Technology FTC: Robocallers are now pretending to be Apple and Amazon

There’s a new robocall scheme that uses Apple’s and Amazon’s name to rip people off, and the Federal Trade Commission has issued a warning to raise awareness about it. The FTC has posted two versions of the scam on its website, so people would know what to expect. First of the two versions is a recorded message telling recipients about a suspicious purchase made through their Amazon account, or that the retailer lost or can’t fulfill one of their current orders.

The other version tells call recipients that Apple has spotted suspicious activity in their iCloud account and that it may have been breached. Both versions employ the same tactic, though, asking people to press 1 or call a certain phone number to speak with a customer service representative. Like similar robocall schemes, the scammer would take the chance to squeeze people’s personal information out of them if they call — information like their credit card numbers and account passwords. The FTC is obviously warning people against pressing 1 or calling back and advising those who get the calls to just hang up.

Today’s top deals: Amazon’s early Black Friday sale, $1 black KN95 masks, $40 mattress topper, $18 Fire TV Stick, more

Today's daily deals roundup is special because it includes a slew of deals from a huge sale that no one saw coming. Black Friday 2020 might still be a month away, but Amazon just launched a MASSIVE early Black Friday sale including 36 different Amazon devices and bundles at all-time low prices. Highlights from this unbelievable sale include a Ring Video Doorbell 3 with Echo Show 5 bundle for $149.99 instead of $290, the first-ever discount that slashes the Fire TV Stick Lite to just $17.99, the all-new Fire TV Stick for $27.99 or the Fire TV Stick 4K for $29.99 instead of $50, Echo Show 5 for $44.99, Echo Show 8 for $64.99, the Echo Dot (3rd-gen) for just $18.

Unwanted calls – including illegal and spoofed robocalls - are the FCC's top consumer complaint and our top consumer protection priority. Advances in technology have unfortunately allowed illegal and spoofed robocalls to be made from anywhere in the world and more cheaply and easily than ever

Report illegal robocalls to the Federal Trade Commission , ftc .gov/complaint. FTC demands immediate response, action. Citing federal laws banning illegal robocalls and other unlawful telemarketing calls , the FTC demanded the nine telecom firms respond immediately to the warning

© Provided by Yahoo! Finance Phone call from unknown number late at night. Scam, fraud or phishing with smartphone concept. Prank caller, scammer or stranger. Man answering to incoming call. Hoax person with fake identity.

Agencies like the FTC and the FCC have been trying to address America’s growing robocall problem for a while now. The FCC ordered all phone companies to adopt the STIR/SHAKEN protocol by June 30th, 2021, and carriers like T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon (owner of Engadget’s parent company) already rolled out their anti-robocall tech. People are now also more aware about robocall scams, but it pays to know about the latest schemes robocallers use in hopes of getting people to fall for their tricks.