Category: Phone Fraud

The bank phone fraud scheme that has been making its way through the U.S. and UK has shown up in Scotland, to the tune of £2.5 million in losses. The national police force in Scotland says that a wave of phone scams hit the Highlands region of the country in the last two weeks, targeting businesses. The scheme…

Carriers are getting another tool to use in the fight against illegal robocalls. The FTC is beginning a new initiative that will feed data on robocalls that violate the Do Not Call registry rules directly to carriers each day. The plan is part of an overall strategy at the FTC to combat robocalls and illegal…

As part of its strategy to stop unwanted and illegal robocalls, the FCC is opening an inquiry into the way that providers reassign phone numbers and how they can help prevent customers from receiving robocalls intended for other people. The problem arises when one customer gives up a phone number, whether it’s a landline or…

The FCC is looking for help in developing a system to authenticate phone calls. Caller ID spoofing has become one of the bigger problems on phone networks and is one of the main tools that fraud rings use when running illegal robocall operations. Software and apps to spoof caller ID signals are easily available and…

The Chinese government has detained several dozen Japanese citizens as part of an investigation into a phone fraud ring that has been targeting elderly victims in Japan. The arrests reportedly occurred in late June and are connected to the problem of phone scams that prey on senior citizens looking for easy cash. Similar to phone…

The FTC is supporting the efforts of the FCC to expand the definition of what constitutes and illegal call and make life more difficult for telemarketers and robocall operators. In comments sent to the FCC this week, the FTC said that a proposed rule that would allow the establishment of a broad Do Not Originate…

Police in the U.K. have arrested four people in connection with a fake tech support scam in which callers passed themselves off as representatives of Microsoft or other technology companies. Two men and two women were arrested as part of the investigation by City of London Police and Microsoft into the scheme, which has been…

The FCC has proposed a $120 million fine for a Florida man who the commission alleges made nearly 100 million illegal robocalls in a three-month period, some of which hit a paging network used by hospitals, EMTs, and doctors, disrupting its service. The investigation into the robocall operation began last year after the FCC received a…

Although tax season has been over for two months now, phone scammers are continuing to target victims with a new version of the venerable IRS phone fraud scam, using the agency’s electronic payment system as a lure. The latest iteration of the scheme involves scammers calling victims and trying to bully them into paying imaginary…

The FTC has reached settlements with two people and companies who the commission alleges were using fake pop-up ads and persuasive phone tactics to run a fake tech support scam. The settlement includes a fine of more than $800,000 and a permanent ban on any of the defendants engaging in similar schemes. This settlement is the resolution…