On Phone Call Scams
The other day, I got my first scam phone call in a loooong time. Living in the EU, I an generally protected from scam phone calls, mostly because the EU does actually try to protect people’s data, and it’s easier to get off call lists. However, this phone call came via WhatsApp, with a region code clearly not from anywhere in Europe. Curious, I answered it and was met with someone with a heavy Indian accent. They claimed that they were calling from my bank because my card had been declined. I asked them what bank and what card, and they got the bank wrong twice, but I decided to play along. However, I didn’t get very far, because the guy very quickly started demanding I give him sensitive data. Which, obviously, I wasn’t going to give him. I told him I’ll go to the bank in person to sort out the issue, he got very angry and said he’d ‘delete my account’ then hung up on me.
In hindsight, it was kinda funny. But for a lot of people, they get these scam calls all the time. I’ve lately been watching streams by Kitboga, a popular scambaiter, and he is constantly inundated with calls. Sure, he’s set up a system to deal with them all, and purposefully collects calls, but he’s lucky, he knows how to get away from them. A normal person on the other hand might not know how to get out of call lists, and might get tons of calls every day.
And these calls can get scary. Scammers generally prey on nice, old people who don’t always understand the technobabble that a scammer will throw at them. They’ll ask you to connect to your computer or phone, use tools to black out your screen and edit text on web browsers to make it look like something has gone wrong and you now owe a company lots of money. Or they’ll try and steal your bank info, claiming to be support, then steal all your money.
However, there are some things you can do work out whether a call is a scam or not. For example, the IRS in the USA will never call you directly and will almost certainly won’t demand money without having sent you a bill via the mail. They have a list of things a scammer will try here. Another important thing to remember is that no company will ever try to get you to install a program so they can access your computer, nor will they demand that you pay in gift cards. You should also never give your personal information out if you’re not 100% sure who you are talking to. If you get a call from someone claiming to be your bank, you should instead hang up and call the bank directly yourself, or go in person.
Another thing to watch out for are ‘virus popups’. These are often adverts on websites that LOOK like a virus is on your computer, and demand that you call a number in order to get rid of said virus. Because of this, I heavily recommend getting an ad-blocker, such as uBlock Origin, which not only gets rid of adverts for you, but makes your overall internet experience much better. If you do see such a pop-up, simply close your tab or browser, and run a virus scan. Windows 10 comes with its own virus scanner, which can be accessed via Settings -> Updates and Security -> Windows Security -> Virus and Threat Detection -> Quick Scan. Also, avoid downloading and running files that you don’t recognize.
If you want more information, there are quite a few places you can check. One of the more interesting youtubers is Jim Browning, who goes deep into tech support scams, to the point that he can spy on them. The aforementioned Kitboga is one of many scambaiters, who intentionally wastes the time of scammers so they can’t focus on more vulnerable people, and gives out information on how to avoid scammers. Another thing you can do is join the national Do Not Call list in the US or TPSonline in the UK. You can also report scams in the US via the Federal Trade Commission. Sometimes it’s easier to just block all unknown numbers, but numbers can be spoofed to look like numbers you don’t have blocked.
Fingers crossed you don’t get any calls, and hopefully some of this information has been helpful. Fuck scammers.