Beware of Holiday Season Phone Scams Targeting Unsuspecting Consumers

Scammers may pretend to be debt collectors, offer holiday deals, or use fear to extort money

December 3, 2024

The Federal Communications Commission is reminding consumers to stay alert for scam callers during the holiday season. Illegal robocallers often spoof caller ID information and use timely hooks such as missed package alerts, charity drives, and limited time sales to trick people into sharing money or personal data. Some callers now use artificial voice tools to sound like a company agent or even a relative. Never assume a call is legitimate just because the caller knows your name, a recent purchase, or your town.

Technology also makes it easy and inexpensive for scammers to spoof telephone numbers so that the call appears to come from your area. This is commonly called neighbor spoofing and it remains widespread during peak shopping and shipping periods.

Tips for Avoiding Phone Scams

To avoid becoming a scammer’s next victim, keep these tips in mind:

Do not answer calls from unknown numbers. Let them go to voicemail.
If a caller claims to be from a company or government office, hang up, find a trusted number on an official website or on your latest statement, and call back.
Do not press buttons or say yes to prompts. These tricks confirm that your number is active and may be misused to place unauthorized charges.
Never pay with gift cards, cryptocurrency kiosks, wire transfers, or peer to peer apps at a caller’s request. Legitimate organizations will not demand these methods.
Be cautious with charity and holiday deal calls. Donate or buy only through official websites you navigate to yourself. You can verify charities with the IRS Tax Exempt Search.
Enable call blocking and spam filtering from your carrier and on your device. iPhone has Silence Unknown Callers, Android phones include spam protection settings.
Register your telephone numbers with the National Do Not Call Registry. Lawful telemarketers use this list to avoid calling registered numbers.
Report unwanted or scam calls to the FCC Consumer Complaint Center by choosing the phone option and selecting unwanted calls. Your report helps investigators spot trends.
If you lost money, contact local law enforcement and your bank or card issuer immediately and ask about dispute options.

Common Holiday Scam Themes

Missed delivery or address correction requests that ask for a small fee or personal data.
Charity drives that pressure you to donate on the spot or refuse to provide a website you can visit later.
Debt collection threats that demand immediate payment and refuse to send a written notice.
Tech support claims about hacked accounts that push you to install remote access software.
Family emergency calls that ask for secrecy. Always call the person back on a known number or confirm with another family member.

If You Shared Information Or Clicked A Link

Change passwords for any affected accounts and turn on two factor authentication.
Contact your bank or card issuer to place alerts, replace cards, or freeze accounts if needed.
Monitor your credit reports and consider a free fraud alert or a security freeze with the credit bureaus.
Run a security scan on your device and remove unknown apps or extensions.

Staying a little skeptical goes a long way. Slow the conversation, verify through official channels, and when in doubt, do not engage.