Scam phone numbers are used every day to trick unsuspecting people into giving away their private information and money. With almost 1 million unknown calls screened by Genie, we thought it would be important to share the most common phone numbers to beware of, with the hope of keeping you protected.
We are counting down the top 4 scam callers that Genie has blocked this month.
#4: 877-224-6580 - Baby Powder Lawsuit Scammer
Johnson & Johnson announced in May 2020 a full recall of its talc-based baby powder in the United States and Canada - following thousands of Johnson & Johnson baby powder lawsuits alleging the product causes cancer. Scammers are attempting to target many people, claiming to be from various law agencies with the ability to get you “financial compensation” from a class action lawsuit if you have ever used this product. But, whatever their story is, they are just after your personal information and money. If you get a call from this number, block it immediately.
#3: 518-749-9625 & 475-260-5578 - Travel Scammers offering “Complimentary Stay”
The third most common call Genie has blocked this month are actually from two different phone numbers - both from a scammer claiming that “your telephone number was selected to receive a complimentary stay in a five-star hotel”. If you don't have Genie to block these calls on your behalf, make sure you hang up immediately and block them manually as this is just the latest way that scammers are trying to get you to share your personal information and credit card number with them.
#2: 866-978-6103 - Philippines’ Fraudulent Call Center
These scammers are calling from the Philippines and pretending to offer legal help, financial compensation, and class action lawsuit settlements if you were previously injured or affected by a motor vehicle accident, medical procedure, medication or chemical, food item, defective product, retail or restaurant service, or other causes of personal injury.
But these scammers are really trying to steal your credit card number, banking information, Medicare and Social Security numbers, your health history and health insurance data, and personal information for identity theft under the pretense of saying that they will help you obtain compensation because they are a (fake) doctor, law firm, or government office. Best practice is to block this number immediately
#1: 704-449-8475 - Scammer claiming to be from Amazon
This was the most common scam number Genie has identified this month! The number has been calling claiming to be from Amazon’s “fraud detection department” and notifying individuals of a “suspicious order of an iphone 13 for $999 from your account that is scheduled to be delivered to your address”. The caller continues by stating that if you have not ordered this, which is extremely likely, to press one to speak to a representative to issue a refund.
Tom Stephens, president of the Better Business Bureau says, “this is a scam that started circulating about a year ago. The scammers are after your credit card number and you should not call the number listed in the text. The scammers can be very convincing and are good at tricking people into answering questions that can give the bad guys personal information” (Stephens, 2022).
Amazon has issued a statement relating to these kinds of scam calls, explaining that while some departments at Amazon make outbound calls to customers, “we never ask customers to disclose or verify their Amazon password, credit card, or banking account number” (Amazon, 2022).
If you receive a phone call asking you to disclose the above information, you can go to www.amazon.com/gp/help/contact-us/report-phishing.html to report the phone call.