Monday, May 24, 2021
For months our office has received reports of scammers targeting Amazon and Apple customers. We alerted North Carolinians to this scam in December, but our consumer protection specialists have seen a dramatic uptick in recent days. One person even received 27 of these calls in one day.
In this scam, a robocaller contacts North Carolinians to alert them to an $800 charge on their Amazon or Apple account. The call then connects the victim to the fraudster who attempts to collect payment using gift cards.
Our office is working hard to crack down on robocalls, but we need your help. Report robocalls to our office at https://ncdoj.gov/report-robocalls/ so we can identify and bring to justice the businesses that are involved. You can also protect yourself by following these tips:
• Hang up and call the company directly. Using a number listed on the company’s website, you can ask if the call you received is legitimate.
• Never pay with a gift card. If someone is asking you to pay using a gift card or prepaid debit card, it’s a scam.
• Never give your bank account, credit card, or Social Security number to someone you don’t know who calls you on the phone.
• Do not press “1” or any other number. Just hang up. If the recording directs you to push a button for any reason, including to get your phone number taken off of the calling list, do not believe it. Doing anything other than hanging up could actually wind up getting you put on more calling lists, not less, and may connect you to people who will continue to try to scam you.
• Sign up for the Do Not Call Registry to cut down on telemarketing sales calls. Once you’ve signed up, you’ll know that many telemarketers who call are probably out to scam you.
If you believe that you have been the victim of a scam, contact our office’s Consumer Protection Division at ncdoj.gov/file-a-complaint or 1-877-5-NO-SCAM.