By P.L. Preslar, Mount Gilead police chief • Every day, scores of people across the United States fall victim to predators who seek to take advantage of the vulnerable. Unfortunately, some in Mount Gilead have fallen victim to these scam artists. Below are two of the more common scams that are reported to the police department. More importantly, you’ll also find prevention tips to help keep you from becoming a victim.
COMPUTER REPAIR SCAM
Scammers might call you, place alarming pop-up messages on your computer, offer free “security” scans or set up fake websites – all to convince you that your computer is infected. The scammers try to get you on the phone and then work to convince you there’s a problem. Finally, they ask you to pay them to fix that nonexistent problem.
IRS SCAM
A common scam this time of year is the “IRS tax scam” where a caller claims to be an IRS agent. The “agent” will make demands for the victim to pay a bogus tax bill immediately. The call can also be automated, instructing the victim to call a number regarding an IRS debt.
The IRS never collects money over the phone or demands payment be made without giving the taxpayer the opportunity to question or appeal the amount owed. In the event a person does owe a tax bill, the IRS will mail a bill to the taxpayer.
If you receive a call from someone claiming to be an IRS agent, report it to the Federal Trade Commission here or call 800-366-4484.
These scammers are typically extremely aggressive and use scare tactics to try to convince the caller to pay immediately. They also use “spoofing” technology to make calls appear to originate from a legitimate business or government agency.
The Mount Gilead Police Department recommends the following practices to avoid falling victim to these crimes:
- Never share personal information of any kind! This includes bank account numbers.
- Don’t answer calls on your personal phone from unknown numbers. Because this can’t be done with business phones, if you don’t recognize the number, consider letting them go to voicemail.
- Do a google search on any unfamiliar area codes before returning calls, to identify if it is a domestic or international call.
- If you answer and the caller (often a recording) asks you to hit a button to stop receiving calls, just hang up. Scammers often use these tricks to identify, and then target, live respondents.
- Consider registering all of your telephone numbers in the National Do Not Call Registry.
- If you do not need to make international calls, ask your local or wireless phone company to block outgoing international calls on your line.
- You can also visit the FCC’s website for information and resources on available robocall blocking tools to help reduce unwanted calls.
- If you receive a scam call, write down the number and file a complaint with the FCC so they can help identify and take appropriate action to help consumers targeted by illegal callers.
- More information can be found here.