Unsolicited telephone calls can be a nuisance to Arkansas consumers, especially
if the calls are from a business or marketing company trying to sell products or
services that consumers don’t want or need.
The unsolicited calls become more than a mere nuisance,
though, when the caller attempts to mislead a consumer, perpetrate a fraud or
obtain sensitive personal or financial information.
Because reports of deceptive unsolicited calls have
increased recently, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel issued this consumer alert
today to offer advice for Arkansans who receive those types of
calls.
“The best way to ensure you are not bothered by an
annoying caller or someone attempting to mislead you is to choose not to answer
calls from numbers you don’t recognize,” McDaniel said. “In the event you do
answer the phone and you are suspicious of what is being said, then hang up and
make a call yourself to the business or organization in question to determine
the validity of a claim.”
McDaniel warned against providing any personal or
financial information such as Social Security numbers, credit card numbers or
bank account information to anyone who initiates a call. Some con artists will
engage in a practice known as “pretexting,” where they purport to be
representatives of a bank or credit-card company in order to trick consumers
into providing sensitive data. In such instances, consumers should refuse to
provide any information, and instead offer to call the financial institution
directly to ask whether the solicitor is making calls on its
behalf.
Likewise, consumers who receive suspicious calls
regarding political or social issues should also double-check with the entity
supposedly connected with the caller to make sure the claims or questions are
accurate.
McDaniel cited as an example recent calls being made to
some Arkansans from someone posing as an employee of the office of Sen. Mark
Pryor. The caller requests information about the number of guns in the home,
capitalizing on concerns related to the current gun-control debate in
Washington. The call is a ruse, and Pryor has said no one in his office would
ever make such calls.
Representatives of the office of Sen. John Boozman
agreed that members of Congress would not make unsolicited calls seeking
personal information. Both senators encouraged Arkansans who receive those types
of calls to contact the Federal Trade Commission.
Meanwhile, McDaniel offered these suggestions to
consumers who seek to avoid unsolicited or telemarketing
calls:
- Obtain Caller ID service for each telephone line, and
monitor Caller ID for unknown or unrecognized numbers. Though some consumers may
want to be hospitable and polite no matter who calls, avoiding these types of
solicitations entirely are the best way to avoid misleading information or
pretexting from an unknown entity.
- Make sure to sign up for the federal Do Not Call
registry. Registration is free and it never expires. Telemarketers are not
allowed to call phone numbers on the registry if the purpose of the call is to
sell goods or services. Violators are subject to fines.
- Know that more restrictive rules apply to telemarketers
and unsolicited callers who call cellular phones. Cell-phone users typically do
not receive as many unwanted calls as do landline users.
- If repeated unsolicited calls from the same number are
received, consider asking the telephone company to block calls originating from
that source. The provider may impose a charge for this service.
Keep in mind that con artists do not follow the law
anyway, so they disregard the Do Not Call registry regularly. Technological
advances allow for Caller ID spoofing, so that scammers can disguise the source
of the call to evade prosecution.
When answering a suspicious, unwanted call, consumers
should write down as much information as they can about the caller, including
the name of the person calling, where they purport to be calling from and the
phone number. Then, consumers should notify the Attorney General’s Office if
they believe themselves to be victims of a scam or a Do-Not-Call
violation.
The Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Hotline is
(800) 482-8982, or consumers may visit the Consumer Protection Division’s
website, www.GotYourBackArkansas.org.
To report violations to the Federal Trade Commission,
call (888) 382-1222 or visit www.ftc.gov.
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