Telephone Scams Can Cost You Thousands Of Dollars
Telephone scams have been around for years and as the world changes, the scams have adapted. Here are five fraudulent ways thieves use your telephone number to drain your savings.
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Telephone Scam
A common one that is still successful is when con artists pose as the IRS with a story that you owe back taxes and penalties. They ask for your credit card or bank
account numbers and threaten to arrest or sue you if you don’t give up the information on the call.
In fact, the IRS will never call you. They send you official written notices through the U.S. Postal System. They do not say they will sue or arrest you. If you receive a call like this, hang up quickly. If you have the phone number, report it to the Federal Trade Commission.
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Social Security Administration (SSA) Telephone Scammers
Another popular, lucrative scam is if you receive a call from the Social Security Administration telling you that your Social Security Number (SSN) has been used in a crime. You will be asked to state your SSN for verification, and often you are told to pay a fee immediately to clear your name. This is false – the SSA will never call you. Do not ever say your SSN out loud or give out your banking or credit card information on the phone to anyone who claims they are a U.S. government employee.
A New Scam – Coronavirus
All scammers take advantage of natural disasters and any crisis that affects a large number of people.
The ways thieves use the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to steal your money include:
- Coronavirus government checks – they claim you are owed stimulus money and can deposit the funds in your bank account as soon as you give them your account number
- COVID-19 tests, treatments and vaccines – currently, there is no approved vaccine, home treatment or multiple tests. Scammers are preying on your fear of the virus to get credit card and bank account information from you.
- Family or military member scams – thieves will call to say your loved ones need your money to get treated or cured of COVID. These are scams.
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Charity Telephone Scams To Be Aware Of
A very common tactic that is also quite successful are charity telephone scams. One of the most popular is someone who calls you and says they represent a local police or law enforcement charitable organization. They claim they are fundraising on behalf of the charity. Never give these scammers any information. As a matter of fact, tell the caller you first want to call the local law enforcement agency and verify that the phone calls are authorized. You know this is a scam if the caller quickly hangs up on you.
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Apple ID Account Scams
A fairly recent phone scam is receiving a bogus phone call from Apple Support, asking you for sensitive account information, money or iTunes gift cards. If you get a phone call like this, hang up immediately. Apple will never call you for any account issue.
If you are a victim of any telephone scam, call the Anastopoulo Law firm today at 800-777-777 and learn if you are entitled to compensation.
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Our attorneys in Columbia SC will investigate the circumstances that led to your becoming the victim of a telephone scam, gather the evidence, depose witnesses (if there are any), and file a complaint. If the authorities put an end to the operation and identified the parties responsible, your legal team could build a solid case for you. Recovering stolen money can take a while, but with the right law firm by your side, you could get your life back on track. For this to happen, however, you need to report the scam to the police and your state’s consumer protection office, hire an attorney, and go through all the motions they recommend.
Call or text 803-222-2222 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form