{"id":11776,"date":"2018-03-16T10:11:30","date_gmt":"2018-03-16T18:11:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/2018\/03\/16\/news-5546\/"},"modified":"2018-03-16T10:11:30","modified_gmt":"2018-03-16T18:11:30","slug":"news-5546","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/2018\/03\/16\/news-5546\/","title":{"rendered":"A cure for the common cold call: freeze them out"},"content":{"rendered":"

Credit to Author: Pieter Arntz| Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2018 16:52:48 +0000<\/strong><\/p>\n

The phone rings and it’s a number I don\u2019t recognize. That\u2019s enough to bring my mood down a few degrees. It shouldn\u2019t, but unfortunately experience has taught me that at least 95 percent of the calls from numbers that are \u201cprivate\u201d or that I don\u2019t have an account name stored for on my phone are so-called cold calls.<\/p>\n

A cold call is an unsolicited visit or telephone call made by someone trying to sell goods or services. These goods or services don’t necessarily need to have any real value, so cold calling can also include\u00a0tech support scammers<\/a> trying to convince you they work for Microsoft and happen to know that your computer is having problems.<\/p>\n

Recently, phone numbers that look vaguely familiar have been showing up on my phone. This is because scammers have found out how to spoof telephone numbers that appear to be from the same area code as the victim. This phenomenon is called neighbor spoofing<\/a>, and it\u2019s the latest strategy being used by scam artists in an attempt to get people to answer the phone.<\/p>\n

So what can you do about these annoying and sometimes dangerous calls? Here are a few tips on how to handle and protect yourself from cold calls.<\/p>\n

Most important rules when dealing with cold calls<\/h3>\n

Do not call back on missed cold calls, especially if the telephone number starts with a foreign country code or strange area code. There are scams that try to trick you into calling premium-rate telephone numbers that generate cash for the threat-actors<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you happen to pick up a cold call, cut the conversation short by stating that you are \u201cnot interested\u201d and hang up. Do not use the word “yes.” While this may seem rude to you, know that some scammers record the phone conversations and use them to construct a falsified version that appears you have given consent. Consent to what? Anything from sending worthless rubbish to your house to paying hundreds of dollars for a service you don’t need.<\/p>\n

Prevention is better than a cure<\/h3>\n

There are many ways to keep the number of cold calls you receive to a minimum. Here are a few tips on keeping the vultures away.<\/p>\n

1. Sign up with your local \u201cDo Not Call Registry.\u201d<\/p>\n