Experts discuss spoofing scams in this week’s Scam Watch column from James Walker from Rightly and Louise Baxter from the National Trading Standards Scams Team. It’s time to take control, and know how to spot a scam and what to do about it.
Scam of the week: Spoofing scams
Phone scams are on the rise and some use ‘spoofing’ to present a false Caller ID. “Check the number that’s come up on your phone, you’ll see it’s the bank calling” the scammer might say. And sure enough, if you check the number against the one on your statement or the bank’s website, it looks right. But it’s been spoofed and the scammer is on their way to tricking you out of your personal information and your money.
Number spoofing scams
Ofcom has reported that there has been an increase recently in reports of ‘phone number spoofing’. You may have heard of it, but what is it?
Phone number spoofing causes the Caller ID on your phone to display a phone number or other information to make it look like the call is from a different person or business than who is actually calling you. So for example, a call might appear to be from your bank, when in fact it’s a criminal, intent on tricking you into parting you from your money.
Whilst the Caller ID may look like it’s local, such calls are often made from outside the country altogether. Spoofing is usually done with malicious or unscrupulous intent by the scammer. Many people believe that they can no longer trust Caller ID.
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