What are Nevada Phone Scams?

Nevada phone scams are fraudulent schemes committed against Nevadans by fraudsters using telecommunications services. Phone scammers often hide their real identities when using robocalls, text messages, or live phone calls and steal residents’ sensitive information and money. Websites that provide phone lookup services can provide insights into scammers’ true identities. The Office of Nevada Consumers Affairs (NCP) and the Bureau of Consumer Protection (BCP) under the Nevada Attorney General’s Office protect Nevadans from phone scams. They also handle filed reports of phone scams from residents and enforce the provisions of the Nevada Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

Some prevalent phone scams in Nevada are:

• Charity scams where scammers pose as legitimate charities to solicit donations and extort residents.
• Romance scams where fraudsters feign love interests to dupe unsuspecting residents.
• Utility scams where fraudsters impersonate local utility companies employees and threaten service disconnection unless the call recipients make immediate payment.
• Coronavirus scams where scammers exploit residents’ fear of COVID-19 to defraud them.
• IRS scams where con artists pretend to be with the IRS and rip off taxpayers.
• Scholarship scams where fraudsters pose as scholarship agents to steal prospective students’ money and identities.
• Grandparent scams where scammers disguise themselves as their targets’ grandchildren and request money to resolve supposed emergencies.
• Tech support scams where scammers steal from their victim’s computers while pretending to be tech support representatives of their marks’ computer companies.
• Lottery or sweepstakes scams where fraudsters demand advance payments to process the release of purported lottery winnings.
• Investment scams where fraudsters bait their victims with business offers that promise huge returns at little or no risks.
• Fake accident scams where con artists trick their marks into sending money to them under the pretext of being hospitalized
  

What are Nevada Social Security Administration Scams?

Phone scammers impersonate representatives of the Social Security Administration (SSA) and trick residents into sharing social security numbers (SSNs) in an attempt to commit identity theft. They often spoof the official numbers of the SSA to allay their targets’ suspicion and establish legitimacy. The callers will claim that their targets’ social security numbers have been blocked, suspended, or canceled due to suspected ties with fraudulent activities. These scammers then demand payments for reactivations or the issuance of new social security numbers. They prefer unusual payment methods like wire transfers or gift cards.

In another variation of this scam, fraudsters coerce their marks into paying money and/or divulging sensitive personal information by threatening them with benefits loss. They accomplish this by telling their targets that there have been fraudulent attempts to apply for credits using their SSNs. The callers will then ask them to confirm their social security numbers for supposed verifications and resolutions. The SSA warns residents never to share their social security numbers with anyone who claims to be with social security over the phone. Persons who are victims of these scams in Nevada can file reports online with the SSA or report to the FTC using their complaint assistant.

What are Nevada Impersonation Scams?

In this scam, fraudsters identify themselves as employees of the Nevada State Attorney General’s Office (AGO) or the U.S. Department of Treasury to dupe residents. They employ threats of arrests, lawsuits, incarcerations, license suspensions, and deportations to scare their targets into making immediate payments or giving out confidential information. These callers are quite sophisticated and garner detailed information about their targets, mostly from their social media accounts and other online sources. They also deploy Caller ID spoofing to display the official numbers of the legitimate entities they claim to represent.

The callers may inform their targets that the AGO directed them to discuss vital legal issues in an attempt to rip them off. They fake their credibility by stating their targets’ first and last names along with their home or mobile phone numbers. In other instances, fraudsters who impersonate employees of the United States Department of Treasury often threaten their targets with arrests for trumped-up IRS violations. They will then demand immediate payments via prepaid debit cards or wire transfers to cancel the intended arrests. The Nevada AGO advises residents to hang up these calls and file complaints with its Office. Residents can also run suspicious callers’ numbers through phone lookup search engines to retrieve identifying information associated with such numbers.

What are Nevada Tech Support Scams?

Phone scammers can pretend to be with their marks’ computer companies and inform them of an imminent virus or malware attack on their computers. They usually impersonate employees of reputable IT companies like Microsoft and Apple to convince their targets into granting them remote access to their PCs for repairs. The callers often insist that doing so will prevent system collapse and permanent data loss. They pretend to have fixed the issues after gaining access and then bill their victims for rendered services via unconventional methods like wire transfers. In many cases, these scammers will install spyware that is capable of monitoring and retrieving their victims’ personal and financial information for future fraudulent uses. Never grant remote access to an unverified tech support employee to avoid these scams. You can use reverse phone lookup tools to query the phone numbers of suspicious callers who make such requests. Also, report incidents of these scams to the Nevada AGO by filing complaints online.

What are Nevada Investment Scams?

Fraudsters contact their targets and lure them with exciting investment offers in an attempt to get them to give up money or personal financial information. Nevada senior residents are often the targets for these scams. Elderly Nevadans are mostly potential or actual retirees who desire to grow their savings by earning returns on viable investments. Phone scammers take advantage of this, pretend to be representatives of legitimate investment companies, and convince naive individuals into investing their hard-earned money. Once their victims invest their funds, such scammers will disappear, and there will be no means of reaching them. Never put your money in any investment without first researching and verifying it. You can submit complaints of investment scams to the Bureau of Consumer Protection of the AGO or by calling (702) 486-3132.

How Do I Avoid Becoming a Victim of a Phone Scam?

• Exercise extreme caution with calls from unknown numbers. This is particularly important for phone calls with foreign origins.
• Stay informed about phone scammers’ recent activities in the state to avoid falling prey to their schemes.
• Terminate a phone call once you hear a recorded voice. Decline any suggestion to press a key to be removed from the call list or connect with a live person. It is only a ruse to confirm that your number is active and engage you with more robocalls.
• Use the call-blocking features of your phone to block identified scam calls or install compatible third-party apps that bar unwanted calls.
• Limit the use of public Wi-Fi and other non-secure internet networks for executing online banking transactions. Fraudsters often hack into such networks and glean individuals’ financial information for future theft.
• Be mindful of the information you put up on your social media accounts. Scammers often pose as friends to gain access to your sensitive data.
• Investigate advertised investments and business opportunities extensively. Confirm the legitimacy of promo offers, charity drives, and business partners.
• Securely protect all sensitive personal information like social security numbers, credit card information, account passwords, and PINs. Most scam callers request this type of information.
• Protect your computers and mobile devices with the latest antivirus and versions of web browsers. Doing this will ward off easy access by scammers and hackers who are always searching for peoples’ confidential information online.
• Add your number to the National Do Not Call Registry. The registry contains phone numbers of individuals who have expressed interests to be exempted from being called by legitimate telemarketers. However, phone scammers do not honor this list and can continue to call registered numbers. If you have been registered for more than 31 days and still get unsolicited calls, know that they are possibly scam calls.
• File reports of scams and other fraud-related activities with the FTC online.
• Resist any attempt to be pressured into making hasty financial decisions. Scammers often use emotional triggers to get their targets to accede to their demands.