|
Good morning,
In addition to being an everyday annoyance, robocalls often come from scammers who target people of all ages with the goal of tricking just one person into sharing valuable personal information or transferring money.
Scammers may even try to impersonate elected officials like me or government agencies to ask for your Social Security number or bank information. This is a common tactic scammers use. And while I or a member of my staff may call you in response to a question or opinion you have shared with me, my office will never make an unsolicited call to ask for your Social Security number or request a wire transfer. The only time my office will ever ask you to share your Social Security number is if you have requested and are receiving constituent services from a caseworker on my team.
Scammers today are extremely sophisticated. They may “spoof” or mimic the Caller ID number so that the call appears to come from your own area code or from an organization or individual you know. You should never return a phone call from someone claiming to be with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or Social Security Administration (SSA), my Senate office, or another government official. Instead, you should call these agencies directly.
If you or a loved one have been the target of one of these scams, you can report the call to the Senate Special Committee on Aging’s Fraud Hotline at 855-303-9470 or file a report online here. The phone hotline is open on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. CST and can help you determine next steps and find additional assistance.
Unfortunately, phone fraud is becoming increasingly common and more difficult to identify and prosecute it is estimated that older Americans lose a staggering $2.9 billion each year to various phone scams. Here are some of the most common tactics scammers will use:
- Con artists force you to make decisions quickly and may even threaten you.
- Con artists disguise their real phone numbers, using fake caller IDs.
- Con artists sometimes pretend to be the government (e.g. IRS or an elected official).
- Con artists pressure you not to call friends and family.
- Con artists try to get you to provide them with personal information like your Social Security number or other account numbers.
You can help protect yourself and your loved ones by staying vigilant and spreading awareness of these tactics. As a member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, I am also working on legislation to protect Alabamians from identity theft and fraud and to reduce unwanted robocalls. I cosponsored the TRACED Act, a bipartisan bill that recently passed the Senate and will help reduce illegal robocalls. I also introduced the Taxpayer Identity Protection Act, which the President recently signed into law and will help stop scammers from stealing your tax refund.
If you have any questions about phone scams, please contact my office or call the Senate Special Committee on Aging’s Fraud Hotline (855-303-9470) or visit their website.
Sincerely,
Doug
Unsubscribe
|
