The Calvert County Sheriff’s Office has recently been made aware of numerous scam calls from someone claiming to be a representative of Amazon alleging that someone has tried to place unauthorized charges on personal Amazon accounts and attempting to have the callers visit random websites to include ww.anydesk.com.
The calls are from local area numbers so that it appears people within the county may be calling. This tactic is commonly known as phone spoofing and it occurs when a scammer makes a false number appear on your caller ID, in an attempt to impersonate someone else.
CCSO offers the following tips to prevent becoming a victim of phone spoofing:
- Do not answer calls from unknown numbers.
- Never share personal information such as account numbers, social security numbers, or other identifying information to an unknown caller.
- Verify that the number calling is authentic when someone claims to represent a business or government agency. Hang up and call the number on your account statement or look up the correct number on the company’s website.
- Research call blocking tools through your phone company or mobile phone applications.
- Report any suspicious phone calls or text message to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
