CYBER CRIME: Hackers are using harassing phone calls and text messages to lure victims into cyber traps
OPINION
June 6, 2025
HOUSTON, Texas (AGN.News) – Hackers are using harassing phone calls and text messages to lure unsuspecting victims into deceitful cyber traps to separate you from your money or life as you know it.
These cyber hackers are using female voices over the phone with promises related to goods, services, or free meals. They are now hiding “in the shadows” developing sophisticated schemes with one goal in mind, take your money or life and run. What are some of their schemes?
Cyber terrorists or cyber criminals have set up a “boiler room” of shady characters in many local communities around the world. True to their cause, they have no problem harassing ordinary citizens around the clock on a daily basis. These “harassers” are very dedicated to “the art of deception” and are on the job all day every day, every week, every month, and every year. Remember: Stay Alert. Stay Safe!
The Protection Racket: Pay us or you lose scam
What is protection racket? Wikipedia describes it as a type of racket and a scheme of organized crime perpetrated by a potentially hazardous organized crime group that generally guarantees protection outside the sanction of the law to another entity or individual from violence, robbery, ransacking, arson, vandalism, and other such threats, in exchange for payments at regular intervals.
Each payment is called “protection money” or a “protection fee”. An organized crime group determines an affordable or reasonable fee by negotiating with each of its payers, to ensure that each payer can pay the fee on a regular basis and on time. Protections rackets can vary in terms of their levels of sophistication or organization.
The perpetrators of a protection racket may protect vulnerable targets from other dangerous individuals and groups or may simply offer to refrain from themselves carrying out attacks on the targets, and usually both of these forms of protection are implied in the racket.
The protection racket has moved online
The protection racket has now moved online in the form of ‘pay us or we will destroy your website’ scam. Once you fail to respond they’ll start deleting images or rewriting texts or simply bring the whole website down.
Vulnerable targets like new startups of new business owners may not understand the dangers these groups pose to their business. Sometimes the one making the email offer may be the same one offering protection from an allied group or other dangerous groups.
In the business of online scams all things are possible. In 1989, the Internet was hailed as the Information Superhighway. Thanks to unscrumptious scams it has a very different description 36 years later. If you’re a victim of a protection racket online, do not hesitate to report it. You may be in danger if you don’t. Always seek help!
Car warranty scams or schemes
There have been an abundance of television ads on the need for drivers to have a car warranty. No one should doubt the value of having a car warranty also known a car repair warranty. Many companies offer this type of warranty to owners of cars up to 20 years old or older, no matter how many miles, for a monthly fee. When your car breaks down and you have no money to repair it, this product will most often solve your car problem.
Example: “We recently noticed your car’s warranty is going to expire and wanted to give you one final courtesy call before your warranty expires and your coverage lapses. So please click the link below and renew your coverage NOW so you stay protected. DO IT NOW! So, you will …”
This message is followed by what you need to do to renew your (non-existing) car warranty. The problem with this car warranty scam is you may not have a car yet alone a car warranty. These are scams cyber criminals use like a fisherman on a lake. Drop the hook with the bait and wait for a bite. DON’T BITE! EVER!
Cyber criminals see the value also. The problem they have is how to reach out to future victims without them knowing they are being lured into a cyber trap. They are committed to “the art of the con” on which their business model is based. So, you may get a call from someone posing as a car warranty representative. Keep this in mind – reputable companies more often than not use television or radio commercials to connect with new customers or rely on referrals to bring in new subscribers.
The mind of scammers and cybercriminals
They’re very patient so they simply hack cellphones and “steal phone numbers” from contact list or wait for your phone to ring and take the caller’s number. The “future victim” has no idea of what just happened, they keep making phone calls and sending text messages.
Cybercriminals are amassing databases of thousands upon thousands of local phone numbers of local citizens every day. They especially target senior citizens because of their limited knowledge of new technologies.
For cybercriminals and their “boiler room” agents that is no problem. Remember, as citizens we have problems that need solutions. For cybercriminals you are their problem, a mountain-like problem and they want to flatten you like a tortilla chip and eat you like a burrito … after they separate you from your money or your products.
Cybercriminals like the modern cyber terrorists looked into their “Criminal Toolbox” and found the solution. It’s known as Caller ID spoofing. Caller ID spoofing is a made-to-order scheme that’s ideal to trick victims into trusting cybercriminals.
What is Caller ID Spoofing?
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. This can lead to a caller ID display showing a phone number different from that of the telephone from which the call was placed. In other words, the number you see is not the number that is calling.
You will notice the Caller ID number could be from anywhere, New York, Florida, Hawaii, California, or Ohio. Since they are all “spoof numbers” or fake caller numbers, the scam is in play at the moment the phone rings.
Why would someone want to hide their actual number, the number that is calling you? It comes down to motivation. When cybercriminals call you, the last thing they want you to know is their true phone number. So, their motivation is to conceal their device phone number. These malicious actors want to hide the number that they are using, their actual phone number, so if you try to call them back you hit a dead end. Cybercriminals always want to get away with the crime.
When Caller ID went mainstream in the 1990s, it was hailed as one of the best, most trusted tech advances since phones went mobile. Now, the negative effect of the widespread use of Caller ID spoofing is that, as major institutions are advising their members, “you can no longer trust Caller ID.”
So, when your phone rings, DO NOT trust the Caller ID number being displayed. Tip: Let the call go to voicemail and check your messages later.
When you ignore the call, please do not think these cybercriminals are not aware of what you’re doing. They will leave a voice message. The problem is that many times its computer generated. The message tells you to call a redirect number to speak to a “representative.”
DO NOT CALL that number! If you do, they now have a working number to exploit. You will be harassed everyday by what you believe are all of these callers, when, in fact, it’s actually the same cybercrime network as we often see on mainstream news.
Additionally, cybercrime networks will simply call or text a number just to see if it will go through. If it does, agents may just hack the phone to see what’s in it. Keep in mind some of these cybercriminals may be legally authorized to read texts messages of cellphones, as in licensed private investigators.
Never content to just let people live their lives with a minimum of daily stress, cyber terror agents want to turn your life upside down. Always be aware of these cybercriminals and their malicious motivations. They operate 24/7 in two to three shifts every day. They’re always looking to exploit your vulnerabilities. They want to hack into your cellphones and computers late at night into the early morning hours looking to exploit your weaknesses and make you their next victim. They NEVER rest! Neither should YOU!
Hurricane relief scam or scheme
The caller said, you applied for hurricane relief and “I’m calling you to inform you that you have been approved. But when we sent you an email it came back undeliverable. So, can you give us your email address so we can send you a list of the documents you will need to complete. Keep in mind the aid ends day after tomorrow, so you have to act fast to qualify.”
None of that was true. The scammer just needed to know where you get email so it can be hacked your email account or ‘mined it’ for secure data that they could use to scam you. or they could send fake emails out to others pretending to be you. like one man said he received a message from the government asking him to “do this fast”.
The same “spoof phone number” applies to text messages. Remember, cybercriminals are amassing thousands upon thousands of phone numbers every day.
As a general rule, never call a number that you don’t know who it is you are calling or answer a call you don’t know who’s calling you. Of course there are exception to this rule. Always be alert for computer-generated scam calls and scam text messages. Their “Criminal Toolbox” is full of invisible cyber tools designed to trick you and lure you into a cyber trap where you’re the BIG loser of money of property.
The latest development in scam calls involve Artificial Intelligence. These AI-generated calls sounds ‘almost’ as good as the original (your voice). One person we interviewed was shocked to hear his own sound-alike voice on a recording of a call made to him.
He said, I didn’t know they could do that.” Now, he knows the danger of answering calls from unknown numbers. Cybercriminals have mastered the ‘art of deception’.
The free rent or rental assistance scam
Another example: “You have been selected to receive free rent for the next six months or rental assistance for the next three months.” More often than not this is a scam call designed the trick unsuspecting individuals who ‘want to believe’ good people still exist.
On that point they’re absolutely right. Most people are good people but not everyone is ‘good’, especially cybercriminals.
Therefore, when your caller starts to ask questions about something you supposed to have applied for – hang up the phone may be your next option. Stay alert! These are professionals. They can be very persuasive. These are NOT your friends. Stay safe!
Remember, these criminal groups don’t care about what you think. They don’t care about other people or their safety. They only care about their escaping justice. They only think about their illicit profits. They only think about how to spend the ill-gotten gain.
As far as these criminal networks are concerned you can go hungry and homeless. They’re often heartless and soulless. They’ll steal the gold out of your mouth if you smile at them.
Call Silent Witness or Your Local Crime line
Since no one knows the identity of cyber criminals or cyber terror scammers everyone is advised to increase their personal, home, and business security as a precaution. Stay alert, don’t sleep! Be prepared for the unknown! Always be alert of your environment.
Therefore, the lesson of the day is – always stay on guard! Always stay alert to danger. The phone is sometimes used to scam you so be alert when it rings. That might be a scammer. Inform your family of the dangers around them. Stay safe! Stay alert!
There are often rewards being offered to anyone whose tip results in the arrest and conviction of these local cybercriminals. You can remain anonymous. If you or anyone you know are a victim of these criminals, please report it to local law enforcement or the FBI using their Internet Crime website (IC3.gov).
If you feel you’re a victim of cybercrimes like identity theft, cyberattacks on your websites, fraud, extortion or any other cybercrime, please contact local law enforcement or Federal Law Enforcement at IC3.gov and file a complaint.
Additionally, you can also call your local FBI office or even walk-in to the office and file a complaint. The number is well published. You can do an online search for it. This will put you in touch with your local FBI office. The FBI have agents who specialize in solving cybercrimes. STAY SAFE! STAY ALERT!
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Written by
#AGNNewsDigital
Disclaimer: This post does not represent the views or viewpoint of the owner of AlpLocal.com, AGN News or its representatives or reporters. Any content which references any person, entity or group with similar names, descriptions, or business interest in any geographical location or similar businesses is merely a coincidence and not directed at said business. AGN News is compiled from submissions by contributors or other sources.
Disclaimer: This post does not represent the views or viewpoint of the owner of AlpLocal.com, AGN News or its representatives or reporters. Any content which references any person, entity or group with similar names, descriptions, or business interest in any geographical location or similar businesses is merely a coincidence and not directed at said business.
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