January 12, 2024 – You aren’t alone if you already dread picking up phone calls and looking at text messages because of the constant barrage of scams. The creativity of scammers and the pervasiveness of telemarketing drive a widening gap between users and their tech, making it difficult to keep up with the latest tactics or the lawmakers’ responses.
SMS spoofing is an illegal text-based tactic where senders can change sender IDs, impersonating real phone numbers in their messages to make it look like they come from legitimate, trusted sources. According to Fox’s Kurt Knutsson in his CyberGuy Report, these attacks can range from attempting to get you to click on harmful links to either gleaning personal information from you to sell to data brokers or downloading malware. Some attempt to have their targets pay fake bills, disguising their websites as legitimate businesses or services.
Another pervasive phone scam attempts to defraud older adults by impersonating Medicare. Cold calls may start with a robocall to screen potential marks for eligibility and connect them to a call center scammer who will then attempt to get personal information and use Medicare numbers to incur charges.
Even though they may be irritating, some instances may seem innocuous, such as a legitimate business ringing your phone or texting promotions. Much like scam texts, some of these telemarketing calls and texts might also be illegal.
Attorneys General from multiple states, including Virginia’s own Jason Miyares, backed a new rule to protect Americans from these business practices in a letter from June 2023.
“Sleazy ‘lead generators’ try to trick people into consenting to receive spam calls or texts from hundreds of companies they’ve never heard of and never want to hear from,” Miyares said in a news release. “We are asking the FCC to toughen the rules on consent requirements, so Virginians only hear from organizations they agree to.”
According to the letter from the Attorneys General of 28 states and Washington D.C., some terms of service attached to insurance quotes include agreements to receive calls from affiliates, insurance companies, or their agents. Looking for a new insurance policy? Take a deep breath before clicking “view my quote” because you could unknowingly agree to some terms of service you did not bargain for.
Obtaining an insurance quote was examined because the fine print attached to view one at some companies might come with strings attached. The insurance company Assurance IQ, LLC was noted for including permission to receive marketing from its over 2,100 affiliates, opening up your phone for droves of pre-recorded sales calls just to view a quote.
Those affiliate companies waiting on your personal information are listed via a “partner companies” hyperlink in the Assurance TOS agreement on a different web page from the one permissions are gained on, and potential customers are not required to open the hyperlink to view quotes.
The Federal Communications Commission adopted the new rule against unwanted telemarketing, robo texts, and robocalls advocated by the Attorneys General. Now, the FCC requires businesses to obtain “one-to-one consent” from an individual customer to an individual company.
To reduce telemarketing solicitation, add your number to the National Do Not Call Registry. If you feel you have been the victim of identity theft, file a report with your local police station.
By Jimmy Henderson, Fairfax County Times
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