Last month’s blog focused on how to protect yourself from cyber scams. We hope that knowing what to look for and how to respond (or more important, how not to respond) helped you feel more confident as you navigate the online world. This month, we’re turning our attention to your phones—landline and mobile—to help reduce your risk of getting scammed over the phone. As a bonus, we’ll also provide some guidance on how to minimize the amount of unwanted calls you receive.

Let’s start with spoofing. ‘Spoofing’ is when a caller disguises their identity by deliberately falsifying the information transmitted to your caller ID. Scammers will “spoof” a number that may seem legitimate—as if the call is coming from someone in your geographic area, or from a company or government agency you already know and trust. If you pick up the call, the caller will use a scam script in an attempt to solicit valuable personal information such as your credit card number, social security number, or account information, which they will then use to engage in fraudulent activity.

At CT Comm, we hear from many customers regarding their experience with fraudulent calls. We certainly appreciate receiving these updates, but did you know that you can also report them to Ohio’s Attorney General? Here’s a helpful e-form you can fill out. Other sections of the site provide helpful information about many of the current scams making the rounds. It’s well worth checking out.

If you’re like many of us who get irritated by telemarketing calls, you can get on the National Do-Not-Call Registry by visiting DoNotCall.gov where you can register up to three phone numbers. You can also call 1-888-382-1222 (TYY, call 1-888-290-4236). If you’re registering by phone, only one number may be registered at a time and you must be calling from the number you wish to register. You can remove your number from the registry at any time.

Okay, now that we’ve covered cybercrime, phone scams and telemarketers, we’d like to take a moment in this November blog to wish you all a peaceful and festive Thanksgiving. We are truly grateful to you, our customers, for your patronage, friendship and everything you do to make our community this wonderful place we all call home. Happy Thanksgiving!