(Anchorage, AK) – Robocalls and unwanted texts are almost always a nuisance, and increasingly they are being used as tools by scammers to steal money and personal information.

Con artists may call or text claiming to be from the government, a financial institution or a business. They may use call-spoofing technology to disguise their number on caller ID to appear to be legitimate or from a local area code. Scammers hope that when consumers see a familiar or local number on caller ID, they will be more likely to fall for the ruse or provide personal information.

As part of National Consumer Protection Week — observed this year from March 6 to March 12 — Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor urged consumers to be skeptical of automated calls or unsolicited texts that seek sensitive data or money. Even if those calls or texts purport to be from a bank, a government entity, a utility company or other business, consumers should exercise caution.

“State attorneys general have been working with the Federal Trade Commission to reduce robocalls and protect consumers against scams,” Attorney General Taylor said. “Although we’ve made progress with call-blocking technology, consumers continue to receive these unwanted and illegal calls and texts. I encourage consumers never to give out any information in an unsolicited robocall or through a link delivered by text.”

Robocalls soliciting money from consumers are illegal unless a company has written permission from the call recipient to make those calls.

Consumers can slow the onslaught of illegal robocalls by installing call-blocking technologies on their mobile phones. For a list of call-blocking apps, visit ctia.org, which is a website for the U.S. cell phone industry. The site has a list of call-blocking apps available for Apple, Android and Windows devices.

The National Do Not Call Registry is another avenue for reducing robocalls. However, Attorney General Taylor noted that the Do Not Call List may stop sales calls from legitimate companies that follow the law but won’t prevent cybercriminals.  Sign up for the Do Not Call list at donotcall.gov.

Consumers who receive illegal robocalls or scam texts should report the communications to the FTC. Reports may be made at ftc.gov/complaint.

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  Alaska, con artists, information, robocalls, scam, theft