Can You Hear Me?

The newest of phone scams!

There is a new phone scam where a person calls and asks, “Can you hear me?”. If you answer “yes”, then the criminal uses your recorded voice to authorize charges on credit cards, bills, and more. 33rd Street Bail Bonds wants you to be aware that there are many different types of phone scams that criminals use.

Here are a few examples:
•The promise of a free vacation or prize. The criminals promise a free vacation but first you must join their travel club, pay a reservation fee, etc. If you have to pay for a prize that you won, then it isn’t free!
•A call stating that you have won the lottery or a sweepstakes. They tell you that you have to pay a small shipping fee in order to receive your “prize”. Don’t fall for it!
•A bank alert message. The criminal calls and says that your bank card is suspended for an issue and that you have to call a number to re-activate it. The number you call collects all sorts of personal data such as social security number, date of birth, and credit card information. Once the thief has this information, they use it to spend your money and open accounts in your name
•Offers to lower your interest rates. The thieves tell you that they can lower your interest rate on your credit card. All you have to do is give them information such as your credit card number, expiration date, and name. They then use this information to steal your money!
•A caller claiming, he is with the IRS and you need to pay back taxes or you will go to jail. The IRS contacts people through the mail and not over the phone. Do not give out information!
•Phishing calls. This is where a caller uses a story to get information out of you. An example is when a caller claims to be with a computer company and they noticed that someone is trying to hack into your computer but they can help if you just provide information. Once again, do not provide personal information.
•Loan scams. This is where a person pretends to be helping you by providing a load for a business, car, home, and more. Once again, they just want your personal information to scam you.
•People claiming to be debt collectors. If a debt collector calls, then take the information from them such as their name, company, and number. End the call and then check yourself with the creditor to see if it is a legitimate debt collector.
•People claiming to be calling on behalf of charities. This is commonly used and the quite often the thieves say they are collecting money for police/firefighters. Do not give out money over the phone unless you made the phone call. Check with the charity before donating money. You can always request that the caller send you information in the mail.

There are many different ways that thieves use phone scams in order to bilk people out of money and personal information. Please be aware and do not give out information.

Older adults and senior citizens can often be victim of phone scams. We encourage you to educate your family members of phone scams and warn them of this newest one.

Recently, the U.S. Department of Justice broke a phone scamming ring. This resulted in 61 people and entities being charged with conspiracy and fraud. These thieves were pretending to be with the IRS and other government agencies. More charges including conspiracy to commit identity theft, false personation of an officer of the United States, wire fraud, and money laundering are also being faced by these thieves.

33rd Street Bail Bonds provides bail for people facing numerous charges including theft, DUI, domestic violence, fraud, and more. To start the bail bond process, please call 407-425-3303 or 407-425-7200. A bail bond agent is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year.

Our experienced and knowledgeable bail bond agents have helped clients across Central Florida including clients residing in Orange, Seminole, Volusia, Osceola, and Lake counties. Our bail bond agents will walk you step by step through the bail bond process, help you with the paperwork, and answer any questions that you may have regarding the criminal justice system.

We are family owned and operated since 1971. 33rd Street Bail Bonds is Central Florida’s oldest bail bonding agency. We are the name you can trust! Don’t go it alone, please call 407-425-7200 or 407-425-3303 to start the bail bond process.