Beware of the missed call scam
Jennifer McClelland | RSS | 4 Comments
While the scam is fairly old, you really have to watch out sometimes when it comes to letting your guard down. There is a scam going on right now that is picking up steam. Known as the missed call scam it runs fairly simply.
A computer generates a list of numbers and calls them. The phone will ring one time and hang up or they will call and hang up immediately once the person picks up the phone. This makes sure that you see a missed call on your phone or that you’re aware that someone is trying to reach you. What the scammer is banking on is that you will call the number back and listen to them give you some kind of sales pitch.
What you don’t know is that they’ve already got you.
What is happening is they have made you call a “premium” number. Meaning, you’re being charged anywhere from $2-$5 or more per minute these people keep you on the phone.
This seems like a pretty easy way to scam people and there are plenty of scammers out there making serious money doing this to unsuspecting people.
There are a few ways to avoid being scammed like this:
First, do not answer calls that are from numbers that you don’t recognize. This might sound a bit harsh, especially if you’re expecting a call from a number that you don’t recognize.
Second, if you have to answer a call you don’t recognize let it ring through to voice mail first. If they leave a voice mail, that’s at least good enough to where you can tell who it is that called. On the other hand, if they don’t leave a voice message, proceed to the next tip.
Third, Google the number. If it’s a scammer’s number the chances of you being the first person to ever be scammed like this is slim. If someone has been scammed by the same number in the past, it will likely be on Google or WhoCallsMe.
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Tags: google, first person, scammer
Sophie from Free Bingo | Mon, Aug 03 2009
This is scary! I’ve had a few missed calls from odd numbers and left them – I didn’t realise that this was what they were. What next?!
Álvaro Degives-Más | Mon, Aug 10 2009
Or, get caller ID preferably with mandatory ID display service (i.e. the caller has to give his/her name) that the phone company will forward to you, so you decide whether to take the call or not. And the free option now also exists with Google Voice, as you see the number – if it’s not provided, don’t even bother.
Still, it’s always good spread the word about the @#$% scammers’ antics out there.
Steve from IRS Representation | Thu, Dec 03 2009
I always let a new number go to my voice mail. It’s scary these days you even get these calls to your cell phones.
Karen | Fri, Dec 04 2009
It amuses me that you expect that your readers are willing to spend $$ on the luxury of caller ID. (My phone line costs me $11.95/month–caller ID would more than double my bill.)