Telemarketers spoofing City of Santa Fe phone extensions

The City of Santa Fe received complaints telemarketers are utilizing City of Santa Fe 955-xxxx extension

The City of Santa Fe’s Chief Information Security Officer, Joshua Elicio, sent the following information to City employees after it was determined that telemarketers were spoofing the City’s telephone numbers.

“ITT has been made aware of a handful of constituent complaints with regards to receiving calls from telemarketers who are utilizing the City of Santa Fe 955-XXXX extension. Unfortunately, spoofing is an all too common practice used in the telemarketing industry and a practice utilized for malicious purposes with the intent to defraud, cause harm, or wrongly obtain anything of value.

ITT asks that if you receive a constituent complaint that a telemarketer used the City of Santa Fe’s 955-XXXX extension, please ascertain the telemarketer name if possible and ensure the constituent that the City of Santa is aware of such practice.   Unfortunately, there is little recourse that the City of Santa Fe can do, other than file a complaint with the FCC, hence the reason the telemarketer name is important. If the constituent shares the name of the telemarketer and corresponding information, contact the City of Santa Fe Service Desk at 955-4357 to open up a trouble ticket.

Below are some tips on how to protect yourself from Caller ID Spoofing:

1. Understanding that caller ID can be spoofed is the first step in detecting that an incoming call can be spoofed.
2. If you get a call and the caller asks for important information, such as passwords, email addresses, bank account or credit card information, ask for the representative’s name and number where you can call back. Usually at this point the caller will capitulate in giving their information or hang up.

*An important note. A LEGITIMATE business will not initiate a call or ask you for personal information mentioned above over the phone!

Definition:

Caller ID spoofing is the practice of causing the telephone network to indicate to the receiver of a call that the originator of the call is a station other than the true originating station”