How to Handle SIP Telephone Spam

How to best handle spam phone calls from your area code.

20:50 30 September 2017

Criminals and unsavory marketers are always looking for ways to scam more and more people. One of the methods they are currently utilising is using the same area code as their potential victims. This works because many people tend to answer an incoming call from a number they don’t know if it has the same area code as their’s thinking that it might be an emergency or a neighbour calling them.

 

Spam callers can make it seem like they’re calling from your hometown’s area code with a tactic called caller ID spoofing. They can do so because many SIP services let them choose what number they want their victims to see on their phone’s caller ID.

 

The best way to handle an unknown caller is to simply let the call go unanswered. Just let the caller leave a voicemail. If they don’t, it’s either that the call was spam or the message wasn’t that important to begin with. If the caller does leave a voicemail, you can decide for yourself if it is legit. But no matter what they say or how convincing they may sound, never provide any personal information like social security and credit card numbers.