Published on March 28th, 2023
The robocalls are quite common these days and the frequency of these robocalls is ever increasing which keeps you bugging all the time.
Most of these robocalls are harmful and can defraud you. Reports say that in the United States, the topmost consumer complaint reported to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is the issue of these unwanted calls.
This is increasing day by day because the hackers have made tactical use of the new age spoofing technologies that serve up phony caller ID numbers.
So, please be aware and cautious, because all these robocall numbers may hack your phone and data as well.
The motto behind these calls is to defraud you for your bank data, personal information, financial details, money, online fraud, etc.
The scammer may impersonate financial institutions, insurance companies, banks, government agencies, etc. and give the potential victims an excuse to demand money, go for online transactions, seek financial information, or get crucial details and info.
The voice on the other end of the robocall may be a recorded one or an actual person impersonating as your bank’s relationship agent, insurance agent, government official, etc.
In most cases, these scammers are very convincing in demanding the needful required from the victim and play multiple tricks to con them over the call itself.
Also, the robocalls may be an interactive voice response (IVR) system asking you for your financial details.
The recorded voice of the IVR system will also ask you to follow certain steps over the call and try to get your required details.
They create a sense of urgency and fear, explaining to the victim that there is some problem which needs to be fixed right away and they need your details urgently like your password, pins, card, and bank details, etc.
Mobile Security Tips: 5 Steps Avoiding and Blocking Robocalls
In order to avoid such scamming calls, you are recommended with below five tips to protect yourself and avoid such scamming robocalls:
1. You Need To Sign Up For Do Not Call Or Do Not Disturb Services
Multiple service providers or telecom operators provide such services, where the smartphone user remains protected from any of such unwanted calls.
However, this may not be a 100% accurate remedy to apply but it prevents scammers from ringing you up, since you have signed up to not disturb what they know. It lowers down all the unsolicited calls to the smartphone user and lowers the risk as well.
2. Never Ever Share You Information Over The Call
Generally, in these cases the scammer tries to play the role of an imposter and will explain to you a situation where something wrong has happened either with your bank account, credit card or your financial app and they need your financial credentials urgently to resolve such an issue.
Never fall a trap for such kinds of conversations and do not give away your information at any cost.
It is always recommended not to share your financial credentials and details over the call with anyone, because they can be fake robocalls and will misuse your financial info to defraud you.
Please inform about such a call to your bank or the concerned agencies.
3. Always Check Your Caller ID Cautiously
It is always recommended to check the caller ID of the calls which you receive. Always hang up the call and do a quick background check of the caller’s id with multiple caller id checking apps.
You can also call your bank and do a fact check if they were really making such calls to you or not. In case of a fake call, report the number to the agencies and block it on your smartphone.
These are spoofing tricks used by scammers and they are experts in this art. They try to influence you and gain your trust over the call to get the required info.
Always, follow the rule of thumb, not to entertain such calls, if the caller asks for any of your info over the call.
4. Install The Apps And Services Which Blocks Unwanted Calls
Nowadays there are multiple legitimate apps which offer the utility to block these unwanted, fake and spam calls on your smartphone.
These applications are available for both free and paid based on the level of facility being offered to their users.
You can easily get them on the app stores, but it is always recommended to do a review check about them before installing them.
Please follow this smart practice with all the apps whenever you install them on your smartphone from app stores.
5. Avoid Doing Return Calls To Any Of The Unknown Numbers.
Let us assume a situation here. Suppose you have received a SMS or a voicemail which says that it is from your bank or business with a link to click or a number to call back urgently telling you that there is some problem. Never ever call back.
Just to cross check please call back on the legitimate number provided by your financial institution and do a cross verification yourself. Do not click on the link in the SMS or try to call back on the number left by these potential scammers directly, rather try to erase and block such communications.
Always be watchful and cautious. Protect your mobile phone with a top rated, standard, legitimate and trustworthy security app, and unwanted call blocker app.
However, these security apps will not block the spam and robocalls but give your smartphone an additional layer of security to protect your crucial data and information.
The call blocking apps will help you block these spoofing calls and also keep you suggesting scammer alerts.
Also, it’s recommended to keep your eyes open and read more such info about how these scammers trick the potential victims by using multiple new ways.
The more aware you are, the more careful and protected you will be. Please remember “it’s better to prevent and prepare rather than repent and repair.” Follow the above tips to stay safe and protected.
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