Are you tired of getting spam calls? You are not alone.
Today’s internet-based technology has made it easy for scammers to make robocalls and spoof phone calls, which are spam calls that appear to originate from a phone number that has the same local area code and first three digits of your number.
To educate the community on handling these calls, Danville Police are sharing the following tips from the Virginia Office of Attorney General:
- Don’t answer calls from numbers you do not recognize.
- If it’s an unwanted robocall, hang up.
- Don’t press 1 to speak to a live operator and don’t press any other number to get your number off the calling list. If you respond by pressing a number, you likely will get more robocalls.
- Register your home and mobile phone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry at www.donotcall.gov or by calling 1-888-382-1222 from the number you wish to register.
- Report robocalls to the National Do Not Call Registry at www.donotcall.gov. Federal and state law enforcement officials have access to the complaints filed through the National Do Not Call Registry.
- Contact your phone service provider and ask about available robocall-blocking technology.
- Consider using mobile apps or other features that may already be built into your phone to block robocalls.
- For more information about robocall-blocking technologies, consider the following information from the Federal Trade Commission.
The Do Not Call Registry does not stop scammers from calling you, but legitimate businesses should honor it.
Lastly, if you have fallen victim of a scam, please contact the Danville Police Department and your financial institution right away.