Oklahoma phone scams involve fraudulent activities perpetrated over the phone. These fraudulent activities are usually targeted at unsuspecting persons and aim to mislead, defraud, and harass them. Phone scammers impersonate entities that the targets are familiar with, such as employees of government agencies and legitimate organizations, to erase any form of suspicion. In most cases, the scammers end up stealing money, valuables, or sensitive information that will be used to defraud or implicate the target. Phone scammers use different means of telephone communication when reaching out to their targets, including pre-recorded robocalls, live calls, emails, and text messages. Phone lookup services on privately owned websites and mobile applications can be used to identify a call’s source.
Oklahoma Attorney General, Mike Hunter, provides Oklahomans with up-to-date information on phone scams. Also, Oklahomans that receive unsolicited calls or suspect that they have been contacted by phone scams are encouraged to file complaints with the Consumer Protection Unit. Some common phone scams in Oklahoma include:
- “232” area code phone scam - The area code “232” is from Sierra Leone, and it is linked to many scams across the state. Consciously avoid picking such calls.
- Banking scams - This involves attempts to access the target’s bank account by impersonating the target’s account officer through, caller ID spoofing, to get their financial information.
- Charity scams - This involves scammers setting up fake charity organizations to exploit the public’s generosity. They sometimes take advantage of disasters and tragedies occurring in the state.
- Investment scams - Scammers call their targets, informing them of bogus investment opportunities with high returns and no financial risk. These offers often seem too good to be true—research on the offer and the person offering it before taking any decisions.
- Pyramid and Ponzi schemes - These are scams that require a continuous flow of new participants to keep them going. Scammers present these schemes like multi-level marketing programs or other types of legitimate businesses. They use recruits’ “investments” to pay “profits” to the existing members. These pyramid schemes certainly collapse when the current members cannot recruit more new participants.
- Free grants and lotteries - Here, the scammer offers fake winning lottery tickets and grants and demands that the target pays a certain amount of money to process them.
- Emergency scam - Here, the caller claims to urgently need money to sort out an emergency such as hospital bills.
What Are IRS Scams?
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Scams involve fraudsters impersonating IRS officials and defrauding unsuspecting Oklahomans of their hard-earned money. These scams are mostly associated with the tax season, where fraudsters take advantage of the season’s anxiety. Sometimes these fraudsters demand their targets’ financial information by making them believe it is required to process payment. They may also say that the target has a refund waiting, and they need to verify personal info before the refund is sent. Oklahomans should be wary of such calls, and if they suspect any calls where the caller claims to be from the IRS, they should use phone lookup services on privately owned websites or mobile applications to identify the call’s source.
IRS scammers sometimes make their targets believe they owe back taxes and threaten that unless funds are wired immediately, legal action will be taken, or they will be arrested. Note that the IRS never calls to demand instant payment over the phone or request the recipient’s PIN, password, or personal financial information.
Report suspected IRS scams by filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and indicating “IRS Telephone Scam” in the filed complaint comments.
What Are Social Security Administration Phone Scams?
Social Security Administration (SSA) phone scams have become a trend in Oklahoma. The Attorney General, Mike Hunter, warns of these phone calls, which involve scammers claiming to be representatives of the Social Security Administration. These scammers call individuals, telling them that their social security numbers have been suspended because of suspicious activities or because their social security numbers have been involved in a crime. The scammers will then demand that the target confirms their social security numbers to reactivate them.
Also, a scammer may tell their target that their bank accounts are about to be seized, and to keep it safe, they will need to put money on a gift card and give them the codes. Persons who receive these calls should hang up immediately and not pay attention to the caller’s directives. Note that the Social Security Administration (SSA) will never call to demand instant payment over the phone or request the recipient’s PIN, password, or personal financial information.
What Are Government Grant Scams
Government grant scammers contact individuals and try to get money from them by guaranteeing them grants for their businesses, college education, or home repairs. They ask for the call recipient’s checking account information, pretending to need it to deposit the grant into the call recipient’s account or withdraw a ‘one-time processing fee.’
Instead of depositing the grant or withdrawing a ‘one-time processing fee,’ they defraud the call recipients and withdraw large sums of money from their account. It should be noted that government grants are rarely awarded to individuals. These grants are mostly awarded to state and local governments, universities, and other organizations to help pay for research and projects that are beneficial to the public.
What Are Telemarketing Scams?
Scam artists mask as telemarketers representing legitimate businesses that the call recipients are familiar with. They then try to sell bogus products or services to their targets over the phone, offering massive discounts and free product trials. Avoid buying anything over the phone, especially when unsure of the call’s source. If you must make a purchase, request that the salesperson send you details in writing, intensively research the product or service, and make inquiries directly from the company before purchasing. Also, avoid making payments over the phone, and if you must, ensure the company is legitimate.
How Do I Avoid Becoming a Victim of a Phone Scam?
- Be informed of scammers’ schemes - Know that anyone can fall victim to a phone scam as scammers target almost everyone; therefore, be alert when receiving phone calls, even from numbers you are familiar with. If unsure of a call’s source, confirm the caller’s ID using a phone lookup service.
- Never reveal any sensitive information to a caller over the phone - Know that banks, utility companies, and other legitimate organizations do not request a client’s personal and financial information over the phone. Regardless of how persuasive the caller sounds, resist the urge to reveal personal information over the phone.
- Never make any purchase decision or accept an offer over the phone without carefully considering it - Scammers often pressure their targets to make instantaneous decisions. They make their targets believe that the offer is only available for a short period. Disregard this statement and take your time to do in-depth research on the company and make an informed decision.
- Register on the Do Not Call Registry - Register on Oklahoma Do Not Call List online by completing the Telemarketer Restriction Act Registration Form or placing a call to (405) 521-3921. You can also register on the National Do Not Call Registry to restrict unsolicited calls.
- File a complaint when a phone scam is suspected - Oklahomans that receive unsolicited calls or suspect that they have been contacted by phone scammers can file complaints with the Consumer Protection Unit.
- Hang up the call if the caller hides their identity - Scammers sometimes choose to conceal their Caller IDs to make it difficult to trace them. Do not answer such calls and if you must, insist that the caller gives a detailed introduction of themselves and if they hesitate or give unclear information, hang up immediately.
- Do not answer robocalls - Scammers mostly make use of robocalls to scam individuals. Avoid answering these calls and if you unknowingly answer them, hang up as soon you realize what they are. Also, do not follow the directives given during the call.
- Avoid connecting to free unprotected Wi-Fi in public places - This sometimes is bait to access users’ personal information; avoid this.
- Use a reverse phone lookup service to search suspected telephone numbers.