I get a lot of complaints about unwanted telephone calls.
Many of the numbers which appear on call display are from Canadian, even Alberta area codes.
People registered with the Do Not Call List don’t understand why they are getting the calls.
I put the question to Telus and here’s an explanation.
These calls are generated outside of Canada by scammers who create false numbers generated off the Internet so they can’t be tracked.
Some use a brute-force method of dialling numbers that send out thousands of random calls in an hour, even up to 30,000 at a time.
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They regularly rotate between different regions of the world.
These people do not observe our Canadian laws and there’s not a lot that can be done.
They change the names of legitimate and well-known companies they claim to represent, and alter details in an effort to appear legitimate.
The best defence is to hang up the phone.
Here are some of the red flags in addition to a false (spoofed) number:
Any time you receive a phone call or email asking for personal information be cautious and verify the contact is legitimate before responding.
A key indication of a fraud is requests for personal information the legitimate company would already have, such as a name, account details, passwords.
If you want to be sure, ask for their name and a number to call them back. If they don’t give you a number, they’re hiding something. Hang up.
Here is a link to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and a list of today’s most common scams:
http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/english/home-eng.html
The new Little Black Book of Scams is also a useful resource:
http://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/eng/03074.html
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