Recognize

If you think you have been contacted by a robocaller or phone spoofer, we recommend that you act immediately by following our guidelines below, and then proceed to our Report, Recover and Reinforce sections for further assistance.

Some Immediate Action Steps to Take

  • If you have shared personal information with a spoofer or robocaller:
    • Visit IdentityTheft.gov from the Federal Trade Commission to file a report and create a personalized plan for recovery.
    • Notify your bank or financial institution about the theft of your personal information.
    • If you shared your Social Security number, Go to annualcreditreport.com to obtain a free copy of your credit report, add a fraud alert or freeze your credit on Experian, Equifax and TransUnion in one place. Visit our Social Security Identity Theft resources for more action steps.
    • If you have wired money or made a payment, contact your financial institution and/or the money service you used right away.
      • You can reach the complaint department of MoneyGram at 1-800-MONEYGRAM (1-800-666-3947) or Western Union at 1-800-325-6000.
        • If you suspect that a friend or family member is being impacted by fraud, you can file an interdiction request which will block that person from transacting with Western Union. Send an email request to BeFraudSmart@westernunion.com.
  • If your number is being spoofed:
    • Do not answer any calls from unknown numbers. If you do, explain that your number is being spoofed and that you didn’t make any calls.
    • Keep in mind that scammers change numbers often. It’s likely that within a few hours they won’t be using yours anymore.

Report

File a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission.

Reporting spoofing and robocall incidents to the FCC is very important!  The more national reporting data that is collected, the better the chance phone service providers have at combating these calls. Although the FCC does not resolve individual complaints directly, they use the data to help identify trends and make your report available to your phone service provider.

Recover

These resources have been gathered, selected and vetted to help simplify the process of recovering after a cybercrime incident has taken place. You may need to contact organizations outside FightCybercrime.org. Results will vary depending on your circumstances.

If you have shared personal information:

Reinforce

Once you have notified the appropriate organizations and you are on the road to recovery, it is time to reinforce your cybersecurity using these resources and tools.

Implement Preventative Measures

  • Avoid giving out your personal or financial information over the phone unless you initiated the contact or have already established trust.
  • Don’t answer calls from phone numbers you don’t know, even if they appear to be local. The caller will leave a message if it is important.
  • Closely monitor and review your credit reports and accounts on a regular basis.
  • If you receive a call from someone who says they represent a company or a government agency, hang up and call the phone number on the company’s or government agency’s website to verify the request.
  • Don’t share your Social Security number unless absolutely necessary — provide alternative information when possible.
  • Do not respond to any questions, especially those that can be answered with “Yes” or “No.” Scammers edit your recorded answer later to make it sound like you authorized a purchase.
  • If you pick up and the caller asks you to press a button to stop receiving calls, just hang up. Scammers use these tricks to find and target potential victims.
  • Download our Six Steps to Better Security PDF.

Community Resources

Helpful Videos

FCC: Spoofing: Don’t Hang On, Hang Up

FTC: How to Stop Calls on My Mobile Phone

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