How To Protect Yourself from Scam Calls
While many of us are clever enough to know an overseas prince doesn’t need a hefty over the phone loan, phone scammers are becoming increasingly apt in their tactics – making spotting them that much more difficult.
A report on ABC News estimated that Australians lost almost $36 million in 2020 alone to scam callers. Scamming strategies are getting more compelling, personalised, and ultimately difficult to clock.
The most important step for protecting yourself against these scam calls is to be aware and cautious that scams do exist – and come from the original standpoint of assuming an unknown phone call is a scam until proven trustworthy.
Another tip to protecting yourself when contacted via text message is to never click on any hyperlinks sent to you. Instead go to the website directly through your browser.
How Do You Spot Scam Calls?
In the hopes of not allowing that $36 million figure to get any larger, we have provided five ways to spot scam calls that should set off alarm bells in your head.
1. Be suspicious of unusual payment requests.
While you should always be wary of anyone requesting money, bank details, or personal identifying information over the phone, it is even more concerning if they are requesting money through an unusual method. This includes requesting payment via preloaded debit cards, gift cards, or virtual and cryptocurrencies that are more difficult to trace.
2. Consider the time of day and day of the week.
Take note of what time and day it is and think, is it a reasonable time for a trusted organisation to be calling me? In most cases, trusted callers will not try to contact you outside of regular 8am – 5pm Monday to Friday business hours. On the other hand, some scam callers will time their attempts in the evening.
3. Are they creating a false sense of urgency?
Creating a sense of urgency is another way scam callers can identify themselves. Scam callers usually want to imply that what they are calling about is urgent, usually that you owe money, need to contact someone to avoid legal complications, or one of your utilities is going to be turned off. If the person you are speaking to is aggressive or threatening in any way, or simply trying to hurry you, it is best to end the conversation.
4. Be wary of unsolicited calls.
One of the first red flags you can consider is if the call is unsolicited. If an organisation has contacted you out of the blue, you should begin the interaction from a place of hesitancy. If you want to return a call to someone who is claiming to be one of your providers or a government department, you should independently search for their official contact details and return their call this way.
5. If something sounds too good to be true – it probably is.
A classic rule to keep in mind is that if an unknown number is calling you to tell you something that seems too good to be true, it probably is. If the caller is letting you know about an exclusive opportunity or that you have won a prize for a competition you don’t remember entering, it’s most likely a scam.
What Are Scam-Likely Calls?
If you are receiving a call from someone with a caller ID that says, “Scam Likely”, it means your cellular network has identified that is it probably a scam call. Some cellular carriers have a database of known scam phone numbers, and when an unknown caller attempts to contact you, they cross-check the number with their database. This means if the caller ID says, “Scam Likely”, you can more confidently decline the call.
What Can I Do About Scam Calls?
If you think you are on the receiving end of a scam call, the best thing you can do is simply hang up. If you’re not confident that you’re speaking to a real business, you can also request their contact details and let them know you will call them back at a time you are less busy. This way you can independently find the organisation’s contact details online and contact them back with more confidence.
The Wrap-Up
So those are our tips and tricks for avoiding over the phone scams. You can learn more handy tech information on the Southern Phone blog.