'What's really important, though, is for consumers to keep making complaints to the FTC because it's only through consumers' complaints that we're able to find and track down these scam artists and eventually stop them,' Marrone says. The FTC says the safest bet is to just not engage with any unsolicited callers. 'Don't ever give out information over the phone, particularly financial information or personal information,' Marrone says.Īlso, don't confirm any information they may have. However, imposters pose as charities all the time, so the FTC recommends if you want to give, hang up and call the charity directly.

'So they'll know that the person calling them, if it's not somebody saying they're from a charity or survey, is probably a scam.' 'Legitimate telemarketers should not be calling them,' Marrone says. If you are on the Do Not Call registry and you still receive a sales call, chances are it's a scam. 'So the first thing consumers should do is make sure they're listed on the Do Not Call Registry.' 'We actually got over 350,000 complaints alone about imposter scams in 2015,' says Deborah Marrone, assistant regional director with the FTC. But according to the Federal Trade Commission imposter phone fraud is on the rise. 'It's amazing how many calls you get per day for scams,' David said.įortunately, David knew it was a scam. It's just one of countless phone scams circulating. You owe us,' says Barry David, who was targeted by a phone scam. It's a message that consumers in the city have been hearing more and more lately. Susan Jhun filed the following NY1 for You report. As New Yorkers continue to be targeted, one local consumer agency warns that phone scams are on the rise.

The Con Artist Handbook by Joel Levy