The Office of Technology Services (OTS) has received reports of a Phone Call Scam offering to pay you $200.00 if you provide certain information in a survey. This is a scam! Please hang up the phone and report the scam to the OTS Help Center.
Legitimate companies whose services you use, such as your bank or your credit card company, may call you to confirm your account information or to update you on a purchase at times. The challenge is determining when these phone calls are legitimate companies and when they are scams. Here are some key steps to protect yourself:
? When someone asks you for information over the phone or asks
? If the phone caller is creating a sense of urgency or creating tremendous pressure for you to take action right away, it is most likely a scam. Do not trust him or her.
? Do not rely on Caller ID alone to authenticate a caller. It is easy for criminals to spoof the Caller ID or create fake Caller IDs so they can pretend to be calling from a legitimate company when they really are not.
? Never give your password over the phone. No legitimate organization will ever ask you for your password.
? Never give the calling organization information that they should already possess. For example, if your bank is calling you, the caller should already have your account number.
Remember, everything these criminals tell you is a lie; do not fall for such attacks. The best protection from attacks like this is not technology but yourself.
