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.
Recent scam alerts from the FCC:
Who’s pretending to be the government now?
Getting calls from the SSA?
This is what a Social Security scam sounds like
Putting cash in the mail
Anatomy of a fake check scam
Scammers create fake emergencies to get your money
Watch out for these new tax scams
That’s not your neighbor calling
Highly recommended: Free credit freezes are here
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.
- Do not respond to any questions, especially those that can be answered with "Yes" or "No."
- 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.
- Use caution if you are being pressured for information immediately.
- If you get an inquiry from someone who says they represent a company or a government agency, hang up and call the phone number on your account statement, or on the company's or government agency's website to verify the authenticity of the request. You will usually get a written statement in the mail before you get a phone call from a legitimate source, particularly if the caller is asking for a payment.
- 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.
- If you have a voice mail account with your phone service, be sure to set a password for it. Some voicemail services are preset to allow access if you call in from your own phone number. A hacker could spoof your home phone number and gain access to your voice mail if you do not set a password.
- 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.
- Talk to your phone company about call blocking tools they may have and check into apps that you can download to your mobile device to block unwanted calls. Information on available robocall blocking tools is available at fcc.gov/robocalls.
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.