TMCnews Featured Article
April 29, 2013
Auto Dialers Turned into Scamming Machines
By Ashley Caputo, TMCnet Web Editor
For a call center, auto dialers are essential as they eliminate wasted time and effort spent on lost or dropped calls, while also promoting successful customer service experiences. With the ability to quickly reach a mass audience, there is less time spent on dead-end calls, and rather than having a customer wait for an agent, it automatically connects the customer to a live representative. But what happens when an auto dialer goes wrong and is utilized as a scam tool, rather than customer service?
Since auto dialers have the ability to reach a mass audience, scam companies have been using it to increase their pool of victims to thousands at a time. Data brokers are part of this group that tries to not only manipulate the caller into believing the call is related to a certain cause or company, but also to get both personal and financial information from them on false pretenses.
Here are a few tips on how to avoid getting scammed:
- If you pick up a call and hear a ringing noise that automatically connects you to a live person, hang up.
- Do not answer calls with unknown area codes.
- Do not give out personal information.
- Do not give out financial information.
- Do not call numbers back left by solicitors or respond to calls with unfamiliar area codes.
Remember that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. For example, there was a recent scam in Canada in which callers were being told they won a free cruise for being such a good TELUS (News - Alert) customers.TELUS adds that legit telemarketers will always know your name and provide you with a number to call them back on, so if a company doesn't volunteer that information, it should be a red flag.
Report these types of suspicious calls to Attorney General of your state, and register your number on the National Do-Not-Call Registry at 888-248-4622.
Edited by Alisen Downey