SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KERO) — There is a mountain of stories of people who have been manipulated, scared, scammed and threatened out of tens of thousands of dollars by scammers pretending to be everything from Amazon Prime employees to lovestruck royals from abroad.
Now, the United States Attorney's Office is warning California residents about a new telephone scam where scammers pretend to be employees of the federal government and tell people they owe money. While the setup is fairly common, the twist is that these scammers have figured out how to make their targets' caller ID so the call appears to becoming from the U.S. Attorney's Office.
According to a Department of Justice press release on the matter, scammers impersonate government officials in order to try and add credibility to their scheme. They also target people they assume to be more vulnerable to threats or manipulation, frequently going after senior citizens. For this reason, the U.S. Attorney's Office advises everyone to be vigilant about the phone calls both they and their family members might be receiving.
According to the DoJ, warning signs that a phone call is a scam include:
- Being told you have won a contest, sweepstakes or prize for which you did not sign up or enter, but for which you would have to pay any kind of taxes, fees, or insurance in order to collect.
- Being asked to provide or confirm identifying details like your Social Security number, bank account number, credit card numbers, passwords to any of the services you use online, or any personally identifying information like your address and birthdate.
- The use of scare tactics like saying a family member is in danger or will be put in danger, or that you may be arrested or investigated if you don't immediately comply with some demand.
- Asking you to pay using money transfer services or apps like Western Union or CashApp, asking you to pay using bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, or asking you to pay by buying gift cards either online or in a store.
The Department of Justice advises anyone who thinks they've received a scam call to report the call to the Federal Trade Commission. Scam reports can be made via the FTC website or by calling 877-382-4357 (877-FTC-HELP). Fraud can also be reported to the FBI at their website.
A good rule of thumb is to distrust any phone calls or text messages from any number you don't recognize. Consider allowing unsolicited calls to go to voicemail and see if they leave a message (most scammers won't). Never click or tap links sent in unsolicited emails and text messages. Those links may secretly connect your phone or computer to fake websites meant to steal your information or download viruses to your device.
Protect your personal information, your peace of mind, and remember, you are absolutely allowed to hang up on any phone call you find suspicious or inappropriate. Anyone with legitimate business will understand, and hopefully the scammers will learn that you are not a target.
