There’s a very good chance you may receive a phone call which appears to be from a company that serves you. But, be careful, because it might be a telephone scam.
The scam involves a technique called “spoofing,” where a third party displays a phone number on your telephone screen owned by another entity through its caller ID (in one recent case, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona). Spoofing is often used to trick someone into giving away valuable personal information for fraudulent activity or to be sold illegally.
We’re currently in the process of notifying our customers of this threat.
Should you ever be suspicious, here are some tips you should remember:
- Don’t give personal information like account numbers, Social Security numbers, mother’s maiden name, passwords, or other identifying information over the phone.
- If you get an inquiry from someone claiming to represent a company or government agency seeking personal information, you should hang up and call your service provider directly. In the case of a health insurance company, it would be the number on the back of your member ID card.
- Remember, if the call is valid and important the caller will usually leave a voicemail.
- If you have a voice mail account, you should be sure to set a password. It’s easier for scammers to gain access to voice mail systems without passwords.
- In addition to reporting the activity to your company, you should report the call(s) to their phone carrier as an ‘annoyance’ call.
- You can also report the call(s) to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) by calling 1 (888) 225-5322, or call the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-FTC-HELP (877-382-4357).
Scammers are constantly coming up with new ways to steal our personal information.
Please keep this information handy and share with your friends as necessary.
Thank you.