New Mexico phone scams are common fraudulent activities perpetrated on its residents by scammers. The victims of this type of scam can lose their savings to fraudsters who impersonate legitimate organizations, agencies, and individuals to get victims’ personal information. To curb the occurrence of phone scams, the State of New Mexico Office of the Attorney General provides the Electronic Complaint Submission (ECS) for victims to easily report scams in the state.
Common phone scams in New Mexico are:
- Loan and Credit Card Scam: here, the fraudster offers a loan or asks for credit card details to steal money from the victim.
- Caller ID Spoofing: occurs when the scammer falsifies the caller ID information that appears on the receiver's phone to get private information.
- Social Security Scams: involve suspicious activities from fraudsters claiming to be from the Administration of Social Security to get the resident's Social Security number or money. Usually, the scammer only needs to confirm the number to reactivate it.
- Car Warranty Scam: occurs when the fraudster tries to sell fake and over-priced car insurance to a car owner. Before spending any cash on an auto service for car protection, strive to do some research.
- All Unwanted Telemarketing Calls: involves illegal robocalls used to find potential victims for various phone scams.
- Phishing scam: here, the scammer impersonates an agency to get personal information from the target.
What are New Mexico Phishing Scams?
New Mexico phishing scams happen when a scammer attempts to have access to the target's personal information. The fraudster impersonates a brand or company agency the victim is acquainted with and reaches out to them through their emails, social media, or phone. A person may identify this scam when an email address received does not match the company’s name and has mistakes and inaccuracy in its information.
While trying to update personal details or make immediate payment, be certain to use the right platform. Be careful not to click on any link received through emails without confirming the company's information through their website.
What is New Mexico Caller ID Spoofing?
New Mexico Caller ID spoofing is when a caller intentionally fakes the information sent to the display of the recipient's caller ID screen. These fraudsters usually use neighbor spoofing to make it look like the incoming calls are from local numbers. The phone number of a resident or government agency can be spoofed because they are more likely to know and trust them.
Answering any spoofed call gives the fraudsters access to personal information, resulting in them getting money from the victim. Do not pick calls from unknown numbers. If you do, hang up once any suspicion arises.
What are New Mexico Social Security Scams?
New Mexico Social Security scam occurs when fraudsters posing as government agents obtain residents' Social Security number pretense to defraud or steal any personal information from the targets. The scammers may go as far as threatening the victims with legal actions and arrest if they do not cooperate. Legitimate Social Security agents can never threaten residents or suspend their Social Security numbers. They only send texts and emails, if necessary, and at limited times. All Social Security phone, email, and text scams can be reported by completing this online form.
What are New Mexico Car Warranty Scams?
New Mexico car warranty scams refer to all scams that pertain to the impersonation of legitimate car insurers. Car owners may receive calls from fraudsters claiming to be representatives of any car insurer telling them that their warranty is expired. The scammers may request the target to pay a stipulated fee to renew their warranty. In most instances, the target may be asked to fill an online form or answer certain questions with the intent of obtaining private information.
Residents are advised to use a reverse phone lookup service to ascertain the true identity of callers. This is essential to avoid being a victim of phone scams. Once the call sounds suspicious, end it and file a complaint with the FCC.
What are New Mexico Loan and Credit Card Scams?
New Mexico Loan and Credit Card scam is a broad term that refers to all scams on loan lending and unauthorized use of credit cards. In loan scams, the scammers target low-income residents who may need extra funds. The scammers often propose a juicy loan offer with a reasonable interest rate. The target may be requested to release private details to the scammers to secure the loan. At other times, the scammers may ask the target to pay a token before accessing the loan. In either case, the scammer steals private information and money from the target without giving any actual loan to them.
On the other hand, a credit card scam involves stealing the credit card details of an unsuspecting target. As it is with a loan scam, the scammer may impersonate a reputable financial institution’s agent and promise the target an attractive offer. Victims eventually release their credit card details to these scammers, who siphon money away from the victim's account. In such a case, the scammer has committed two major crimes: identity theft and credit card fraud.
New Mexicans are advised not to release their credit card details over the phone. It is also important that all calls from supposed reputable financial institutions are verified using a reverse phone lookup service. For easy access, download a reverse phone lookup application for smartphones.
How Do I Avoid Becoming a Victim of a Phone Scam?
- Block and filter unwanted calls and messages. Take precautions by not answering calls from unknown numbers to avoid giving out personal information.
- Do not give personal information to organizations without verifying their legitimacy. Note that most legitimate companies do not send emails or texts to ask for personal details. Scammers also deliberately ask their target to click on phishing links so that they can steal victims' personal information. Contact these companies through their official websites or phone numbers to confirm their activities before proceeding to do anything with them.
- Register your home or mobile phone on the Do Not Call list for free. Other organizations may still contact you after the registration, but if unwanted calls continue after 31 days of registration, report to the FTC.
- Consistently review all financial account statements monthly and enquire about unexplained charges.
- It is advisable to cancel or block all lost or malfunctioning credit and debit cards. They might be compromised.
- Change the passwords and pins of all compromised online accounts.
- Do not give hasty responses to callers asking for charity donations. End the call and use a reverse phone lookup application to know the actual caller. For further verification, ask for written information from the caller.
- Contact the State Attorney General’s office to research the legitimacy of offers before sending money for them.
- Do not use free unprotected Wi-Fi in public places. This is because personal information is easily stolen on a public network platform, especially when shared.
- If personal information must be released, let it be to only highly trusted persons to avoid scams of all kinds.