Scammers Make It Seem Like OnGuardOnline.gov Is Calling

OnGuardOnline.gov and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are hearing from people who think we’ve called them.  OnGuardOnline.gov is an educational website managed by the federal government. We never contact people by phone to ask for their information or to “fix” their computers. The phone number you see on your caller ID is probably a fake. Here’s what’s really happening:

When scam artists impersonate trusted organizations to trick people into giving out personal information, it’s called phishing. Sometimes scammers “phish” for information by placing ads or sending messages that ask people to call a phone number. When phone companies identify a number used in a scam, they disconnect it and put a recorded message in place that warns about fraud and encourages people to visit OnGuardOnline.gov. 

Here’s an example:

“This is a message from the Federal Trade Commission.  The telephone number you’ve just called has been disconnected because it may be involved in a scam.  You might have gotten this phone number from an email, text, or voicemail message.  But no matter how real it seemed, that message was a trick. It’s called ‘phishing,’ because scammers go fishing for information about you or your financial accounts.  Once scammers have that, they can use it to commit identity theft or fraud.  If you’re concerned about your account, contact your financial institution using information from your billing statement.  And find out how to protect yourself against phishing and identity theft at OnGuardOnline.gov, a website managed by the Federal Trade Commission.  That’s OnGuardOnline dot g-o-v.  This message will be repeated once.”

If you return a call and hear a message like this, then it’s likely the number on your caller ID is not the number the scammer called from. The people who called you have no affiliation with OnGuardOnline.gov or the FTC. If they reach you, don’t give them your personal information or access to your computer. If you’d like to file a complaint regarding these calls, use the FTC’s complaint form: ftc.gov/complaint.

Comments

Really enjoyed this article post. Cool.
Thank you for your blog. Really thank you! Fantastic.

I am typically to blogging and i really admire your content. The article has actually peaks my interest. I'm going to bookmark your site and maintain checking for new information.

Leave a Comment

Commenting Policy

Read Our Privacy Act Statement

It is your choice whether to submit a comment. If you do, you must create a user name, or we will not post your comment. The Federal Trade Commission Act authorizes this information collection for purposes of managing online comments. Comments and user names are part of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) public records system, and user names also are part of the FTC’s computer user records system. We may routinely use these records as described in the FTC’s Privacy Act system notices. For more information on how the FTC handles information that we collect, please read our privacy policy.