#ScamBusters: Watch out for this robocall nightmare
We can all relate when it comes to those annoying robocalls. They’re constant and half the time they look local. Now, there’s a new one circulating manipulating a popular site we all trust: The Do Not Call Registry.
“I couldn’t tell what was real or what was fake,” said Arlene Lanman, a victim of the scam.
Here’s how it works
It starts out as a call asking the consumer if they want to be placed on the “Do Not call List.”
The message asks the consumer to press “2” in order to do it. But the catch?
Pressing any button during the call only confirms your number is real and active. Scammers will save and sell it so you’ll only get swamped with more calls.
“I thought it was legit,” Lanman said. “I just don’t know what to do in order to stop the.”
Det. Jon Price with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office explains the tactics aim to give a false sense of security.
“It really doesn’t help them at all because scammers don’t know about the registry… they don’t check it before they set up the robo calls,” Price said.
In fact, scammers call whoever they can get by using sites that aggregate random numbers.
“They seem to multiply all the time,” said Lanman.
Which is why the best solution is to not answer any call from a number you don’t recognize.
Report a scam?
