While caller identification is helpful in identifying a caller before you answer your phone, it can also be susceptible to fraud. Using a practice known as spoofing, callers can deliberately falsify the telephone number and/or name displayed on caller ID to disguise their true identity and attempt to obtain a recipient's personal information.
Atlantic County has been advised of recent spoofing activity and offers the following tips to better protect its citizens.
- Don't provide personal information in response to an incoming call. Identity thieves often pose as representatives of government agencies, banks, credit card companies, utilities, or creditors to persuade people to reveal their personal financial information.
- If you receive an inquiry from a company or government agency seeking such information, do not provide it without first verifying the caller's identity and the need for the requested information. Verification may include calling the number on your account statement or visiting the agency's website to confirm the caller is an authorized representative.
If you believe you have been spoofed, you may report it to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) at
1-888-225-5322 or file a complaint at
www.fcc.gov/consumer-government-affairs-bureau.rotect
