Scammers Blowing Up Your Phone? There’s a Way Out
WatchDogReport.org) – When a person buys a vehicle, they have the option of extending the warranty for service and repairs beyond what comes standard at an additional cost. Once it expires, the owner has the opportunity to extend that coverage, and that’s when scammers swoop in to take advantage of unsuspecting people. The way it works is the con artist contacts the vehicle owner, telling them the warranty is expiring and offers a renewal. However, the scammers don’t work for the warranty company at all.
Here are some ways to avoid scam calls to save yourself some headaches.
How to Stop Them
When a scam artist calls on the phone and convinces a victim to purchase what they think is the warranty extension, the thief takes the money and moves on to the next person. Unfortunately, when the time comes to use the warranty, the money is long gone and the extension is non-existent. The ideal way to avoid the situation is never to take the call in the first place. Screen incoming calls and don’t answer unless you recognize the number. Just because the area code is local doesn’t mean the call is from your town, so don’t be fooled. Scammers can use programs that make it appear to be a local number.
The next thing to do is consider changing your phone settings to block out unknown callers. For iPhones, choose settings and select the option to silence unknown callers. For Android users, go into settings and choose to block numbers from unknown callers. It won’t keep everyone out, but it may help.
Next Steps
If the scammer gets through on the phone, be sure to hang up right away and don’t push any buttons. The robocall is looking for interactions to determine whether the number they just dialed was legitimate. Any interaction will confirm it is and then they will call again, so hang up without speaking or interacting in any way.
For those who actually want an extended warranty and the call seems real, hang up and call the dealership directly from the number on their website. Remember to never give out personal information unless you’re speaking with the actual dealership.
In order to stop scammers once and for all, everyone who receives a scam call should immediately report the incident to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Those organizations are responsible for tracking these criminals down and stopping them from scamming law-abiding citizens.
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