Hello. This is CoBank’s Fraud Wise helping you avoid becoming a victim of fraud. I am Bora Manzanares, Financial Crimes Manager, and in this episode, we will be talking about how to avoid becoming a victim of robocall – and robotext -- scams, which can be a serious threat to privacy and are growing to a $10 billion a year industry. If you answer the phone and hear a recorded message instead of a live person, it is a robocall. If you’re getting a high number of robocalls trying to sell you something, odds are the calls are illegal and, most likely, a scam.
Today we will go through tips on how to handle robocalls and robotexts.
A good rule of thumb is to not answer calls from unknown numbers. Fraudsters are experts in spoofing real numbers or making numbers look familiar so you will be more likely to answer.
Of course, if you do answer a call and hear a recorded message, simply hang up. Do not press any numbers and don’t speak. Responding to the call in any way indicates a live number and the scammers will continue to target you.
Whether you hear a recorded message or connect with a live person, it is of critical importance to not provide any personal information over the phone. You should never provide personal information including name, birth date, address, Social Security Number, account numbers, zip code, maiden name, children’s names, or other information that might be a security risk. Try not to respond with a “yes” or “no” because that can be recorded and reused. If you must respond, you should only answer questions with a “who’s calling” or “how did you get this number?”
If you receive a robotext message, do not respond to the message, click on links or call the number back. This will confirm your number with the scammer and open you up to increased harassment.
Fraudsters are especially quick to target people that are more susceptible to scams, such as older people and young kids. It is important to help educate your family on the common types of scams and what they should do if they suspect they are a target. Common scams include grandparents scam, overpayment scams, fake job offers, lottery, or inheritance scams. These types of scams are often presented as “too good to be true” scenarios that will ask for or offer money in order to obtain bank information or Social Security Numbers.
Avoiding roboscams all together is unlikely because fraudsters simply don’t care about things like Do Not Call lists or complying with regulations. However, you can help reduce the volume of these calls by turning on a telemarketing or a spam call blocker on your phone.
This has been CoBank’s Fraud Wise. Helping YOU avoid becoming a victim of fraud. For more information about these and other types of fraud, visit cobank.com slash security.