Phone scams, spoofing making a comeback

Phone scammers and ‘spoofers’ seem to be making a comeback in the Borderland with residents noticing more fraudulent calls pretending to be from legitimate sources.

“I’ve been getting strange calls,” said one resident. “I don’t answer them.”

Across the region, people are getting calls from numbers they don’t recognize, but can seem local or official. It’s part of a recent apparent wave of ‘spoofed’ phone calls often trying to scam you.

“Everyone’s fearful of getting a call from the IRS or a state agency or some other governmental entity thinking they’ve done something when really they haven’t,” said Ross Dahman, president of Huntleigh Technology Group

Dahman said ‘voice over IP’ Internet phone call technology, or VoIP, has made it easier for scammers to get to you personally by ‘spoofing,’ or making a call look like it’s coming from a different number than it actually is.

The number calling can look like it’s from anywhere: locally, across the country or even like a specific person, all to get you to answer the phone and give up personal information.

“So they frighten you into answering the phone,” Dahman said. “And basically then they’ve started the intimidation process and softened you up so you begin to say things that you really shouldn’t be saying.”

A simple way to combat this just not to answer a number you don’t recognize. Usually, if it’s important, they’ll leave a message.

But if you do end up on the line with anyone asking for personal information, be very careful.

“Absolutely never, ever, ever give out your Social Security number or any credit card numbers,” Dahman said.

Advice residents are embracing.

“(Say), ‘Thank you for letting me know,'” one man said. “Hang up, and then research it on your own. You can’t just give some random voice on the other end of the telephone all of your information.”