Posted by American Mystique on 13th Dec 2019
Caller ID Spoofing | Americanmystique.com
It’s called “Spoofing” and it’s a huge problem in both the U.S. and overseas as well. Someone calls and it is not who you think. A telemarketer or financial scam or some Social Security scam is taking place and you are ground zero, and so is your phone number.
An unknown caller threatens you with arrest for not paying taxes or some other non-payment. Or you owe some bank or credit company. It is a caller dealing in fraud. The issue has grown and it’s still on the rise. The main problem is using someone else’s phone number to call a third party and sometimes they use numbers you may recognize.
You can also receive a call from someone you do not know who claims they received a call from your phone, with threaten overtures and they are just calling back to insure legitimacy. You did not make the call, but someone did – using “Your Number” to make a spam call. It is a situation more and more people are experiencing every day, and its time consuming and its worrying on many levels.
The Phone Companies are working on the problem, but it’s going to take time. The Government thinks it has maybe solved the issue, but we know that its still happening. In the mean time, you are the target, all of us are. There are indeed legit companies using this spoofing process in efforts to market deals to you as well. Google is notorious for spoof-marketing to other businesses. This creates a problem for the phone companies as well. And they are not the only company spoofing the public through anonymous means.
This happens through something called an ISDN PRI circuit and a device enabling them to change the display of the originating number and to alter the Caller ID. Robocalls use this device and system. And software also plays a huge part.
So, what can you do? Make sure you don’t give out any information. This means passwords, account numbers, social security number, no banking information, or any other information. You can also call them back just to check on their legitimacy, just to make sure their company does exist. Do not allow yourself to be pressured into anything, especially into surrendering information. If the call is legit, they will leave you a message. If the number is unfamiliar, you can choose not to answer as well.
If you do call back and get someone totally clueless as to why you are calling them on their phone, then be kind, apologize for bothering them, and inform them nicely that their number was just used to spoof you. They will be a little shocked.
Keep track of your credit card, phone, and any other Television or Phone contracts for anything you did not authorize. Remember – YOU can always call them back to check matters out.
According to the latest information, Brazil and Peru are twice as affected by spam calls that the United States but the US is still in the top ten counties for spamming.