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Scammers getting smarter with phone numbers

Erath resident gets phone call showing, ‘Town of Erath’ on caller ID

Your phone rings. If you have caller ID, you check the number and it says, “Town of Erath.” You answer it and on the other end is a nice man trying to sell you insurance for seniors. You think it is real because the phone number is coming from city hall. But then you learn it is a scam.
On Monday, an Erath resident received that phone call from Erath City Hall. The young man made a sells pitch about senior insurance. The caller ID said the call was coming from Erath City Hall.
The Erath resident was smart enough to know the call could be a scam. He hung up and called Erath Mayor John Earl LeBlanc to make sure there was no one selling health insurance from inside city hall.
LeBlanc told the resident there was no such person at city hall.
“This is scary,” said LeBlanc. “We have no one from city hall calling people. But what scares me are the elderly. The caller ID is going to say city hall. They are going to think it is real.”
The best advice LeBlanc can offer is not to answer the phone when they see the number 937-8402. He said city hall has no plans to call any residents.
“This has nothing to do with Erath,” he said. “It is a scam. If you do answer it, and they try to get you to buy a senior health insurance policy, hang up.”
It is not uncommon for scammers to be pretend to be government officials, selling stuff. They all have one goal in mind, they want you to send them money.
Do not do it.
The Mayor said no one from city hall will ever call, asking to sell its residents someting. City officials will also never ask you to wire them money.

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