(WXYZ) — Do you receive a lot of calls from unknown numbers? Robocalls especially? I feel your pain, because I was recently targeted, and yeah, it was a scam.
So, I asked folks on social media about this problem and spoke with an expert from the Federal Trade Commission to help you spot the red flags.
Earlier this month, my phone started blowing up with robocalls leaving this automated message: "…for $200 is pending. We think it is an unusual activity. If it is not you, press one. If you want to continue with this transaction, ignore this call."
The 866 number left not just one or two voicemails, but nine different ones in just a few minutes, all identical, hoping I would press one thinking there would be a fraudulent charge.
I posted about this on our Facebook page and we got more than 100 comments.
Kathy Johnson wrote, "My phone rings constantly all day and night."
Um Jibreel said, "I receive 40 phone calls and unfinished messages a day."
Karie Krucker said, "Been getting a lot of calls from 855. Every time I block the number, they call from another number but same area code."
"How big of an issue is this here in the United States?" I asked Benjamin Davidson, an attorney with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
"It is a major issue. Unwanted calls are the top reported fraud category that we receive every year, and that's been consistent for many years," he said.
Davidson is also the coordinator of the FTC's Do Not Call Registry. He said in Michigan, from October 2023 through September 2024, more than 65,000 complaints were filed with the Do Not Call Registry.
When you look at the top three, most were about medical and prescriptions, followed by reducing debt, and then calls from imposters, like what I received.
"The reason why the scammers want you to press one is why?" I asked.
Often scammers are trying to get you on the line. And if you press one, they're going to ask you questions and try to obtain personal financial information," he said.
The FTC has this advice if you receive one of the calls: Hang up, consider call blocking or call labeling, don't trust your caller ID and contact the company you think is contacting you by looking up the number yourself.
The bottom line: don't answer, don't trust, and independently verify. These scammers are persistent.
In the last year, the FTC said more than 2 million complaints have been made about calls to numbers on the "Do Not Call Registry."
If you've been targeted, you can report it to the FTC here.
