We are seeing an increase in Robo/Telemarketing calls on Government Phones. While we have notified TSA Headquarters there is often nothing phone carriers can do as these telemarketing groups resort to “spoofing” numbers. Spoofing is where they are able to use a legitimate number to come up on the caller ID. I have been called on my own or others numbers to make it seem it is a legitimate call and it winds up being a Robo call. These Robo calls are often Scams such as Windows saying there is a virus on your computer, Social Security saying your number is being suspended and the ever popular Car Warranty Expiration. These companies or agencies would not call you on the phone so please be careful of who is calling you and what information they may ask for.
Some are resorting to text messages. Do not click on the link. Delete the message immediately.
Things you can do;
If you are receiving these calls from the same number you can block the call. After the call in the phone App go to Recent Calls then to the right of the number is the information icon (an i with a circle. Go to the bottom and click Block this Caller.
You can also register on the National Do Not Call Registry (https://www.donotcall.gov/). On this site you would enter your phone number and email. You can add multiple phone numbers such as your desk phone. This site is run by the Federal Trade Commission and they use the information gathered to go after the telemarketers. There are also laws pertains to telemarketers having to remove numbers on this registry. You can also file a complaint on a number calling you often.
While it is hard to do in our profession the last is if you don’t know the number don’t answer the phone and let it go to voicemail. Telemarketer computer systems monitor phone pickups and voicemail pickups and will often drop that number from their database if they don’t get a live person after a few calls. This may be useful for your personal phone.
We hope this helps you.
Regards,
Kevin J. Dowling
Supervisory Program Analyst
Supervisory Program Analyst
