Quote:
Originally Posted by retiredguy123
I agree. But, if the call is being received through a Verizon system, Verizon has the ability to know where the call is coming from. They have the technology. If their technology provides inaccurate information to their customer on caller ID, then the FCC should fine them or put them out of business. I believe the phone providers are complicit with the scammers. The taxpayers are paying the FCC to regulate phone providers like Verizon, AT&T, and others. Why aren't they doing their job?
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Your understanding of "regulating" is different from the reality of regulation. Anyone can spoof a phone number. ANYONE. It isn't complicated. Technology cannot keep up with the scams, the scammers are always one step ahead. That's their job. To find ways of getting around, through, over, under, and past security. They do it better than anyone else does, which is why they make so much money doing it.
Your job, as a customer, is to be vigilant about your own security. I get calls from fake-microsoft on occasion. If I happen to notice the caller ID on my phone I just don't pick up at all and let it go to voice mail. If I pick up because I prefer not to have the phone ringing, I know what to listen for. If you get that "blurp" sound, don't wait for someone to say anything. Just hang up. It's a bot-call. If you hear background chatter and someone with a foreign accent says anything at all, just hang up. It's a scam of one sort or another. You don't even need to wait to find out what kind of scam it is.
If it seems like it might be legit, ask them for a call-back number and name. Tell them you're in the middle of something and you'll call them right back. If they hang up, you know you just avoided being scammed. If they give you a call back number - don't call it. Instead, go to the internet, google the company's name. Go to their ACTUAL website and seek out the phone number on that website. Call that number, and ask if they called you. This is especially important if the call came from someone claiming to be from your bank.
If they say they're calling about your credit card account - just hang up. It's a fraud.
You can also register with NOMOROBO.com - which minimizes the number of bot-calls you get.