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• 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.
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:
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.
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.
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]
[26] [19] Technical support scams can also attract victims by purchasing keyword advertising on major search engines for phrases such as "Microsoft support". Victims who click on these adverts are taken to web pages containing the scammer's phone numbers. [27] [28] In some cases, mass emailing is used. The email tends to state that a certain ...
Learn how to report spam and other abusive conduct.