JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Thousands of people have reported getting spam calls from an unknown number that appears to be coming from France, Russia or another foreign country.
According to WJXT, these "foreign" calls seem to be targeting AT&T, Cricket Wireless, T-Mobile and Verizon customers.
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Experts don't think these calls are actually originating overseas, but the spammer is spoofing the phone numbers -- the same way they spoof return numbers from your area code and even your prefix to make you think the call is coming from someone you know.
In 2017, it appears scam calls similar to these were reported.
TheJournal.ie advised to not answer the call or call back.
A recent WashingtonPost.com article on robocalls recommended activating your service provider's free protection, which the phone company's have realized is part of their service they need to provide
AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon now offer free services to monitor network activity and crowdsourced reports to block suspected fraudulent calls.
AT&T's app is called AT&T Call Protect. The free level of service will label suspected spammers and gives you the option to automatically block calls that are a fraud risk. To automatically block nuisances like spam, political calls and telemarketers, AT&T requires you to pay $4 per month.
Verizon: Download an app called Verizon Call Filter, available now for iPhones and coming soon for Androids. Verizon said it has stopped charging for basic service, even though the site says it costs $3.
T-Mobile: Most T-Mobile customers have the company’s Scam ID and Scam Block service by default. They do have an option to pay $4 per month to get better caller ID and the ability to send certain calls straight to voice mail.