Did you know that your Caller ID service is susceptible to fraud?
Using a practice known as “caller ID spoofing,” callers can deliberately falsify the telephone number and/or name relayed as the Caller ID information to disguise the identity of the calling party. For example, identity thieves who want to collect sensitive information such as your bank account numbers, your social security number, your date of birth or your mother’s maiden name, sometimes use caller ID spoofing to make it appear as though they are calling from your bank, credit card company, or even a government agency.
Although caller ID spoofing has been around for almost 10 years, the Merrill Police Department has recently seen an increase in cases in which the spoofed number is that of a local resident.
As always, never give out personal information in response to an incoming call. Instead, hang up and call the phone number on your account statement, in the phone book, or on the company’s or government agency’s website to find out if the entity that supposedly called you actually needs the requested information from you.