TheStreet: Robocallers Pushing a Fake Car Warranty

An excerpt from the TheStreet article, ‘Hot Scam: Robocallers Pushing a Fake Car Warranty’ 

Some phone spams are innocuous and just aggressive and misleading marketing, Brian Contos, chief security officer of Phosphorus Cybersecurity, told TheStreet. Many others, however, are more malicious with the goal of stealing people’s money and identity by infecting their devices with malware.

The scammers are sophisticated and keep adopting strategies that make the calls look more authentic. One common ploy being used by hackers is called “neighbor spoofing,” which is when the criminal uses local area code phone numbers to target people.

Car warranty scams are a “huge problem” and have exploded recently, Contos said. They lure people by making the situation sound urgent.

If the victim falls for it and pays for the fake warranty renewal, they will lose that money – usually between $1,000 to $3,000, Contos said.

Even worse, the fake customer support representative’s plan is to also steal the person’s financial and personal information, such as the date of birth and Social Security Number.

Read full article