On a technical level it’s known as NPA-NXX spoofing, which is just a fancy way of saying an incoming call that matches the first six digits of your own phone number.
Telemarketers, scammers, and robocallers, use Neighbor Spoofing to make the incoming call appear to be coming from your same area code and local exchange.
For phone scams to be successful, scammers need people to pick up the phone. By mimicking the caller ID, scammers can trick unsuspecting people into answering the call and initiating the conversation.
So what can you do?
- Avoid answering calls from phone numbers you don’t recognize, even if they appear to be local. If it’s important, the caller will leave a message.
- Be aware that phone numbers of local businesses, including doctor’s offices and banks, may appear to be calling you. If you’re not certain whether the call is legitimate or a spoof, hang up and dial the known phone number for the contact to verify the communication, especially if personal or financial information is being requested.
- Report the call to Nomorobo! We are actively working to build features to specifically handle this tactic. Your reports are crucial to making this happen.
For our mobile app users, please check out the support article for additional tools: “Unblockable” Robocalls / Contact Access