Contributor
•
1 Message
Phishing Scam using Fictitious Numbers
Over the past few weeks, I have been receiving several calls daily from oddly similar numbers (they all have different area codes but are 555-01xx numbers). After looking up several of these, they seem to be from a group with Middle Eastern accents claiming to be Microsoft Techs needing to gain access to your computer to remove a virus that they detected.
Although I don't believe that AT&T customers are being targeted exclusively, the phone numbers they are using are not real and are typically reserved for movies and TV shows. Because these numbers would never be issued, why are they allowed to pass through the system when they are obviously tricking the caller ID system?
ATTDmitriyCM
Former Community Manager
•
10.4K Messages
10 years ago
Hi feedingthetrain,
This is an interesting question, while a wide range of 555 number are reserved, looks like most of them are still available and in use with 1-800 area code...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/555_%28telephone_number%29
So, I'm guessing that's why those kinds of number are not actually blocked by phone companies.
Number spoofing is a big issue these days. Those scammers can basically pick any number they want to show as their caller ID, and they're virtually untraceable. Most of the time they use real companies phone numbers, so they can't be blocked without hurting legitimate businesses.
Thanks,
Dmitriy
0
0