By: Carri Grube Lybarker, Administrator, and Juliana Harris, Communications Coordinator, South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs Every year, thousands of consumers fall
victim to telephone scams. While there are
legitimate companies who use the phone to offer their products and
services, con artists use it as a tool to commit fraud. Telephone scams can
take many forms, but they share the common element of trying to separate you
from your money or compromise your personal information. We have received an increasing number of
reports from South Carolina consumers about imposter telephone scams.
Fraudsters pose as different businesses or government agencies to try to trick
people. For example, a caller may pretend to be a debt collector and ask you to
provide your financial account information over the phone to settle a debt for
less than the full amount. You may not be sure you owe the debt – and in many
cases you don’t. But the offer is time-sensitive; you must act now for the debt to be forgiven! Sometimes these
scammers pretend to be from state or federal agencies, including law enforcement
agencies, to gain your trust or intimidate you.
In another common ruse, a scammer claiming
to be from your bank calls to say that you need to “verify” or “reactivate” a
credit or debit account or reverse a fraudulent charge to avoid having your
card “blocked.” These attempts to scare people into releasing sensitive account
information also come in the form of text messages, so think before you reply. Even more despicable is the imposter
scam in which the fraudster poses as a friend or family member who is in
trouble and needs money. Commonly referred to as the “grandparent scam,” this particular
ploy takes advantage of people’s natural concern for their friends or family.. The variations on the imposter scam are endless, but it’s easy to protect yourself from falling victim if you follow this basic advice:
He Help us alert and educate the public! Report telephone scams
to your state consumer protection agency and to the Federal Trade Commission
(FTC) at www.ftc.gov or by
calling 1-877-FTC-HELP.
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