At the very least Telemarketers are annoying but up until recently my Cell has been safe from their tyranny. No More! Recently I have been subject to a rash of calls on my cell from Telemarketers. Most notably calls to refinance my house or lower the interest rate on my credit cards. All of the calls come from one number: 757-990-8981. The area code is for Norfolk, Virginia so the logical solution is to register with the Federal Do Not Call List and this problem will go away. Or I could utilize the companies own opt out option. Unfortunately neither of these solutions will work. The truth is this is a Phishing Scam designed to elicit your personal information. I am rather confident in the fact that the individuals doing this are not based out of the United States. The number used is a redirect of sorts and would likely change quickly if blocked or shut down. Ultimately the best solution here seems to be to never answer the call at all and to educate our friends and family about Phishing Scams. If these fraudulent companies are no longer able to gather our personal information they will eventually stop harassing us. Sure you can talk to a representative and ask politely to be removed; I told them I don’t have a mortgage but does that stop the calls about refinancing? Certainly not. You could also curse at them making you feel better but likely resulting in more calls. So next time they call just don’t pick up.
