The Most Common Forms of Illegal and Scammy Robocalls

Bankruptcy Lawyer

Robocalls can be either helpful and useful, or illegal and scammy. Robocalls may be used to notify people about a canceled flight, upcoming doctor’s appointment, fraud risk, or weather warning. The less honest robocalls are ones that entail trying to trick the recipient into giving up their money and/or providing personal information. Robocalls are considered spam if the content has malicious intentions, is irrelevant to the recipient, and if the person had not given consent to receive such messages. 

An attorney has probably met with innocent people just like you, who just don’t want to be pestered by scammy robocalls anymore. Here we have provided information about the most common forms of illegal robocalls, in addition to how you can take action to get them to halt. 

IRS Scam

One of the most serious robocalling scams is related to the IRS. This message may claim that the recipient owes taxes and demands that payment is made immediately over the phone. The message may even threaten that the recipient will get arrested or other actions may be taken against them if payment isn’t received promptly. 

Free Cruise or Other Reward

If you have picked up your phone to hear an automated message on the line about having won a free cruise or other rewards, it is quite unlikely that the statement is true. In most cases, such robocalls are out to steal your financial details and identity. If the offer entails a time restriction, be wary. A cruise line scammer may ask that you accept this offer quickly before it expires. 

A legal and registered travel agency must allow the recipient to ask questions about the offer and give a time frame for how long he or she has to accept. If you have been tricked by a false reward robocall scammer, we urge you to talk with an attorney like a bankruptcy lawyer in Las Vegas, NV, as soon as possible.

Technical Support

Robocalls that are actually technical support scams, often pretend to be part of a major company and trick the recipient into thinking something is wrong with their device. Over the line, the scammer may use complicated technical terms that the recipient doesn’t understand, to make it seem more reliable. Once the recipient has signed onto their laptop or other devices, the scammer may ask the person to:

  • Give them remote access, which permits them to change settings so the device is more vulnerable to being hacked
  • Install software that is actually malware, which gives the scammer access to sensitive information (like passwords and usernames)
  • Purchase a program that is faulty or that you can get for free elsewhere
  • Provide credit card details so they can bill you for phony technical support services

If you or a loved one has received a robocall of an illegal nature, please seek legal assistance right away. Robocall scammers can cause serious damage to a person’s financial stability if personal information or bank account details are obtained.