The FBI is warning smartphone users to beware the threat from dangerous calls that will cost you a significant amount of money if you make a mistake. Now that warning has taken a nasty twist, with a new threat that is genuinely hard to believe.
The FBI’s warning focuses on scam calls pretending to from banks or technical support, that trick users into moving money from their account or installing dangerous software on their device. The bureau says such scam calls may even be able to “spoof” the caller ID number, making the threat even harder to detect.
The FBI advice is very simple. Any such call that comes at you unsolicited, where you haven’t first reach out to your bank or technical support, will be a scam. The chance of such a call being legitimate is so small that it’s never worth taking the risk. You need to be absolutely sure — beyond any doubt — that the caller is legitimate.
While a call from the bank to warn that your account is under attack is worrying enough, how about a call from the police warning that you need to pay to avoid being arrested. One police department in Virginia is just the latest to warn of such malicious tactics. As local media reports, this is “an ongoing phone scam in which suspects pose as local law enforcement and coerce victims into giving money.”
This particular campaign has been running for several weeks, and the local police warns that “this type of scam has occurred throughout the region, including Alexandria, and across the country. Scams have variations but generally the caller will identify themself as a law enforcement officer and tell the victim, falsely, that a warrant has been issued because they missed a court date, did not show up for jury duty, have an overdue fine or something similar, and they will be arrested unless they pay right away.”
This doesn’t happen. Ever. And while the scammers “often use the names of actual deputies or police officers, and they may disguise their phone number to make it look like they are calling from a local law enforcement agency,” it’s just a trick.
As we see with such attacks — per another recent FBI warning — the scammers insist the matter is urgent, giving you little time to think. If you find yourself talking to a law enforcement officer who is demanding money or any other similar request, then you can hang up. If you’re concerned, then call local law enforcement using a publicly available number and explain what has happened.
Such reports are now coming through from local media outlets across the U.S., and the situation will get worse. Scams that spread like this do so because they work. According to one police department in New York, “detectives have been made aware of at least three incidents during which a resident was contacted by phone by a caller identifying themselves as a member of the Suffolk County Police Department who says the resident has a warrant for their arrest and for them to send money.”
And it’s not a scam confined to local law enforcement. CBP has also warned that “we are seeing a spike of phone calls from concerned citizens about scammers posing as CBP employees seeking information about suspected illegal activity. If CBP suspects illegal activity, we will not call a suspect or a victim requesting money or social security numbers. To be clear, CBP will not make telephone calls threatening citizens that law enforcement is on the way or promising money for information.”
The advice is always the same — end the call as soon as the coercion starts, don’t listen to the well-rehearsed script. The longer you listen, the more likely you are to fall victim — remember, this is what that person does every day. As CBP says, you should “recognize that it is a scam regardless of how authentic the caller may sound.”
