Texas just can’t get a break when it comes to being victimized by unwanted callers. Things may have simmered down since their 1200% spike in spam and fraud calls in early November, but the Lone Star State is still at the top of this week’s list of top area codes affected by these types of calls.
Texas residents living int he 469 area code
Top 10 Cities include:
Fraud Calls – 427%
Spam Calls – 708%
Social Security Fraud: Scammers are contacting consumers and spoofing their number to disguise themselves as the SSA’s customer service number – 1-800-772-1213. They claim that they’re an SSA employee and either need personal information, including the victim’s Social Security number to confirm the individual’s file, inform a victim they’d like to increase their benefit payments and need additional info, or threaten the victim that they’ll stop their Social Security benefits if they don’t hand over their information.
Health Insurance: These are automated calls show up with a local area code and prompt you to press any key to be connected right away to an agent who can sign you up for a new Medicare card. The spammers are “phishing” not only for bank or credit card information but also Social Security numbers and health plan ID numbers they can use for other types of fraud. People who work in the Marketplace don’t make cold calls, and they never ask for personal information.
Student Loan Scam: Scammers call to pretend they are affiliated with the federal government, e.g. the National Student Aid Center or the U.S. Department of Education and will claim that a victim’s student loans have been flagged or pre-approved for refinancing. They will ask for sensitive information such as financial or personal information to proceed with the bunk claim.