Identifying and avoiding scam calls

The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) received several reports of scam phone calls from persons claiming to be with Medicare, the IRS, or other agencies. 

In an (FCSO) press release, Sheriff Keith Korenek said that many of the scams stemmed from fraudulent organizations that are difficult to combat due to their foreign operation. 

“Many of these groups operate outside of the country where little can be done to put a stop to them or take action against them. They often use software that will generate fictitious telephone numbers or show the real number of someone else who is not involved,” stated the FCSO release. 

Korenek explained that the scammers use an automated dialing system - or “robo” calls” - to target potential victims at a mass scale. 

“The scammer will then try to claim the caller needs to give them personal information, wire money, buy gift cards and give them the card numbers and other methods to get money or information from them.”

The FCSO release listed the following suggestions to protect individuals against scammers.

1. If you don’t recognize the number, don’t answer the call. You can check the messages to see who called and if it is a call you need to return. Also, a lot of the software these scammers use will register that the call was answered. So, they know it is a working number with someone who will answer, likely resulting in even more scam calls.

2. Do not give out any personal information over the phone unless you are absolutely certain of who you are speaking with. 

3. If someone calls you claiming to represent the IRS, Medicare, etc. and you think the call may be legitimate get off of the phone with the caller and contact that agency directly yourself.

4. Don’t make payments by gift card, prepaid cards, or wire transfer. These methods are often used by scammers as they are harder to trace.

5. If you can, use a call-blocking mobile app to screen your calls. Ask your phone service provider if they offer any blocking tools.