Sheriff’s Office warns public of increase in scam calls

The Lake of the Woods County Sheriff’s Office has seen an increase in the number of scam calls being reported.

“We have been receiving a number of complaints of scam calls lately,” said Sheriff Gary Fish.

If you receive a call that you suspect is spam, the Federal Trade Commission recommends the following actions:

Hang up

Even if it’s not a scammer calling, when a company is calling you illegally, it’s not a company you want to do business with. When you get a robocall, don't press any numbers. Instead of letting you speak to a live operator or remove you from their call list, it might lead to more robocalls.

Consider call blocking or
call labeling

Scammers can use the internet to make calls from all over the world. They don’t care if you’re on the National Do Not Call Registry. That’s why your best defense against unwanted calls is call blocking. Which type of call-blocking or call-labeling technology you use will depend on the phone — whether it’s a cell phone, a traditional landline, or a home phone that makes calls over the internet (VoIP). See what services your phone carrier offers, and look online for expert reviews. For cell phones, you also can check out the reviews for different call-blocking apps in your online app store.

Don’t trust your caller ID

Scammers can make any name or number show up on your caller ID. That’s called spoofing. So even if it looks like it’s a government agency like the Social Security Administration calling, or like the call is from a local number, it could be a scammer calling from anywhere in the world.

Scam calls and text messages should be reported to the FTC. To report a call to the FTC, visit ftc.gov/complaint and follow the onscreen assistant. You can also call 1-877-382-4357 (TTY: 1-866-653-4261).