Phone Update Scam
Do not let anyone call and tell you to update your phone per his instructions or link.
My dad let someone tell him how to do a “phone update” that was “necessary” and now it somehow forwards all his incoming calls to someone else, with his message taken off. They now control his incoming calls. Apparently, my dad can still call out, but we don’t know how much longer he can do that for. We do not know what the endgame of the scam is, but he is calling his phone service provider to try to undo whatever was done to his phone. I tried to ask the provider but have no permissions – my dad has to call them. If you have an elderly parent, you might get all kinds of log-in Information so you can chase things down, We finally changed his number and got rid of the scammed one.
I know not to answer any unknown calls (which I never do) because the scammer has my number from when I tried to call my dad – the first time had a weird message that said this text/email subscriber is unavailable. The next time I called a person answered with a slight Mid-Eastern accent and I asked who he was, and he said John. When my sister tried calling, a guy answered as "John" and said he had the number for a week already but that is a lie because we both called our dad 2 days ago.
The only phone update you should do is one that the phone settings tell you to do (do not let a text, or an email, or a caller tell you to update via a link or how to update). The settings will show a notification if you should run an update. Even then, if a scammer has access to your phone, he can still mimic the real notification and alert you to do a phone update. Before doing an update, I always Google it to know if it is causing problems and maybe I should wait for bugs to work out. If you Google it, you might find out a phone update available. If not, call the phone company and let them know.
Scammers are getting trickier and bolder – stay ahead of them. PR
My dad let someone tell him how to do a “phone update” that was “necessary” and now it somehow forwards all his incoming calls to someone else, with his message taken off. They now control his incoming calls. Apparently, my dad can still call out, but we don’t know how much longer he can do that for. We do not know what the endgame of the scam is, but he is calling his phone service provider to try to undo whatever was done to his phone. I tried to ask the provider but have no permissions – my dad has to call them. If you have an elderly parent, you might get all kinds of log-in Information so you can chase things down, We finally changed his number and got rid of the scammed one.
I know not to answer any unknown calls (which I never do) because the scammer has my number from when I tried to call my dad – the first time had a weird message that said this text/email subscriber is unavailable. The next time I called a person answered with a slight Mid-Eastern accent and I asked who he was, and he said John. When my sister tried calling, a guy answered as "John" and said he had the number for a week already but that is a lie because we both called our dad 2 days ago.
The only phone update you should do is one that the phone settings tell you to do (do not let a text, or an email, or a caller tell you to update via a link or how to update). The settings will show a notification if you should run an update. Even then, if a scammer has access to your phone, he can still mimic the real notification and alert you to do a phone update. Before doing an update, I always Google it to know if it is causing problems and maybe I should wait for bugs to work out. If you Google it, you might find out a phone update available. If not, call the phone company and let them know.
Scammers are getting trickier and bolder – stay ahead of them. PR
.jpeg "Do not fall for a phone update scam")
Do not update your phone unless settings notifications tell you to.
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