It appears fundraising scammers are calling from 866-497-0858 asking for donations they claim will be used to raise money for veterans, police, firefighters, breast cancer, leukemia, and other cancers, autism, colleges and schools, the NRA, political organizations, and other seemingly worthy causes are ALL SCAMS.
How the Fundraising and Donation Request Scam Works
Many of these fake fundraising scammers use automated interactive voice response (IVR) software that sounds very human, but you are initially talking to a software-based robot who asks you some questions and responds based on your replies before transferring you to the real scammer who steals your credit card number under the pretense of raising money for a variety of fake causes that these scammers rotate through every day. The human scammer often says they will mail you an envelope so you can mail your donation in, but then they immediately still ask for your credit card number.
The robot caller usually begins the call with either a pleasant female voice or a stern male voice asking, "Hi, this is (fake_name), how are you doing today?", "Hi, is the head of the household there?", or "Hi, is (your first name) there?" Scammers often use IVR robo-dialing to automatically match the name that the robot asks for on the phone call to the name that is associated with millions of phone numbers and addresses on phone marketing databases that anyone can purchase. Many of the thousands of India phone scammers also use these same phone databases and they often ask for you by name to sound like a personal phone call to gain your trust. If you reply "No, John is not here" or "No, you have the wrong number", the IVR robot is programmed to say "Maybe you can help me" and still ask you for a scam donation. All of these IVR robot-based fundraising scams have been robo-dialing using the same IVR software voices and scripted dialogues for years now, only varying the charity/cause that they falsely support from week to week.
Calls During the Holidays
During the holiday months of November and December, these scammers usually change their IVR recordings to say they are fundraising for cancer research, autism, veterans, etc. During other times, they pretend to raise money for police, the NRA, political organizations, schools, etc. More than 90% of all North America scam phone calls originate from crowded phone rooms in India and the Philippines that run numerous fraud, extortion, and money laundering scams every day. Some fake charity donation scams are also run by American scammers. Like all the other Indian and Filipino scammers, these fake donation scams spoof thousands of fake Caller ID names and numbers so you can never call them back on the fake number that shows up on Caller ID.
How to Protect Yourself
Nowadays, NEVER trust any unsolicited caller who supposedly represents a charity, a pharmacy, a Medicare or car/health/life insurance offer, a computer support person saying your computer has a virus, a fake robotic recording of a Social Security or IRS officer saying your Social Security has been suspended or you have unpaid back taxes, a fake debt collector threatening you for fake debts, a fake recording from Amazon/Microsoft/Apple/Verizon/AT&T/bank, anyone who phones you with any kind of sales offer (more than 90% of unsolicited sales calls are scams so your odds of saving money are very poor), any kind of legal or arrest threats, any claims of suspicious activity on an account, any claims of refunds or auto-renewed/auto-debited accounts, and any pre-recorded messages.
Any unsolicited caller with a foreign accent (nearly always Indian or Filipino) should immediately be treated as a scam until carefully proven otherwise. Scammers usually use VoIP phone numbers or spoof fake Caller ID numbers that they frequently change every day. Legitimate businesses never use hundreds of area codes and tens of thousands of fake Caller ID phone numbers where you cannot call them back. They are all FAKE and they all try to steal your credit card or Social Security numbers, or they ask for your bank and personal identity information. Anyone, including you, can use telecom software or a third-party service to phone using fake names and phone numbers that show up on Caller ID.
It is really very simple and easy to avoid phone and email scams - if you assume all unsolicited calls are malicious in intent, you will never be scammed and have thousands of dollars or your identity stolen from you.
Online Threat Alerts Security Tips
Pay the safest way
Credit cards are the safest way to pay for online purchases because you can dispute the charges if you never get the goods or services or if the offer was misrepresented. Federal law limits your liability to $50 if someone makes unauthorized charges to your account, and most credit card issuers will remove them completely if you report the problem promptly.
Guard your personal information
In any transaction you conduct, make sure to check with your state or local consumer protection agency and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to see if the seller, charity, company, or organization is credible. Be especially wary if the entity is unfamiliar to you. Always call the number found on a website’s contact information to make sure the number legitimately belongs to the entity you are dealing with.
Be careful of the information you share
Never give out your codes, passwords or personal information, unless you are sure of who you're dealing with
Know who you’re dealing with
Crooks pretending to be from companies you do business with may call or send an email, claiming they need to verify your personal information. Don’t provide your credit card or bank account number unless you are actually paying for something and know who you are sending payment to. Your social security number should not be necessary unless you are applying for credit. Be especially suspicious if someone claiming to be from a company with whom you have an account asks for information that the business already has.
Check your accounts
Regularly check your account transactions and report any suspicious or unauthorised transactions.
Don’t believe promises of easy money
If someone claims that you can earn money with little or no work, get a loan or credit card even if you have bad credit, or make money on an investment with little or no risk, it’s probably a scam. Oftentimes, offers that seem too good to be true, actually are too good to be true.
Do not open email from people you don’t know
If you are unsure whether an email you received is legitimate, try contacting the sender directly via other means. Do not click on any links in an email unless you are sure it is safe.
Think before you click
If an email or text message looks suspicious, don’t open any attachments or click on the links.
Verify urgent requests or unsolicited emails, messages or phone calls before you respond
If you receive a message or a phone call asking for immediate action and don't know the sender, it could be a phishing message.
Be careful with links and new website addresses
Malicious website addresses may appear almost identical to legitimate sites. Scammers often use a slight variation in spelling or logo to lure you. Malicious links can also come from friends whose email has unknowingly been compromised, so be careful.
Secure your personal information
Before providing any personal information, such as your date of birth, Social Security number, account numbers, and passwords, be sure the website is secure.
Stay informed on the latest cyber threats
Keep yourself up to date on current scams by visiting this website daily.
Use Strong Passwords
Strong passwords are critical to online security.
Keep your software up to date and maintain preventative software programs
Keep all of your software applications up to date on your computers and mobile devices. Install software that provides antivirus, firewall, and email filter services.
Update the operating systems on your electronic devices
Make sure your operating systems (OSs) and applications are up to date on all of your electronic devices. Older and unpatched versions of OSs and software are the target of many hacks. Read the CISA security tip on Understanding Patches and Software Updates for more information.
What if You Got Scammed?
Stop Contact With The Scammer
Hang up the phone. Do not reply to emails, messages, or letters that the scammer sends. Do not make any more payments to the scammer. Beware of additional scammers who may contact you claiming they can help you get your lost money back.
Secure Your Finances
- Report potentially compromised bank account, credit or debit card information to your financial institution(s) immediately. They may be able to cancel or reverse fraudulent transactions.
- Notify the three major credit bureaus. They can add a fraud alert to warn potential credit grantors that you may be a victim of identity theft. You may also want to consider placing a free security freeze on your credit report. Doing so prevents lenders and others from accessing your credit report entirely, which will prevent them from extending credit:
- Equifax
- Experian
- TransUnion
Check Your Computer
If your computer was accessed or otherwise affected by a scam, check to make sure that your anti-virus is up-to-date and running and that your system is free of malware and keylogging software. You may also need to seek the help of a computer repair company. Consider utilizing the Better Business Bureau’s website to find a reputable company.
Change Your Account Passwords
Update your bank, credit card, social media, and email account passwords to try to limit further unauthorized access. Make sure to choose strong passwords when changing account passwords.
Report The Scam
Reporting helps protect others. While agencies can’t always track down perpetrators of crimes against scammers, they can utilize the information gathered to record patterns of abuse which may lead to action being taken against a company or industry.
Report your issue to the following agencies based on the nature of the scam:
- Local Law Enforcement: Consumers are encouraged to report scams to their local police department or sheriff’s office, especially if you lost money or property or had your identity compromised.
- Federal Trade Commission: Contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357) or use the Online Complaint Assistant to report various types of fraud, including counterfeit checks, lottery or sweepstakes scams, and more.
- Identitytheft.gov: If someone is using your personal information, like your Social Security, credit card, or bank account number, to open new accounts, make purchases, or get a tax refund, report it at www.identitytheft.gov. This federal government site will also help you create your Identity Theft Report and a personal recovery plan based on your situation. Questions can be directed to 877-ID THEFT.
How To Recognize a Phishing Scam
Scammers use email or text messages to try to steal your passwords, account numbers, or Social Security numbers. If they get that information, they could get access to your email, bank, or other accounts. Or they could sell your information to other scammers. Scammers launch thousands of phishing attacks like these every day — and they’re often successful.
Scammers often update their tactics to keep up with the latest news or trends, but here are some common tactics used in phishing emails or text messages:
Phishing emails and text messages often tell a story to trick you into clicking on a link or opening an attachment. You might get an unexpected email or text message that looks like it’s from a company you know or trust, like a bank or a credit card or utility company. Or maybe it’s from an online payment website or app. The message could be from a scammer, who might
- say they’ve noticed some suspicious activity or log-in attempts — they haven’t
- claim there’s a problem with your account or your payment information — there isn’t
- say you need to confirm some personal or financial information — you don’t
- include an invoice you don’t recognize — it’s fake
- want you to click on a link to make a payment — but the link has malware
- say you’re eligible to register for a government refund — it’s a scam
- offer a coupon for free stuff — it’s not real
About Online Threat Alerts (OTA)
Online Threat Alerts or OTA is an anti-cybercrime community that started in 2012. OTA alerts the public to cyber crimes and other web threats.
By alerting the public, we have prevented a lot of online users from getting scammed or becoming victims of cybercrimes.
With the ever-increasing number of people going online, it important to have a community like OTA that continuously alerts or protects those same people from cyber-criminals, scammers and hackers, who are every day finding new ways of carrying out their malicious activities.
Online users can help by reporting suspicious or malicious messages or websites to OTA. And, if they want to determine if a message or website is a threat or scam, they can use OTA's search engine to search for the website or parts of the message for information.
Help maintain Online Threat Alerts (OTA).