Community Newsletter: Q&A: Are they phishing over the telephone now?!
- 4/25/08 4:05 PM
Yes it is fraud; it may be an identity theft scheme too
by Davewithe - 4/22/08 12:02 PM In reply to: Are they phishing over the telephone now?! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Judie;
About a 2 years ago I got one of those calls from someone claiming to be from "Cardholder Services". I thought that they were a division of the bank that issued my business credit card because they knew some of my card information. (Apparently the credit rating services sell information about us on the open market.) They told me that they would reduce my credit card interest rate.
I gave them my information before I thought to check it out with the customer service people of my bank. My bank told me that the people I'd been talking to were not associated with the bank in any way advised me that I was being scammed.
I cancelled that credit card number and got another one. Now whenever anyone like that calls me I hang up without listening. I'd advise you to do the same. Whatever you do don't give them any information.
Phishing...
by hikergirl - 4/22/08 2:17 PM In reply to: Are they phishing over the telephone now?! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Before you do anything else, stop and call the Do Not Call Registry at 1-888-382-1222; then contact the Federal Communications Commission (FCC):1-888-225-5322; email: fccinfo@fcc.gov. The Web site is fcc.gov. If you choose to write, the address is: Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB) 445 12th Street, SW Washington DC 20554. The "FCC accepts public inquiries, informal complaints, and questions regarding cable, radio, satellite, telephone, television and wireless services." Does your state have a regulatory commission? If so, contact it immediately. Pat
To Pat the "hikergirl"
by SinbadSailor - 4/22/08 2:51 PM In reply to: Phishing... by hikergirlMy gosh, no one reads the other posts, do they?
The "Do Not Call" is NOT MANDITORY. If your number comes up (as it will), I can still call it. If anyone questions me, I just use my charitable exclusion or say you called me first...none can prove otherwise that is if you can find me in Nigeria or Alaska.
Read the full stick on the previously given FBI info site --everything is there for you guys to soak up.
AND, you are correct (sort of): The FCC does accept public inquiries BUT none of the regionaly appointed District US Attorneys will touch anything without overwhelming evidence and real proof of heavy scamming of dollars (like into the tens of thousands accumulative).
So read the earlier posts and go from there, Pat.
PS: What does a "hikergirl" do ---just hike? But to where?
Credit Card Nos
by Willf Butler - 4/22/08 6:16 PM In reply to: Are they phishing over the telephone now?! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
If your credit card provider contacts you they all ready know your details so they should be able to tell you. This includes your usage.
If they do not or cannot advise you do not under any circumstances divulge any information to the caller . Hang up immediatly.
C.W.Butler
I have had a call on credit lowering fees
by Charlotte004 - 4/23/08 3:12 PM In reply to: Are they phishing over the telephone now?! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I have had a call so has a friend and my brother I hung up my brother said he'd talk to his bank and my friend fallowed throw and was told he didn't aply for the offer but has had my calles since and now hangs up.
It's a scam....
by rok2774 - 4/23/08 6:55 PM In reply to: Are they phishing over the telephone now?! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
It's a scam and it is very common type of calls....It's an automatic dialer that has no idea who you are or what your circumstances are. The calls that list a specific card you have is a coquencidence. You can do a couple of things:
1. You can listen to end of the message they will give you an opt out option or sometimes they will have you press 1 to speak to Customer Service Rep then another menu of acutally speaking to a CSR or opting-out.
2. You can register at https://www.donotcall.gov/ It won't stop all of the calls but it does reduce them. There are other places to go as well and if you do a search for do not call you will find serveral places that you can register with.
3. Try lifelock http://www.lifelock.com/ or other such places. They can also stop the amount of junk mail and credit cards offer you can get. You're protected againt identity theft. It's $10 a month but does give you peace of mind.
4. Speak with your telephone company. They have become pro-active in blocking unwanted call. They will have several options with caller id and call blocking.
I hope this helps. I wish you the best of luck in the war against terror telephoning and telescam-marketing.
They usually are legit, thought it pays to be vigilant
by kschang - 4/23/08 11:47 PM In reply to: Are they phishing over the telephone now?! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Dear Judie,
Nowadays, increasing amount of automation means less people are doing more work, and one of the areas being handled is customer relations, such as the calls you've been getting. I have been getting quite a few of those too.
Basically, the computer is automatically dialing the numbers, and automatically sorting out the busy calls, the invalid numbers, and whatnot. It only transfer the call to someone live when it detects someone on the line. Else it leaves a standard generic message, designed to be as vague as possible, as they can't be sure that the message will only be heard by the intended recipient, and they want to make sure no privacy is violated or important info exposed.
When the computer *do* detect someone picking up the phone and say "hello?" or the equivalent, you get the "Please hold for a customer representative with an important message from ____". Then that representative, as s/he pick up the call, would have your information on his/her computer screen, ready to do business.
I have received such messages from the two banks I do business with, so I am not too surprised to get them.
If you are really concerned, or just very prudent, do the following:
* ask them for the employee ID and/or full name for the record, and a callback number. They should provide that readily.
* tell whoever called you that you do not answer unsolicited calls with personal information, thus, you will call the customer service number at your leisure in the next 15 minutes or so.
* if they hem and haw about you have limited time, they may still be legit, as they are usually just reading from a telemarketing script. In that case, you can either hang up, or ask to speak to a supervisor, and tell him the same thing.
* check the callback number, probably a toll-free number, on Search.com or equivalent Internet search engine. It should come up as a valid customer service number for the correct company.
* call the customer service number of the organization (if it's card related, it'd be on back of card) and confirm that someone DID call you regarding a certain issue (all contacts should be logged in their computer)
* you can also let them know what is your preferred method of contact in case they do need to reach you for something, and not to bother you with sales calls or survey calls.
It may be rude, but in a world of ID theft prevalence, it's better to be vigilant. Remember, you are their customer, so they are supposed to make YOU happy, not to increase your anxiety. Be safe out there.
--KC, San Francisco, CA
Phishing over the phone.
by T.Wiseman - 4/24/08 6:57 AM In reply to: Are they phishing over the telephone now?! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
You are doing the right thing when you hang up! These people are very good at what they do. But keep in mind that if there was a problem with a credit card, the company will mail you a letter, and will NEVER CALL YOU FOR THE INFORMATION. In the first place, the credit card company will already have all the information that these phishers are asking you for. If you have caller ID, write down the number and promptly call your phone company to report it! Most, if not all, phone books list a number where you can report fraud of this sort. The real important thing to remember is to NEVER give these people ANY information. When they ask for your name and address, and ANY other information, it's because they have nothing but your voice on the other end of the line. Most of these people are using auto dialers to make the calls, so they don't even know who they're talking to.
If you're really concerned about your account being suspended, look up the number for the account, and call them yourself. NEVER call a number given to you over the phone. It too is part of the scam!
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-10149_102-0.html?forumID=7&t hrea
by knenr - 4/24/08 9:52 AM In reply to: Are they phishing over the telephone now?! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I get these calls and recordings constantly. I've tried blocking their number, but they just call from another number. They give you an option to press to be removed from their call list. Then they just call MORE OFTEN. I've spoken to a person, and asked to be removed. No luck. It's totally a scam, because they don't actually know if you have any credit card at all. They're just guessing. They even said the offer is actually from my bank, but couldn't tell me what bank that would be.
Phishing over the phones
by oldhouseman - 4/24/08 10:27 AM In reply to: Are they phishing over the telephone now?! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I, too, have had calls like this. I never give out my information on calls I did not originate unless I can verify who the caller is.
If it is one of my credit cards, they will usually start off with, "we're calling about your overdue payment of $$$ for card number XXXXX," which is sufficient for me to know that they are legitimate, because I know I haven't made the payment, and I know the last few digits of the credit card in question.
Whenever I get a call, I always wait a couple of rings and look at the caller ID to see who is calling me. Legitimate calls will always show who it is and not hide themselves. Illegitimate ones frequently will not. If they tell me they are calling about my credit card and it is pre-recorded and ask me to wait for a person, I make a note of the number (if there is one), and call the local consumer protection group of my attorney general's office. My credit cards have ALWAYS used real people to make their calls, never recordings, even when they're trying to sell me something like baggage or flight insurance.
Our attorney general's office has been pro-active in getting the message out through the media about phishing activity, both by email and by telephone, and the consequences of divulging your information to scam artistes. There isn't much else you can do except rely on your AG's office to work with other AG's to try to shut down the scammers, who may not even be in the US.
Fraud/phishing concerns
by BlueKnight - 4/25/08 1:02 PM In reply to: Are they phishing over the telephone now?! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Judie,
Your concerns about those recent phone calls are valid. There is a lot of this going on these days in addition to all the phishing attempts on-line, though the on-line activity is more prevalent.
Hanging up on callers such as those you described ends the immediate threat, but it doesn't stop the calls from coming.
If you haven't registered your phone numbers with the Federal Trade Commission's National Do Not Call Registry, I would recommend it. You can find the number on their web site at http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/donotcall/
Telemarketers are not to call numbers registered on this list. That's the good news. The bad news is that random dialers, which is what I'd guess those phishing by phone are, aren't covered by this list.
In general, if your bank wants to contact you, they will do so by U.S. mail. If a caller is convincing enough so that you feel compelled to check out a supposed problem with your credit card, DO NOT give them any information. Ask for the person's name, then tell them that you will call them right back. Use a telephone number that YOU know will reach your bank, DO NOT use a phone number given by the caller (but do write it down), it will not be your bank. When you do speak with your bank, ask for the person whose name you got earlier. If you're told there is nobody by that name working there, ask to speak with their fraud investigation department and inform them as to what happened to you. You control the situation. DO NOT, under any circumstances give personal information of any type to anyone over the phone or Internet.
If you continue to get calls from any one in particular, log the date and time of the call and any other information you can get, then notify your local police department. I'm not familiar with other areas, but in California annoying phone calls such as this are in violation of Penal Code section 653(m). Just as an FYI, phishing is also covered under the Business and Processions Code Sections 22948, but is specific to the Internet, not phone calls.
That phone number given to you by the caller can be used by the police. If they were willing to give you a number, it just might be they'll answer pretending to be your bank. I worked a case several years ago, where a young lady was receiving annoying phone calls and told the caller to stop. The calls kept coming, but she had the number. I surprized the guy by showing up at his front door in full uniform.
You did the right thing. Everyone... be vigilant and use common sense.
telephone phishing
by beastmaster47 - 4/25/08 4:43 PM In reply to: Are they phishing over the telephone now?! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
here in oregon people received text messages aimed at a particular credit union with a toll free number to call and alot of people responded and lost their money. Soon after the number was disconnected. People need to know banks and other legitimate businesses won't call you on the phone and ask for pin numbers or other personal info on your accounts.
Are they phishing over the telephone now?!
by Elizabeth TTC - 4/25/08 4:47 PM In reply to: Are they phishing over the telephone now?! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I've been getting calls with a recording saying "This call is for <pause> Jane Doe. If this is <pause> Jane Doe, please press one." Since I wasn't born yesterday, I don't press one and hang up immediately, but wonder what would happen if I did press one.
Vote with your wallet and never bite
by Webgenie - 4/25/08 4:58 PM In reply to: Are they phishing over the telephone now?! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
The problem here is that the Do Not Call list is of very limited use to those of us who desire privacy, and not marketing, charity or political calls. I have the idea that one step to take is to never purchase anything that is brought to you via telemarketing, and that includes donating to police and fire. It is futile to tell the charity callers that you are on the Do Not Call list, because they proudly point out their right to invade your privacy since they are exempt from the list.
I have reported callers that I could identify at https://www.donotcall.gov/complaint/complaintcheck.aspx and the FTC, but it doesn't seem to do any good. For around 10 years, I've used an alternate number rather than my real number, and re-registered to vote to stop the political callers. They must keep numbers forever, because I still get marketing calls. This means that marketers, and "phishers" are getting people to bite. I think they will never stop unless there ceases to be a profit in it. Unfortunately, freedom is for everyone, even those who like to say yes when someone forcefully invades their home via the telephone that they pay for.
I had a guy a few weeks ago offering me something to do with credit cards, and he drilled me about which ones I have. I tried to get the info regarding what company he was from, so I could report him, but he wouldn't give it and hung up on me for trying. I don't consider that a victory.
Telemarketer number lookup
by keyboards - 4/25/08 5:16 PM In reply to: Are they phishing over the telephone now?! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I found this site that is a common database of known (and unknown) phone numbers of telemarketers. If you happen to get a new one on your caller ID, you can enter it and help out those countless thousands of people inundated by these idiots.
http://800notes.com/
Also, if they continue to harass (or even if it's just once), you can visit the National DoNotCall registry and report them online.
https://donotcall.gov/complaint/complaintcheck.aspx
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