Learn about the most common phone scams and how to act if you receive one.Almost 100% we can ensure that you have received more than one call from a phone number that you do not have in the phonebook. And surely when you have answered you have found that they do not answer, a recording appears that says “good bye”, or in the worst case, they offer you an incredible offer on any service (electricity, telephone, gas, etc.) . Be careful, no matter how good an offer it may seem, all that glitters is not gold.
When you see an unknown number repeated many times on the caller ID , you may be wondering: who is calling me from this number ? And are they trying to scam me?
Below you can read 5 of the scams that can try to sneak you in when they call you from an unidentified number and how you can protect yourself.
Most common phone scams
Unfortunately, many people want to take advantage of the current economic situation by offering rates and discounts by posing as any of your service companies, speaking on behalf of famous companies to give you a gift, or trying to offer a service that involves home visits.
We have prepared a list of the most common scams , so that you and your loved ones can protect yourself against them.
1. Missed calls from unidentified phone numbers
This type of scam is one of the most common, probably because of how simple it is. It consists of receiving numerous missed calls on your phone from strange numbers , with strange prefixes such as +225 (Ivory Coast), +233 (Ghana) or +355 (Albania), which correspond to somewhat exotic countries.
The objective of this type of calls is to try to get you to return them , because of course, when you have received several calls from the same number, it is normal to wonder who is calling. The scam takes place the moment you call back, as you will be charged an extra cost on your next phone bill.
Solution: to avoid this type of fraud, it is best to ignore these calls and block the numbers. Another option is to ask your company to block them for you.
2. Calls to give you a prize
Another booming fraud is receiving a call or an SMS saying that you have won a prize from a famous company like Amazon or Carrefour and that they need your personal data to deliver it to you.
A variant is to receive a call from a telephone answering machine , which will instruct you to call a telephone number , which normally begins with 806 (or some consecutive number) to claim the prize. And it is that this type of numbers are those of special rates , which entail an expense of almost €10 per minute.
Solution: ignore the call and do not call any phone. Do not provide your information by phone, or follow any link in an SMS. As in the previous case, block the number or delete the sms.
3. The Covid vaccine at home
Unfortunately, the pandemic has awakened the wits of the worst individuals, and they are now making phone calls, often to seniors who live alone, offering them the option of receiving the vaccine without leaving their home.
The objective is to convince the person that a couple of toilets will come to their home to administer the vaccine… but what will really happen is that they will enter the home to steal what they can.
Solution: tell your elders that no doctor or nurse is going to go to their house to vaccinate them. If they call you on this pretext, hang up immediately. You can call your health center to find out when and where you can receive the booster dose.
4. Alleged calls from Microsoft
Apparently, they want to convince us that the computer giant is aware of the viruses that people’s computers can have, and they call you on the phone to tell you. This type of call is usually made by the supposed Microsoft employee , who offers to solve the problem, for which you have to download a program to give remote access to your computer, and sometimes they will even ask you for an advance payment.
Keep in mind that a technician from Microsoft will never call you , let alone asking you for remote access or a payment.
Solution: hang up. The moment you hear the word Microsoft you will know that it is a scam, do not waste your time. If you suspect that you may have a computer virus, install a reliable antivirus or contact a serious computer company.
5. Calls offering discounts on electricity or gas
The rise in electricity and gas prices has made vendors from different companies call at all hours to offer their products at incredible prices. In itself it does not seem like a scam, but the problem is that sometimes they can change your company without your explicit consent .
It has become such a common practice that it has been dubbed slamming , and is only intended to make you change your energy distributor.
Solution: if you want to make rate changes, call to find out , don’t let them harass you by phone and never give your personal or bank details over the phone.
What to do to avoid these dangers?
Above all, when you are receiving constant calls from numbers with more common prefixes such as +91 (Madrid) or +93 (Barcelona) or from mobile numbers, you may think, is it a relative or friend who has changed their phone? Or if you’re waiting for a job call or a doctor’s appointment, you can’t afford to ignore calls from unknown numbers.
For these cases, you can identify who is calling you. In the following video you can see how to find out who is calling you and other ways to combat phone spam.