What you need to know about Spam Calling

Everyone will receive a spam call at some point in their lives—some people even receive them daily. Not only is it likely illegal, but at best, they are an annoying nuisance and at worst, they can be scary. Because they are so common, it is important to make sure that you understand what a spam call is and how to handle it if you receive one. We’ve laid out what you need to know about spam calls, as well as a few tips on how to stop them.

What are spam calls?

Spam calls are unsolicited calls, likely with the intent of stealing your money or personal information. Spam calls can show up in many different ways including using phone numbers with your same area code, pretending to be a certain company/office that you do business with, or even pretending to be government agencies. Keep in mind, government agencies will reach out to you through the mail if they need to contact you. 

 

What do I do if I get a spam call?

The best thing you can do if you get a call from an unfamiliar number is ignore it. Once you answer it, even if you don’t fall for the scam, the machine or hacker is able to mark your phone number as valid and try again in the future. However if you do answer, then never give out any personal information including things like credit card numbers, addresses, social security numbers, usernames and passwords, etc., and hang up as soon as you realize it is a spam call. Sometimes you might get calls pretending to be a business (like your telephone company). When this happens, just hang up with them, look up the business’ advertised phone number, and call them yourself. You can then ask if they really did just attempt to call you or not. It is crucial to hang up the phone as soon as you believe it is a spam call.

If you are ever suspicious of a call from someone claiming to be from SkyLine, hang up and call us at 1-800-759-2226.  Click here to read our statement on Robo Calling and to read more information.

Why am I getting so many spam calls?

There are a variety of ways scammers can get your phone number. For example: every time you enter your number when you purchase something online or when you sign up for things using your phone number you are taking the risk of a scammer obtaining your number. Another thing to remember is that these aren’t always actual people dialing you, but a machine that can come up with/dial a large amount of number combinations in minutes. Spam calls, specifically Robo Calls, are the FCC’s top complaint, so the organization is constantly working on ways to decrease spam calling for everyone.

How to stop spam calls:

While there is not currently a way to completely get rid of spam calls, there are some things you can do to help decrease and prevent them.

• Avoid giving out your phone number as much as possible.  
• Read “terms and conditions” carefully when signing up for things. You never know what they have hidden in there about sharing your information.
• If you have an iPhone you can silence unknown callers by going to Settings > Phone > Silence Unknown Callers > and from there you can turn this setting on. This will send any unknown callers straight to your voicemail.
• List your phone number on the national Do Not Call Registry. For details about how to do this you can visit our blog here.
• SkyLine/SkyBest has a variety of Call Features that can help you manage your calls and can prevent some spam calls from getting through to you.

For more information about spam phone calls visit us online at skybest.com or give us a call at 1-800-759-2226.