I think I'm receiving spam calls. What do I do?
Sometimes spam calls are easy to recognize: a foreign number suddenly calls you, you hear a robotic voice in poor English or Dutch asking for your personal information, ... And sometimes they're more subtle. Below, you'll find some useful tips and information to deal with these kinds of calls!
- Why am I hearing a robot voice?
Sometimes, scammers use a programme that mimics local numbers, this is called spoofing. Quite often, they'll use text-to-speech and poor voice recordings to give the impression a real person is calling you. - When I call back the number, the person has no knowledge of calling me. Why is that?
Because of spoofing, the call is not through the originating number so the owner of that number doesn't know their number is being spoofed. - Don't answer calls from unknown numbers. If you did answer, hang up.
- If you're asked to hit a specific button to stop getting calls, just hang up instead.
- Don't respond to any questions, especially those that can be answered with 'yes' or 'no'.
- Never give any personal information such as account numbers, social security numbers, your mother's maiden name, passwords, or any other identifying information in response to unexpected calls or if you are at all suspicious.
- If the caller says they represent a company or government agency, hang up and call the phone number on your account statement, the phone book, the company's or government agency's website to verify if they are in fact the ones contacting you. Usually, you'll receive a written statement in the mail before you get a phone call from a legitimate source, especially if the caller is asking for a payment.
- Use caution if you are being pressured for information immediately.
- Consider blocking all incoming calls from unknown numbers on your device, usually, you can do so in your settings.
- Register your number on the 'Do Not Call Me' list. If you register your telephone number on this list, companies engaging in commercial telephone campaigns must delete your telephone number from their contacts lists.
- If you're getting spam calls from a private person, you can download a form here, fill it in and send it to klachten@ombudsmantelecom.be. You can also do this in the case of text messages. Next, you'll receive a document with the identity of the owner of the number and, if you want to, can use that information to file a complaint with your local police.