Local News

Don’t trust the caller ID: Spoofing scams reported in recent weeks

Reports of spoofed scam calls and emails have surfaced across Hampton and the surrounding area in recent weeks, with attackers posing as trusted local businesses and financial institutions.

Cybercriminals are using caller ID “spoofing” technology to make it appear as though calls are coming from legitimate phone numbers. Brian Borcherding, Information Systems Officer at First Bank Hampton, tells RadioOnTheGo News that in some cases, scammers even reference real employee names to make the calls seem more convincing.

“The attacker will use caller ID to call your phone. Just keep in mind that it’s easy for an attacker to spoof a caller ID of a business. So the caller ID may show the correct phone number. It may show that it’s the name of the bank or the name of the business, but you don’t ever want to trust that caller ID.”

Borcherding recommends not responding to the caller but rather hanging up and contacting the business directly using a verified phone number. The same caution applies to unexpected emails, especially those containing links or attachments.

“If you get an email from someone, from a legitimate business with a legitimate email address asking for something and you just were not expecting this email at all that has an attachment or has a link. You may want to use some kind of out of band communication like call the business and make sure that hey this email is actually legit. So, that works both ways whether it’s a phone call or an email.”

If something seems unusual, residents are encouraged to confirm the request through a trusted contact method before responding.

Full interview below