I wish to register my opinion regarding telecommunications providers’ inability to screen ‘ghost number’ scams over the telephone system.
The potential victim will receive calls from numbers like 111-222-3334 or 000-000-0000.
If you DO fit the profile you are then prompted to speak to someone, that person assaults this listener with promises of lowering credit card rates and will ask for a credit card number, in order to complete the request.
If you DON’T fit the profile, the con is to promote something else.
Also you might be prompted to push 3, add to ‘do not call list’ then the line will hang up after 3 is pushed.
Now, that being said, I do understand that the choice to divulge personal information over the telephone ultimately lies with the person at home (also includes cell phone users).
The service providers are unable to stop these scams. They claim these numbers are ‘spoofed’ numbers, whoever called manipulated the caller ID to display an incorrect phone number. Could they manipulate the caller ID to resemble a Banks’ information? If so, people would believe they are speaking to their Banker!
Scary.
These numbers are not listed and furthermore, they do NOT appear on customers’ phone bills because the phone provider has NO RECORD of any received calls from the above mentioned ‘spoof’ numbers. You can block these numbers (not guaranteed), but for a fee. Then the customers are paying for protection rather then the telecommunications companies filtering out these ‘spoof’ calls before they reach the customer.
I am unable to determine where these numbers come from, take into account my limited access to the required resources.
How can these numbers have access into the telecommunication grid?
Today the caller id is being compromised. Tomorrow it may be copying key tones to determine card numbers and access numbers. I am simply stating an opinion regarding the possible security issue in the above-mentioned sectors.