Charity Phone Scams

by Pamela M

Charity Phone Scams

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of reputable charities.  They represent worthy causes up and down the spectrum. However, people trying to scam you in the name of charity aren’t in that group. Scammers take the money you give in good faith to use for their own purposes. Be aware that scammers may pose as employees of famous national charities. Be sure that you are really donating to the actual charity and not a false front.

The “Good Guys?”

Scammers aren’t always located in call centers in foreign countries. The might be in your neighborhood exploiting people to make a quick buck. So-called upstanding businesses often use aggressive telemarketing campaigns to collects funds. On the surface, these charities seem to be honest. If you dig deeper, you’ll find that it’s a front. In 2015, the Federal Trade Commission filed charges against four cancer charities that collected almost $200 million in donations. The money was used for luxury vacations and their family’s salaries.

Is It a Phone Scam?

Legitimate charities do call potential donors for contributions. Charities are created every day and it is nearly impossible to keep up with the latest giving trend. Likewise, it can be hard to catch on to a false charity asking for money or an organization, although it’s not impossible. Scammers will use fake names and numbers, so you can’t run an iPhone phone number lookup. Take the following steps to avoid falling for a charity phone scam:

1.     Ask questions

Question the caller about the charity’s mission. Ask the representative his or her full name, the charity’s name and address, and how donations will be distributed. Scammers may not be able to answer and hang up.

2.     Ensure the charity is real

Do not donate at the time of the call. Research the charity online to verify its information and credentials. Charities are required by law to be registered with the state; national organizations can be verified through the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance. If you have found that the charity is real, you can call back or donate via their website. If you donate, be sure to get a receipt.

3.     Don’t give out personal information

Never give out personal or financial information. Be suspicious if the caller asks you to issue a wire transfer, purchase a pre-loaded debit card or a similar means of payment.

4.     Keep emotions in check

Scammers will often play on your emotions. They will tell sad stories about children, veterans or animals; anything that will get a reaction. They may use guilt to get you to donate. Whenever a caller asks for a certain dollar amount, hang up.

5.     Report suspicious activity

If you think a call is a scam, report it to the Federal Trade Commission immediately. Also call the local police on their non-emergency line to report it.

How to Handle Phone Scams

by Pamela M

iPhone number tracer app

Phone scams are prevalent especially since scammers can manufacture phone numbers. Many scammers call from outside the country, making their real numbers suspect. By using Voice over Internet Protocol, scammers can link a new number to a phone, computer, or other electronic device to trick their victims into believing their outrageous claims.

The best way to avoid phone scams is to use a iPhone number tracer app. If the caller has a legitimate reason for calling, he will leave a voicemail. This also applies to telemarketers who circumnavigate the federal Do Not Call list.

Types of Scams

The list of phone scams is seemingly endless with more being invented every day. Fraudsters call regarding anything that might get a response from their victims from Medicare offers to IRS scares to utility company demands for payment. If you are suspicious of a phone call you have received, check it out online before making any financial commitments. Callers demanding payment for taxes, utility bills or mortgage payments are often fraudulent. Call the company directly to make sure the request is valid. Also, be aware that the IRS never calls anyone on the phone; they always send letters in the mail.

Examples:

“Can You Hear Me?” The caller asks you questions to get you to say “yes.” The answer can be altered and used to show agreement to the scam. If you must answer in a positive way, find another word to agree. Following are just a few popular scams:

  • Car Accident. The scammer informs the target that a family member has been in an accident.
  • Kidnapped Relative. The caller demands money for the safe return of a kidnapped family member. The scam is also known as the “Grandparent Scam.”
  • Unpaid Utility Bill. Someone posing as a utility company worker threatens to cut off the utility unless paid immediately.
  • Free offer/lottery winnings. Caller tells the victim that he has won a prize or a free vacation.
  • Government Employee Impersonator. Someone calls claiming to be an employee from the IRS, Social Security office or other agency.
  • Credit Card Services. Caller states he is from your credit card company inquiring about suspicious charges, lower rates or another service. Asks for your social security number or other vital information.
  • Medical Coverage and Benefits. This scam targets seniors more than any other group. Caller scares target into thinking his medical coverage is insufficient.
  • Lower Your Interest Rates. The scammer details how you can save on credit card or loan interest rates.
  • Tech Support. The caller says he is from tech support. He reports a serious computer issue on your system. The “technician” offers to fix the issue for a fee.

Reporting Scammers

Reporting fraudulent calls may seem futile, but it does help to curb the activity. Law enforcement should be notified regarding calls designed to defraud or harm the victim. Take the following steps to report suspicious activity.

Identify the Type of Call You Received

Telemarketer: A telemarketer is anyone that attempts to sell a product or service. To stop the calls, sign up on the Federal Do Not Call Registry. It may not stop the calls, but it will help. Block all unwanted numbers.

Debt Collector: Someone calling to collect a debt should be able to provide you with account information, amount due, contact number, and address. Tell the caller you will return the call at your convenience. If the call is legitimate, contact the collection agency via snail mail, requesting that they stop calling you. Legally, they must obey.

Scammer: Telemarketers must obey the national Do Not Call Registry. This should prevent telemarketers from calling and if you do continue to receive these types of calls you should report them. You only need to sign up one time per phone number.

Report the Call to the Authorities

Once you have determined that the call you received is a scam, report it to the proper authorities. Local law enforcement can warn other citizens since scammers often target specific areas.

  • All Internet-based scams, including romance and tech support scams, should be reported immediately to the Internet Crime Complaint Center, an agency operated by the FBI.
  • Calls from the IRS should be reported to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).
  • Consumer-related phone fraud should be reported to the Federal Trade Commission’s Complaint Assistant. Consumer-related scams include free vacation or prize scams, lottery and sweepstakes scams, energy bill scams, loan and credit card scams, tech support scams, fraudulent debt collectors, medical alert scams, fake charities, and telemarketers in violation of the Do Not Call list.
  • Contact the Federal Communications Commission to report telemarketers and fake debt collectors using ID spoofing.

Block the Number

Aside from not answering calls from unknown numbers, you can block a phone number with the press of a button. Scammers use many phone numbers but placing a block will reduce the number of calls you receive.

Avoiding Identity Theft

by Pamela M

Avoiding identity theft is becoming more difficult every day. Thieves target much more than credit cards these days; they may steal social security numbers, driver’s licenses, passports, green cards, visas, addresses, tax returns, phone numbers, and more. It might seem nearly impossible to avoid identity theft altogether, but there are some measures you can take to protect yourself from crime.

Watch out for online scams

Guard Your Phone

Most of us have become thoroughly attached to our phones. So much so that the majority of our personal information is stored inside. While it is certainly convenient, it can also be a nightmare if your phone is lost or stolen. To protect yourself and your information, password protect your phone with a code, fingerprint or facial recognition software. There are a plethora of apps on the market that will help you to block calls on your iPhone and potential thieves. Additionally, store the information in a place an identity thief may not think to look such as a document titled, “family recipes” or “medication schedule.”

Password Protection

Most websites offer password protection, often including several layers of security. Features may include multiple secret questions, pin numbers, or secondary verification through email or text. While those are helpful features, they won’t prevent an identity thief from pulling that information from your computer if it’s not protected as well.

Identity Theft Monitors

As identity theft grows, so do the number of companies that offer protection. Information can be obtained in many ways, including a breach of credit bureaus, credit card or utility companies. You may not know for months if your information has been stolen. While companies typically assist in fixing the problem, it can take years to get things back to normal.

If you’re going to invest in a monitoring company, do your research to find the one that best fits your needs.

Limit Card Use

Using a card instead of cash has its benefits. It eliminates the need to carry cash or checks and, in some cases, it’s much faster to get service. It is also easy to track expenses. However, thieves are always developing new ways to steal your information and use it for gain. Try to limit your card use when shopping in grocery stores and gas stations where it’s easy for someone to peer over your shoulder and get your information. They often employ tools like gadgets that can swipe your info at gas pumps or as you pass by, completely unaware of what is happening. You can also get theft prevention wallets that will block electronic scanning of your cards.

Shred Documents

It might seem simple but shredding your documents is an effective way to deter theft. You might reserve the shredder for financial documents when, in fact, identity theft can occur with less sensitive items such as phone bills, magazine labels, and junk mail. If something has your name and address on it, be safe and shred the item. If you have a large amount of material, use a commercial shredding company or burn it.

Watch Out for These Christmas Phone Scams

by globalvoip

At the end of every year, there are a slew of scams that will try to target you both via email and in the form of phone calls. These are the Christmas phone scams that you need to watch out for.

Utility Scams

During the winter months scammers call pretending to be from your local utility companies. Power and heating “representatives” will call you and state that they didn’t receive your last payment and because of this they will be shutting off your power and heat. If you live somewhere cold where it starts getting dark at 4pm you know that this would be a horrible thing.

Many people will start to panic about losing power and will share their credit card or bank information with the caller. Sometimes the scammers will ask that the debt be paid with wire transfer or pre-paid gift cards. This should be an immediate red flag.

If you get a call like this, first hang up, and then call back your power company directly via the phone number that appears on their official website or on a previous bill you’ve received.

Romance Scams

With the holiday season also begin cuffing season! Everybody would like to have a special someone in their life around the holidays. However, you need to keep your wits about you. Watch out for online love interests who haven’t met you in person yet and who are quick to profess their love. These are both red flags.

Avoid sharing personal information with people that you’ve just met via online dating. Though the person might be amazing it’s important not to share too much information with them and never send a person who you don’t know money.

How to Avoid Christmas Scams

The best way to avoid these types of scams is not to get ahead of yourself. The holidays can be stressful, so don’t stress yourself out even more unnecessarily. Use a phone tracer app for the iPhone to identify scams and find information about new people you meet.

Guard your personal information and only share it with the people you know and trust.

Dating Apps: What You Need To Know

by globalvoip

Online dating is now more popular than ever. Millions of single people are now using websites and dating apps to meet “the one”. These are the things that you should keep in mind if you’re looking to try online dating.

The Basics

To start off you should decide what you’re willing to pay and what you’re looking for. There are all different types of sites and apps and it’s important to pick the one that best serves your needs. Sites like eHarmony and Match.com are paid and have compatibility tests that you take when signing up.

If you’re looking for something that requires a little less commitment dating apps like Tinder and Bumble are great. They are free to use and you’ll be able to meet plenty of singles in your area. There won’t be any compatibility tests included with these apps though! You’ll have to go solely off of a few pictures and a short bio.

Creating Your Profile

Setting up your online dating profile can sometimes be a challenge. In our experience it’s always good to include a few photos of yourself that you like and a short bio. Don’t give away too much information about yourself. It’s important to maintain your privacy and not reveal too much personal information when first meeting a stranger online.

Beware Of Romance Scams And Other Crimes

Unfortunately, we don’t live in a perfect world. It’s full of scammers and worse. It’s important that you be careful when using online dating and dating apps. Try to avoid the following scenarios:

  • A match starts professing his love for you very quickly without ever meeting you. This is usually followed by a plea for money.
  • A match insists on picking you up at your house for the first date or refuses to meet in public. It’s a good idea to find your own transportation for the first date and meet in a public place. The person you’re talking with might seem normal online or via text, but they could be a total creep in real life.

How To Protect Yourself

The best way to protect yourself when using online dating is by keeping the following things in mind:

  • Keep personal information guarded. Don’t let a new date know exactly where you work or live. You may even want to keep your phone number private. You can use a second phone number app to protect your identity.
  • Meet in public places and let someone know who you’re going to meet up with and where you’ll be.
  • Don’t be afraid to do some digging on social media. We’re not saying that you have to run a background check on a person, but don’t feel ashamed to search them on Facebook or Instagram. You can look up their phone number using a white pages iPhone app to find out their full name.

By following some of these tips you’ll be able to get the most out of online dating! Enjoy!

Avoid Phone Scams With Caller ID Apps

by globalvoip

Today more than ever people are victimized by phone scams. Whether it be the grandparents scam, lottery scams, or the infamous IRS scam, you need to be careful every time you pick up an unknown call. The best way to protect yourself is to install one of the many caller ID apps that exist to your phone.

What Are The Most Common Phone Scams?

There are so many variations of phone scams. You need to be extremely careful whenever you answer a call from a number that’s unfamiliar.

These are some of the most common types of phone scams:

  • Payday loan and federal grant scams
  • Warrant scams
  • IRS scams
  • Free vacation and lottery winner scams

Know The Red Flags

Phone scams can have a lot of variations, but they all have a few things in common. Watch out for these things when answering a call:

  • The caller asks for personal information that seems unnecessary. For example, if the caller claims to be calling from your credit card company they should already have all of your information. They shouldn’t need you to verify any personal information such as your card number, Social Security number, or personal address.
  • The caller claims you’ve won something for free, but you don’t remember signing up for it. This is very common. If you don’t remember signing up for something, then don’t listen to the caller.
  • The caller asks for payment of a fine via wire transfer or prepaid debit or gift card. This is the biggest red flag of all! If someone threatens you and demands that you pay them this way, hang up and block the number. Immediately report it to the proper authorities.

Protect Yourself With A Caller ID App

In order to protect yourself from phone scams, be sure to download an iPhone caller ID app.

An app like this will help you identify the unwanted calls and block them!

How To Stop Telemarketers

by globalvoip

Nothing is more annoying than telemarketers calling at all hours. A lot of these calls are often not even live humans, but recordings. If you’re receiving pre-recorded, automated calls on your cell phone these are illegal! We’ll go over the different ways that you can cut down on the amount of nuisance calls you receive, including using a reverse phone number lookup app to filter your calls.

Make Sure Your Number Is On The Official Do Not Call Registry

Though it isn’t the perfect answer to ending robocalls making sure your phone number is in the National Do Not Call Registry is a great start. You can have both your cell phone number and landline number (if you still have one) in the registry.

Once your phone number has been registered telemarketers are not allowed to call you unless you’ve already explicitly agreed to let them call you. Some calls like survey, political, and fundraising are still allowed even if your number is in the registry.

Make sure you don’t fall for any fake offers for Do Not Call Registry’s. There is only one official Do Not Call Registry in the U.S. and it’s run by the FTC.

Don’t Press Numbers When Answering Automated Calls

If you answer a call and a recording starts to play, just hang up. Don’t press any numbers to be removed from the calling list. This is often a ploy to get people to show that the number is active. Scammers will then take the active phone numbers and continue to call them. That’s why it’s best to avoid answering calls from numbers you don’t know and letting them go to voicemail.

Use A Reverse Phone Number Lookup App To Filter Calls

You should download a iPhone reverse cell phone lookup app in order to filter the calls that you receive. Eventually the less you answer junk phone calls the less you’ll receive them. Many apps have real time spam info on phone numbers and some even have automatic spam call blocking protection that you can enable.

How To Identify a Cell Phone Number Owner

by globalvoip

Imagine you go out with your friends on the weekend and you start talking to someone you find very attractive. You exchange phone numbers and part ways. The next day you get a text from them asking how the rest of your night was. You’re excited and can’t wait to respond back, there’s only one problem. You aren’t 100% sure what their name is.

What do you do? It turns out that you didn’t save them in your phone by their name. How are you going to find out who this person is?

There is an answer though.

Run a Reverse Phone Lookup

One way to fix this situation is to run iPhone reverse cell number lookups. Running a reverse phone lookup is an easy way to put a name to a phone number. This tool can be a big help in situations where you meet someone but don’t remember their name. You can also use a caller ID app to find out where a call is coming from and whether or not you should trust the phone number.

How to Locate the Name and Address of the Owner of a Cell Phone

Mobile phone carriers do not publish their customer’s phone numbers in a directory in order to shield their privacy. Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean that it is impossible to find out who owns a cell phone number. Using online resources you can find out who owns a number. Many times people will put their cell phone numbers with their social media profiles.

Look for Reverse Phone Search Websites

Use a search engine, such as Google, to look up reverse phone search sites. You can start by entering the phone number you want information on go through the search results, you will get several results of websites that provide reverse phone search with address and name. When you click the link you’ll be brought to the site and you can run the search on the phone number you want to identify.

If it’s a good reverse phone search site information regarding the name of the carrier as well as the city wherein the owner of the phone number is tracked to, will be shown. To obtain the name and full address of the owner of the mobile phone number, you may be required to make a payment. Once you have made a payment, and have provided your contact info, the detailed information will be mailed to you.

This includes the address and full name of the owner.

How To Trace A Phone Number Easily

by globalvoip

Tracing a phone number is the best way to find out who is calling you. There are many different reasons why you might want to trace who is calling you. Here are some of the many reasons you might want to lookup who’s calling you:

  • Having a stalker and want to make sure it’s not a serious issue.
  • Getting repeat calls from debt collection agencies that are contacting the wrong person or trying to collect on old debts.
  • Dating and want to know more information about the person you just met.
  • Interviewing for new jobs and want to know if a potential employer is calling you.

For whatever reason you have, tracing a phone number can be a very easy and super helpful. We’ll go over a couple of ways you can trace unknown callers on your iPhone.

How to Trace a Phone Number Easily

Step 1

The first step in running a reverse search on a phone number is to have it. You may have gotten calls from the number already or someone may have given you the number. Tracing a phone number is different than find out the phone number of a specific person. In these types of searches you start out only with a number and you won’t have any name or other information to help you out.

Step 2

The second step is to search the phone number using a search engine or an app for reverse phone lookups. There are many sites that will help you find out who a number belongs to. Be sure to pick a reputable one. You may need to make an account if there are no free results available or if you’re downloading an app for lookups.

It’s a good idea to download a caller ID app for conducting reverse phone lookups on your iPhone. These apps allow you to quickly lookup who’s calling you and will even automatically identify some incoming calls or block calls from known scam phone numbers.

Step 3

Once you’ve found a good site for phone number searches you may decide to purchase a report on the phone number that you’re looking up. These reports usually cost a small fee and can give you a lot of information, like the phone owner’s full name, address, and social media profiles.

 

How To Find Out Who Is Calling Your iPhone and Other Features

by globalvoip

Are you considering purchasing the new iPhone and are wondering whether it is really worth it? Have you just bought this great phone and want to know more about it? We’ll look at some of the features that make this phone worth it.

iPhone white pages reverse lookup app

A Balanced Performer

Most reviewers have credited iPhone for its consistency and balanced features. The phone has a great design, light weight, long lasting battery, high quality camera, and fast access to features. This is in contrast to other new phone releases such as Nokia Lumia 930, Sony Xperia Z3, Samsung Galaxy S5, LG G3 and HTC One M8. These phones may excel and stand out in one or two features but have a set-back in another of these core functions of a phone.

For example, the Sony Xperia Z3 has been reviewed as being not aesthetically appealing, while HTC One M8 is beautiful but significantly heavier than the rest. On the other hand, Nexus 5 has issues with battery life and the LG G3 has numerous user interface problems.

This makes the iPhone stand out among its peers.

The iPhone 6 Plus Camera

The iPhone’s camera is in itself a major consideration for buying the phone. Though camera ranking is subjective and debatable, the fact is that this phone’s camera has consistently ranked at the top. iPhone’s camera has been commended for its lighting adjustment, flash performance, color separation, precision, and its intelligent autofocus.

Apple Pay Mobile Payment Solution

Besides the high performing functionality of the iPhone, there is yet another reason as to why you should consider the phone.

Apple Pay has continued to partner with outlets to make it convenient for iPhone owners to make payments and transactions with their phone. Mobile payments are becoming very popular.

Apple has partnered with multiple stores, franchises ,and service providers to make mobile payments more convenient.

Find Out Who Is Calling Your iPhone and More

In a bid to remain competitive over its main rival, Google Play, Apple has released a more powerful and easier to use programming language for its applications. The Swift scripting language replaced Objective-C with the new iPhone’s release.

Most programmers have found this scripting language much easier and more powerful to use when making applications. This new programming language attracts more programmers to make apps for iOS. Swift is also projected to result in more complex and intelligent applications than its counterpart in Android.

Already, there are powerful and interesting applications that have been released. Among these include an iPhone white pages reverse lookup app, Transmit for managing files, and Sky Guide for star gazing. For iPhone users, the new and better scripting language will result in even more applications that perform better.