Stop unwanted Robocalls and potential scams

Unwanted calls – including illegal and spoofed robocalls - are the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) top consumer complaint. Not only can the sheer volume of unwanted calls be aggravating, they can also put your financial and personal information at risk. 
 
What You Can Do 

• Beware that Caller ID showing a “local” number does not necessarily mean it is a local caller.
• If you answer the phone and the caller (or a recording) asks you to press a button to stop getting the calls, you should just hang up. Scammers often use this trick to identify potential targets.
• Do not respond to any questions, especially those that can be answered with “Yes.”
• Never give out personal information such as account numbers, Social Security numbers, mother's maiden names, passwords, or other identifying information in response to unexpected calls or if you are at all suspicious.
• If you get a call from someone who says they represent a company or a government agency, 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. You will usually get a written statement in the mail before you get a phone call from a legitimate source, particularly if the caller is asking for a payment.
• Be suspicious if you are being pressured for information immediately.
• If you have a voicemail account with your phone service, be sure to set a password for it. Some voicemail services are pre-set to allow access if you call in from your own phone number. A hacker could spoof your home phone number and gain access to your voicemail if you do not set a password.
• Talk to your phone company about call-blocking tools they may have and check into apps that you can download to your mobile device to block unwanted calls. 
• If you use robocall-blocking technology already, it often helps to let your provider know which numbers are producing unwanted calls so they can help block those calls for you and others.
• To block telemarketing calls, register your number on the Do Not Call List (https:// www.donotcall.gov/). Legitimate telemarketers consult the list to avoid calling both landline and wireless phone numbers on the list. Note, however, that even after you register, other types of organizations may still call you, such as charities, political groups, debt collectors and surveys.  

 
For more information, visit: https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/stop-unwantedrobocalls-and-texts

This post is from the December Prairie du Chien Office newsletter - " Eagle News and Views."  Click here to read the full newsletter.