GETTING A CALL FROM YOURSELF? - DON'T ANSWER THE CALL

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Federal Trade Commission

Consumer Information

Getting calls from your own number?

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DO NOT ANSWER - IT IS A SCAM WHICH COULD COST YOU LOTS OF MONEY!

If you answer, your phone may be seized by a ROBO-DIALER, which will make calls to anywhere on Earth, and run up huge charges on your phone bill. The following from the Federal Trade Commission will prove instructive.

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by

Bikram Bandy              

Do Not Call Program Coordinator, FTC

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It’s like a scene out of a strange sci-fi movie. You get a call, look at the caller ID, and see that your own number is calling. Weird! No, this isn’t an alternate reality where your future self is calling the present you. It’s a scammer making an illegal robocall. 

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Technology makes it easy for scammers to fake or “spoof” caller ID information. They can make it look like they’re calling from a different place or phone number. Even your number. Scammers use this trick as a way to get around call-blocking and hide from law enforcement. They hope you’ll be curious enough to pick up. Don’t fall for it.

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The real callers could be calling from anywhere in the world. We’ve written about these kinds of tricks before — like when scammers pretended to be the IRS and faked caller ID so people thought it really was the IRS calling.

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Bottom line? These calls from your own number are illegal. Don’t pick up — or press buttons to be taken off the call list or to talk to a live person. That just leads to more calls. It’s best to ignore them, and move on with your day. Maybe watch a really good sci-fi movie.

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Dave Israel

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