Action 9: BBB warns of cellphone ‘spoofing' scam in Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Beware of a cellphone scam popping up in the Charlotte area this month.
 
Your phone rings.  You look at caller ID.  And the call is from you and maybe even your number.  
 
Many say the same thing, like a woman in Albemarle:  "I would automatically pick it up, probably, and answer it."  And the con artists are counting on your curiosity.  If you pick up, you hear a recorded message, saying it's a collection agency, you owe money, and pay now before you get in trouble with the law.
 
The Better Business Bureau says dozens of people have called the BBB the last 10 days or so to report the scam.  It's a form of what's called "spoofing."  Con artists find high-tech ways to manipulate caller ID so you see your own name or number. 

"We had one person call in saying she had just buried her husband the week before and here he is calling her," BBB President Tom Bartholomy said.  "To still be grieving his passing and to then see allegedly a phone call from him."
 
She didn't want to share her story publicly.  But do what she did: Hang up and don't pay.
 
It's the same advice Sean Brooks gives:  "If it ain't you, if you ain't calling yourself, don't answer."

WSOC