Purpose:
To provide general knowledge on Caller ID Phone Spoofing, tips to avoid falling victim to the attempts, and instructions on reporting falsified/spoofed numbers.
Getting Started:
"Spoofing" is when a caller falsifies the information transmitted to your caller ID to disguise their identity. Spoofing is used to trick someone into giving away personal information so it can be sold or used for fraudulent activity. U.S. law and FCC rules prohibit most types of spoofing.
Identify Spoofing
You may not be able to tell right away if an incoming call is spoofed. Caller ID lets consumers avoid unwanted phone calls by displaying caller names and phone numbers. Still, the caller ID feature is sometimes manipulated by spoofers who masquerade as representatives of banks, creditors, insurance companies, or the government. So be careful about responding to requests for personal information.
Many spoofed numbers imitate the geographic location of the recipient. For example, if your phone number is 336-xxx-xxxx, the scam call will likely display as originating from a 336 area code as well.
If you are on a campus phone and receive a call from 336-750-xxxx, the number is likely spoofed. Typically, you would only see the campus member's name and 4-digit extension if the call originated from our phone systems.
If you think you're being spoofed:
- Hang up immediately and do not engage.
- Never give out personal information such as account numbers, Social Security numbers, mother's maiden names, passwords, or other identifying information.
- Do not respond to any prompts, even if the prompt purports to remove you from future call lists. Pressing a button to respond to the prompt indicates to the caller that they have reached a legitimate number, and it may increase the volume of robocalls you receive in the future.
General Tips
- If someone says they represent a company or a government agency seeking personal information, hang up and call the phone number on your account statement, in the phone book, or on the company's or government agency's website to verify the authenticity of the request.
- If you have a voice mail account with your phone service, set a password for it. Note: some voicemail services are preset to allow access if you call in from your phone number. A hacker could spoof your home phone number and gain access to your voice mail if you do not set a password.
- Put your mobile and landline numbers on the national Do Not Call Registry. Then, visit donotcall.gov or 1-888-382-1222 from the number you want to register.
Report Spoofing
If you receive a call and you suspect caller ID information has been falsified, or you think the rules for protecting the privacy of your telephone number have been violated, you can file a complaint with the FCC.