call forwarding scam, where a fraudster tricks a subscriber into call forwarding their number to either a long-distance number or a number at which the fraudster or an accomplice is accepting collect calls. The unsuspecting subscriber then gets a huge long-distance bill for all of these calls. [3]
A phone number is difficult to block and scammers can often simply change phone numbers if a specific number is blocked and often find ways around rules and regulations. Phone companies and governments are constantly seeking new ways to curb false scam calls. [15]
VoIP spam or SPIT (spam over Internet telephony) is unsolicited, automatically dialed telephone calls, typically using voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology. [1]VoIP systems, like e-mail and other Internet applications, are susceptible to abuse by malicious parties who initiate unsolicited and unwanted communications, such as telemarketers and prank callers.
What are 800 and 888 phone number scams? If you get an email providing you a PIN number and an 800 or 888 number to call, this a scam to try and steal valuable personal info. These emails will often ask you to call AOL at the number provided, provide the PIN number and will ask for account details including your password.