Author: Sherry McKee, VP, Director of Technology and Facilities

If you’ve ever received a call from someone claiming to be from a government agency or a tech support team, you may have been the target of a pretext call.
What is pretext calling?

Pretext calling is where a scammer pretends to be someone else, often a trusted authority, to trick you into giving up personal information. The “pretext” is the false story they use to gain your trust. This is one of the first steps in identity theft or financial fraud.

Examples:

• A caller says they’re from your bank because they noticed suspicious activity on your account and need to confirm your account number so it can be “secured”. At PremierBank, we will never call to confirm your account. For your protection, if you contact us, we will ask you questions to verify that we are speaking to the correct person.
• Someone claims to be from the IRS and threatens legal action unless you pay immediately.
• A person claims to be calling from your health insurance provider, and they need to verify your date of birth and Social Security number.
• A tech support agent calls and insists your computer is infected and asks for remote access.

These calls, which can sound very convincing, are designed to manipulate your emotions to get you to act without thinking. Some scammers even use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to take a sample of someone’s voice and generate speech that sounds like a real person, which can trick you into believing that you are talking to someone you know.

How to protect yourself

• Verify the caller. Hang up and call the organization directly using a verified phone number.
• Never trust caller ID alone. It can be spoofed to look like a legitimate business.
• Don’t share personal information over the phone unless you initiate the call and know who you are speaking with.
• Stay calm. Scammers rely on making it seem urgent to get you to act quickly or get flustered. Take a moment to think before responding.
• Ask questions. Scammers often stumble if you start pushing back. Ask for their name, department, and a callback number.
• Report suspicious calls. Contact law enforcement and/or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at reportfraud.ftc.gov.

Awareness is your best defense. By understanding how these scams work and staying vigilant, and even a little skeptical, you can protect yourself from falling victim.

For more tips on how to stay safe online, click here.