Yesterday I got a call from a person claiming to be from the FBI. This blog post is designed to help you deal with it well if you find yourself in a similar or the same situation. It covers what to know and how to deal with it.
The First thing to know is to “[b]e advised, federal agencies do not call or email individuals threatening arrest or demanding money. Scammers often spoof caller ID information, and these phone calls are fraudulent even if they appear to be coming from an agency’s legitimate phone number. Recipients should hang up immediately and report the call.” (https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/boston/news/press-releases/fbi-warns-public-to-beware-of-government-impersonation-scams#:~:text=Be%20advised%2C%20federal%20agencies%20do,immediately%20and%20report%20the%20call.) “It is also important to know that federal agencies will not text you, [either].” (https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-avoid-government-impersonator-scam#:~:text=Because%20government%20agencies%20won’t,a%20scammer%20will%20do%20that.)
My solution was to put the number in my scam call app and blocked the number. I use the free version of Hiya. It works great. You can download it from your phone’s app store. In addition, I added the number to my phone’s blocked number list. This can be done by adding the number to your phone’s contacts and then by pressing block this contact. When you’ve done this, you won’t have to deal with texts from that number, either, which is helpful. I hope this blog post helps keep you and those you love safe from FBI scams.