The Better Business Bureau of Acadiana is warning of a new scam that involves scam artists using fake political fundraising calls. The scammers are tricking Americans into donating to their favorite candidate which turns out to be a fake fund.
The way the scam operates is by using robocall calls. A recorded voice calls the victim with a convincing message to encourage the victim to donate to someone running for office. If the victim agrees to donate money, a real person takes over the phone call and proceeds to ask for the credit card information. The money does not support a politician but instead goes to an unknown scammer. The victim not only loses money but could also be at risk to have their identity stolen.
Avoid being fooled! Screen your calls. Do not answer unknown numbers. You can check numbers on the site whitepages.com to see if that particular number has been flagged with a fraud alert.
Be wary of all robocalls, even if the call appears to come from a legitimate business. If you are not expecting a call from a business, it could be a scammer. Scammers use fake caller-IDs to trick you. Businesses are only allowed to contact you through a robocall if you give that business written consent. If you didn’t give consent, then it is a scammer. The best way to handle a robocall is to simply hang up. Do not interact with the call.
Protect yourself by taking preventative measures. Register your number with the “Do Not Call Registry” by calling, 888-382-1222, or sign up online at Donotcall.gov. This will help reduce the number of robocalls that you receive. Of course, it will not prevent all scammer calls but it will help.
Learn more at BBB.org/robocall
SOURCE: BBB-ACADIANA