MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Across the Mid-South, people are getting calls, seemingly from themselves.
Turns out it’s a scammer disguising their number to look like yours.
It happened to a WREG photographer Tuesday.
“I got kind of curious, like what’s going on here? I thought maybe it was a computer glitch or something so I picked up,” Emmanuel Amido said.
It was a crook posing as Verizon Wireless, faking an account problem and asking him to enter the last four digits of his Social Security number.
He didn’t fall for it.
“Just the fact that like they’re calling me on a company phone asking for me for information. Why would they do that? Verizon would know not to do that because it’s not in my name.”
The scammers are hoping you pickup because it’s so strange.
“People think, ‘I’m not calling myself, who’s doing this? Who’s using my phone number?'” said Nancy Crawford with Better Business Bureau Mid-South. “So, it’s the curiosity factor that makes the people pick up the phone.”
The BBB says don’t pick up the phone. But if you do, don’t give any personal information and don’t press any buttons.
In a similar scam, the number calling you isn’t exactly like yours, but the area code and first three digits are the same.
It’s just another ploy to get you to pick up, so don’t.
