TeleZapper2020's Mission:
This is a noncommercial, nonprofit site dedicated solely to helping consumers prevent unwanted and illegal calls to their cell and landline phones. We attempt to offer effective tools, links and suggestions to protect all phone users’ privacy, safety, and peace of mind from RoboCalls and tele-criminals.
NOW: TeleZapper2020's call blocking voice mail greeting FREE on YouMail:
https://www.youmail.com/community/greeting/telezapper2020
Recent scam alerts from the FCC:
Scammers demand gift cards
Your Social Security Number isn’t suspended. Ever.
Anatomy of a fake check scam
Scammers create fake emergencies to get your money
Watch out for these new tax scams
The FTC will never ask you to send money
That’s not your neighbor calling
Highly recommended: Free credit freezes are here
Caught in the act:
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2018/09/ftc-shuts-down-fake-document-sellers
Also, over the course of one week, three men were indicted for illegally running fraudulent operations stealing nearly $70 million from their victims. CASE ONE...(Sep 5), two Maryland men were charged with fraud related to a nationwide telemarketing scheme. Prosecutors say the two reaped $50 million from companies and nonprofits for unwanted and over-priced light bulbs and cleaning supplies. Eric Epstein, 58, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Baltimore to just over 11 years in prison for conspiracy to commit mail fraud and conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service. While his partner in crime, literally, Andrew Stafford, 58 received a six-year sentence for conspiracy to commit mail fraud.The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland said in a press release that Epstein and Stafford were leaders in a scheme that sent fraudulent invoices to companies for more than $100 million, and received more than $50 million in payments.
CASE TWO... (Sep 10) a Canadian man was charged with running an illegal telemarketing operation and he too was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison by a California judge. The judge handed down the charges bilking at least 60,000 people, most of them elderly, out of more than $18 million US dollars. Mark Eldon Wilson, 57, of Vancouver, British Columbia, was sentenced by US District Judge James Otero following a five-day trial in March where the jury found him guilty of mail and wire fraud for having masterminded a cross-border scheme that targeted American victims by selling them a bogus credit card protection service.
Always Follow TeleZapper’s Tele-Tips:
We welcome comments, suggestions and any information that will foster this mission. Contact us at: info@telezapper.com
NOW: TeleZapper2020's call blocking voice mail greeting FREE on YouMail:
https://www.youmail.com/community/greeting/telezapper2020
Recent scam alerts from the FCC:
Scammers demand gift cards
Your Social Security Number isn’t suspended. Ever.
Anatomy of a fake check scam
Scammers create fake emergencies to get your money
Watch out for these new tax scams
The FTC will never ask you to send money
That’s not your neighbor calling
Highly recommended: Free credit freezes are here
Caught in the act:
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2018/09/ftc-shuts-down-fake-document-sellers
Also, over the course of one week, three men were indicted for illegally running fraudulent operations stealing nearly $70 million from their victims. CASE ONE...(Sep 5), two Maryland men were charged with fraud related to a nationwide telemarketing scheme. Prosecutors say the two reaped $50 million from companies and nonprofits for unwanted and over-priced light bulbs and cleaning supplies. Eric Epstein, 58, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Baltimore to just over 11 years in prison for conspiracy to commit mail fraud and conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service. While his partner in crime, literally, Andrew Stafford, 58 received a six-year sentence for conspiracy to commit mail fraud.The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland said in a press release that Epstein and Stafford were leaders in a scheme that sent fraudulent invoices to companies for more than $100 million, and received more than $50 million in payments.
CASE TWO... (Sep 10) a Canadian man was charged with running an illegal telemarketing operation and he too was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison by a California judge. The judge handed down the charges bilking at least 60,000 people, most of them elderly, out of more than $18 million US dollars. Mark Eldon Wilson, 57, of Vancouver, British Columbia, was sentenced by US District Judge James Otero following a five-day trial in March where the jury found him guilty of mail and wire fraud for having masterminded a cross-border scheme that targeted American victims by selling them a bogus credit card protection service.
Always Follow TeleZapper’s Tele-Tips:
- Never answer a call when you do not recognize the Caller ID.
- If you do answer a call and determine it is an unwanted RoboCaller or telemarketer, hang up immediately.
- Never press any buttons on your phone after answering a RoboCall.
- Never engage in conversations with unwanted callers. Say nothing. Just hang up. Don't be embarrassed. They are intruding into your space.
- Never give out any personal information including Social Security #’s, credit card, debit card or any bank information to anyone calling you.
- Never call back a number from an unknown caller. If it’s important and legitimate, they will leave you a voicemail or contact you via alternate communication.
- If an unwanted caller gets to your voicemail, do not respond to any message left unless you can verify the legitimate purpose of the call with a trusted third party.
- Put your number on the Federal Do Not Call list. It is not perfect, but it does stop some sales calls from legitimate companies.
- Use free call blocking devices, services and apps that can slow down or stop unwanted calls altogether.
We welcome comments, suggestions and any information that will foster this mission. Contact us at: info@telezapper.com
Why are we sponsoring this website?
- 27 Million US consumers lost $7.4 Billion to phone scams in one year.
- Billions of illegal RoboCalls are expected to be made this year.
- The average American family is predicted to receive 1000 unwanted calls this year.
- The FCC and government agencies receive more than 5 million complaints per year on this issue.
- Seniors are most targeted by tele-criminals, followed by Millennials.
- 49% of scammed victims were contacted on their mobile phones.
- RoboCalls can originate from anywhere in the world, making perpetrators difficult to track and lost funds impossible to recover.
- Caller ID Spoofing makes it impossible to know who is really calling. Tele-criminals change their caller ID so often, the effectiveness of products, services and apps using blacklists is continually compromised.
- Neither the government or the phone companies can stop the surge of tele-criminal activity. It is up to each of us to learn and implement ways to protect ourselves.