Scam calls continue to be on the rise for American citizens, and that is no exception for Garretson residents. Scam calls tend to run the gamut, from IRS scams to criminals pretending to be your nephew, stuck and without cash and needing some wired.
The estimated percentage of scam calls to legitimate calls is 44% in 2019, compared to 3.7% in 2017, according to the telecommunications security firm First Orion. It’s profitable, too. Estimates of fraud amounts are around $430 per successful phone call, according to the FTC. In 2017, that added up to $350 million.
While phone scammers are not new, the methods they use to bilk people out of their hard-earned money or their identity have changed.
In the past few years, scammers call using a method called “spoofing,” which shows a sometimes-legitimate phone number in your caller ID that may be similar to yours, or in the same area code, to encourage you to answer the call. Recent technology has made it easier and cheaper for this to be done worldwide.
Once answered, they may use it to confirm identity information (called phishing), use a recording of your voice to scam other businesses, or even to confirm that your phone number is active, so it can be sold to other people or corporations who would use it for nefarious purposes.
Recently, scam calls received on Garretson phone lines have been purporting to be from the IRS, stating that the receiver owes back taxes, and calls from a law company, purporting to have cases pending against the receiver.
In May, the US Senate passed more legislation to crack down on robocalls, increasing fines and the statute of limitations. This enhances the regulations that began with the Do Not Call Registry, which has helped reduce or eliminate unwanted calls from legitimate sources, but did nothing for robocalls and scam calls. SD Senator John Thune co-sponsored the bill.
"This won't eliminate all robocalling, but it'll certainly put a dent in it -- and that's something I think everyone will welcome," said Senator Thune to CNN in May. At that time, it had yet to be passed by the House of Representatives or signed by the President, but it was expected to pass easily.
As of July, a coalition of attorney generals in several states and the District of Columbia, in conjunction with 12 major phone companies, had started to offer free call-blocking tools to their users on cell phone networks, and for both cellphone and traditional landlines, they’re working to make spoofing harder and blocking robocallers at the network level. In August, the FCC made it illegal for foreign callers to spoof their number, which encourages phone companies to pursue scammers.
The Gazette contacted Alliance Communications with three written questions and Amy Ahlers from Alliance Communications responded.
Are there ways Alliance, as a phone company, can help reduce the number of scam/robo calls?
Alliance has a feature called Incoming Call Manager that customers can add to their lines. This feature alerts callers that the dialed number doesn’t accept telemarketing calls. The caller is then directed to press 1 to proceed. Since auto dialers aren’t capable of pressing 1, the call won’t be connected.
Customers also can use caller ID, so they can ignore the call if they don’t recognize the number. Customers should also register their numbers at donotcall.gov, which will help prevent telemarketing calls. Unfortunately, registering with the website won’t prevent scam calls.
Alliance eventually will be using new software that’s currently in development. This software will have more capability to detect scam calls. For example, if the calling number says it’s coming from Garretson and the software detects that it’s coming from California, that call won’t be connected.
Do you guys receive several phone calls from frustrated customers, and if so, what steps do you take with them? Have you noticed a rise in the number of scam/robo calls going through your system (if that’s tracked)?
No. We haven’t seen an increase in call volume. With the decrease in landlines, we receive fewer calls now than we have in the past. See No. 1 for our solutions for customers.
Do you have a stance on the recently-passed bills that are encouraging states’ attorneys generals to work with telephone companies to reduce those calls and increase fines? What is Alliance doing in conjunction with the SD Attorney General to help mitigate this issue, if anything?
We’re glad the issue has gained more attention. If the state decides to prosecute someone, we’ll certainly work with law enforcement. We’ll be happy to work with the attorney general in developing additional ideas and solutions.
While not all robocalls and scam calls can be avoided, there are specific steps that can be taken to help reduce the likelihood that a scam call will affect you:
