With robocalls and spam activity on the rise, it’s important to know the true identity of whoever is calling you. While there are different types of spoofing, they typically all boil down to one main goal: fraud and/or theft. According to FCC.gov, “spoofing is when a caller deliberately falsifies the information transmitted to your caller ID display to disguise their identity.” Thus, it’s critical to take precautionary measures to protect your security and prevent potential identity theft.
In this article, we cover:
- The details of Caller ID spoofing
- Why Caller ID spoofing can put you at risk
- How to protect yourself from Caller ID spoofing
The details of Caller ID spoofing
Caller ID spoofing can come in many different forms, but one of the most common is known as neighborhood spoofing. The FCC notes that “scammers often use neighbor spoofing so it appears that an incoming call is coming from a local number, or spoof a number from a company or a government agency that you may already know and trust. If you answer, they use scam scripts to try to steal your money or valuable personal information, which can be used in fraudulent activity.” By calling you from what looks like a local number, many people are more apt to answer the phone. This can immediately put your security at risk as saying anything can provide scammers with an opportunity to commit fraud.
Why Caller ID spoofing can put you at risk
There is no doubt that Caller ID spoofing can put your security at risk. The FCC carefully states that “you may not be able to tell right away if an incoming call is spoofed. Be extremely careful about responding to any request for personal identifying information.” In addition, HP.com asserts that “spoofers are eager to gather active telephone numbers that will appear more trustworthy than 1-800 numbers, because it increases the likelihood a victim will answer the call. That’s why answering unwanted calls can often make the problem worse.” Their ultimate goal is to steal your private information and, ultimately, identity as well. This can cause a myriad of problems for you in addition to potential loss of money.
How to protect yourself from Caller ID spoofing
You can protect yourself from Caller ID spoofing in a few different ways. For one, you can start using caller ID today by downloading the free YouMail app in the App Store or Google Play Store. Simply add your phone number and YouMail’s caller ID app for Android or iOS will begin protecting your mobile device. You can even add multiple new numbers to the same device and receive the same caller ID feature on each one.
In addition, the FCC has many recommendations to protect yourself from Caller ID spoofing. Some of these include not answering calls from unknown numbers, not responding to questions from people you don’t know (especially ones that require a “yes” or “no” answer), never giving out personal information, setting up call blocking, and more.
To protect yourself from Caller ID spoofing, download YouMail today.
More on Caller ID and Spoofing:
- Securing Your Kids’ First Phone: A Parent’s Guide to Blocking Bad Websites, Protecting Against Scams, and Teaching Your Kids About Online Safety
- Free ways to find out who is calling you with reverse lookup
- How to quickly identify and report scam calls and texts
- Five reasons you should screen your calls before you answer them
Caller ID is crazy and sometimes unsafe!