Month: February 2020

For any consumer who has ever answered the phone expecting to hear from a friend — only to encounter someone who is pretending to be from the IRS and is demanding payment — the problem will be a familiar one. Or perhaps the mystery caller claimed to be awarding a cruise around the world and then requested a Social Security number before providing it. Most consumers have had one of these experiences or a similar one. Unfortunately, it’s entirely too common. According to a report by the caller ID company Hiya, there were 85 billion robocalls globally in 2018. Part...

Read More How STIR/SHAKEN is Mixing Up and Stopping Phone Scammers

Area business owners should be aware — FTC has recently received confirmation of  fraudulent activities in our area, and the scam could strike local workplaces that use a multi-line telephone system or PBX with voicemail. Those who fall victim to the scheme could be susceptible to long-distance call hacking leading to thousands of dollars in unauthorized long-distance charges. URGENT NOTICE: To protect their phone systems, it is imperative that local business owners have their employees change their default passwords to unique number combinations that can’t be easily guessed. Customers with a multi-line telephone and voicemail system are responsible for protecting their...

Read More Businesses Beware: Fraud Attempts Target Multi-Line Phone Systems