Contributor
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3 Messages
Spoofed numbers, name and fraud caller same call
Today, I received a call came from “DIRECTV 1-800-531-5000”. Person introduced himself as being from Direct TV and began offering me services. My phone equipment is made by ATT,
I have never had a business relationship with Direct TV which is a division of ATT. I am on the do not call list. I explained he was violating federal law and hung up.
I filed a complaint with the Do Not Call Registry. Then I did a google search and found that his game is to spoof the number and to tell you they are calling from Direct TV so that he could get me to sign up and give him my credit card number or send him a prepaid card.
When I checked the spoofed number, it was a match to the Direct TV number. I called Direct TV and I was forwarded to ATT corporate offices. Fraudulently claiming you are from a company is bad enough but when the number that shows up on the phone matches the company number that makes it difficult to know it is fraud. You cannot stop someone from claiming they are with Direct TV but why is is still possible to illegally spoof a phone number even on ATT equipment? I give no personal information to anyone over the phone but others might not be so lucky when the numbers, name and caller indicate they are from ATT.
My question was “why after several years, has one of the largest and most technologically advanced companies. not fixed this type of fraudulent sham?
The lady was very polite, took my information, but did not have an answer.
PS If I have posted this in wrong place, sorry but this probably belongs as a broad based issue to ATT Corporate Fraud and failure to fix the technology.
spoom2
Expert
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19.3K Messages
7 years ago
The short answer is with the advent of VoIP it's easy for those who know how to hack to spoof any number, including your own. If corporations had a way to stop this they would as it affects them all.
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MrStatler
Contributor
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3 Messages
7 years ago
If ATT were serious about correcting this glitch, they would. They have the technological ability to stop this but consciously chose not to.
There is little profit motive to do what is right and much to maintain the status quo. I must agree to disagree with your comment.
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Anthony.Dukes
Guru
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382 Messages
7 years ago
The industry is trying to catch up to the tech that the spammers use. There are actually websites that you can use for free to spoof numbers. You can pretend to be calling from a family members phones...etc.
I've had spoofed calls from the local "Sheriff's department" which turned out to be a fake fundraiser. They even warned about it on the news. So how do you combat this...by blocking the real sheriff's department? See, it's not so easy.
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MrStatler
Contributor
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3 Messages
7 years ago
An individual came up with a system called nomorobo which cuts down on most robo calls. If one individual can come up with a system like this at actually works, then why is one off the technically most advanced high tech corporation in the phone and internet industry not finding solutions? If it were profitable they would. If they want to trace the origin of a call they can. If they can do that they then can tell if something is being spoofed. Again this is a case of agreeing to disagree.
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spoom2
Expert
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19.3K Messages
7 years ago
Nomorobo can be used by anyone who is currently using a VoIP service, it comes with a built in black list of many robo callers numbers, which you can add to and is offered to AT&T u-verse customers. It still can't help you if someone calls you spoofing the bank, IRS, your phone company, your mother or any other legitimate number they want to spoof. Like @Anthony.Dukes stated if you block a spoofed number that belongs to a legitimate company, you also block the legitimate company. It's just not as cut and dried as you'd like it to be. This has been pretty thoroughly explained you can either believe it or not.
Just an edited to add the FCC was ordered by the Congress in 2015 (not positive on the year) to look into this problem as they govern call blocking, believe it or not, and so far they haven't come up with the answer either.
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