We have had reports of members receiving calls using Green Country’s name and/or number on the caller ID but turning out to be a scam call for the IRS. A reminder: Green Country will NOT call you and ask you to verify your personal financial information.
Unfortunately it’s fairly easy for someone to use a company’s name for a scam call, it’s called Caller ID spoofing.
Here’s additional information about IRS Scam calls. Incidents can be reported to the FTC and any numbers associated with the calls should be reported.
How Caller ID Scammers Trick Their Victims
In a spoofing call, the perpetrators use simple application software installed on their cell phone or laptop that allows them to make outgoing calls appear to be coming from a legitimate source. In 60 seconds or less, a scammer can enter the FBI’s, local Police Department, or bank branch’s phone number — even public charities such as the American Red Cross — and that number will appear on your phone’s Caller ID. Even victims who call the caller back will get a legitimate recorded message from that agency or institution.
Unfortunately, widely available digital communications technology has made phone spoofing cost-effective for scammers.
How to Protect Yourself from Caller ID Spoofing Scams
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued detailed guidelines on how to protect your valuable information from spoofing calls, spoofing emails, and phony landing pages. Here are the critical steps we recommend that you follow:
- Don’t answer calls from unknown numbers. Simply let it go to voicemail.
- If you do answer an incoming call that looks to be legitimate or coming from a local source but turns out to be a robocall, hang up. Although you may think there’s no harm in answering an unknown caller, your act of answering tells the attacker that your phone number is real and could put you on a list for future scam attempts.
- Verify any sensitive information request by calling back a known number. If you get an inquiry from someone who says they represent a government agency, company, or non-profit organization, hang up and call the phone number on your account statement or on the company’s or government agency’s website to verify its authenticity.
