At Hawkins Ash CPAs, we were recently made aware of a spoofing scheme that uses one of our Marshfield staff’s direct line phone number. In this situation, a telemarketer falsifies the caller ID information to appear as if that staff member is calling.
Spoofing occurs when a caller deliberately falsifies the information transmitted to your caller ID display to disguise their identity. In most cases, spoofing is part of an attempt to trick someone into giving away valuable information so it can be used in fraudulent activity or illegally sold.
If you receive a phone call from 1-715-384-1978, please be careful about responding to any request for personal identifying information. Also, take these precautions recommended by the Federal Communications Commission.
- Never give out personal information such as account numbers, Social Security numbers, your mother’s maiden name, passwords or other identifying information in response to unexpected calls or if you are at all suspicious.
- If you get an inquiry from someone who says he or she represents a company or a government agency seeking personal information, hang up and call the phone number on your account statement, in the phone book or on the company’s or government agency’s website to verify the authenticity of the request.
- Use caution if you are immediately being pressured for information.
- If you have a voice mail account with your phone service, be sure to set a password for it. A hacker could spoof your home phone number and gain access to your voice mail if you don’t set a password.
Hawkins Ash CPAs regards privacy as an important part of our relationship with clients. We take the necessary steps to secure any personal information we hold and do not release that information to outside parties.
