Lynette Veit, ECB Publishing
There's another phone scam making the rounds, using the number (850) 997-1049. The Caller ID says “Tractor Supply,” but this is NOT Tractor Supply's number, nor is it connected to the business in any way.
A Monticello resident reported getting such a call very recently, and answered it, thinking it might be about an order her boss may have placed earlier with the company.
Instead, she got a recording along these lines: “Hi, this is 'Elizabeth' from (name of some resort) you stayed at recently.”
After another short spiel about a survey, 'Elizabeth' asked, “Do you have a few moments?”
Already suspicious because this phone call didn't match the Caller ID information on her phone, the woman receiving the call hung up. She contacted the local business to let them know someone was spoofing their company name on Caller ID screens, contacted the local police and contacted the Monticello News to make people aware of what was going on. She felt that because it was a recorded voice asking a “yes or no” question, it might have been trying to get her to say “yes,” so the scammer to use that voice recording in another scam to defraud her in some way.
“Do you have a few moments?” could indeed be the new “Can you hear me?” of scams, or it might have been someone on a phishing expedition, trying to trick the people she called into revealing personal financial information.
In either case, the resident caught on quickly because of the bogus Caller ID and the strange recorded message that nothing to do with the company listed on the screen.
Scammers now have the technology to “spoof” names and numbers on your Caller ID, and make those displays show anything they wish. If you receive a call that doesn't match the information showing on your Caller ID, hang up. If you're not sure about the match, but it's a recording asking questions, or it just sounds strange or fishy, hang up. If possible, let the person or company whose name and number is being spoofed know what is going on. You can also report the incident to the Better Business Bureau's Scam Tracker at www.bbb.org/scamtracker/us, or the FCC Consumer Help Center at www.fcc.gov/consumers.
The old telephone etiquette we learned in years past does not apply here. When in doubt, hang up, and don't worry about seeming rude. Screening all your calls in this way can help protect you from being scammed as well.
The Monticello News regularly runs Scam Alerts in the paper to warn readers about the latest tricks fraudsters have up their sleeves. If you receive a scam phone call, or know of one that is making the rounds among your friend and neighbors, contact the Monticello News at (850) 997-3568. We'll run a Scam Alert about it to get the information out to our readers.