FCC hosts robocall education sessions for Georgia consumers

In response to the growing number of robocalls and spoofing scams, the FCC launched a Southeast Region Rural Road Tour. The tour stops in Georgia this week on Wednesday and Thursday. 

The events will cover a variety of consumer-related topics, including robocalls, spoofing, scam alerts, telehealth, and how to file complaints with the FCC. 

These are this week's scheduled events in Georgia: 

Wednesday, May 8

  • 11:30 a.m.: Presentation at the Hancock County Senior Center, 330 Water Works Road, Sparta, GA  31087
  •  1 p.m.: Community Meeting with Putman County Board of Commissioners, 117 Putnam Drive, Eatonton, GA  31024
  • 5:30 p.m.: Community Meeting at Madison City Hall, 160 N. Main Street, Madison, GA  30650

Thursday, May 9

  • 11 a.m.: Community Meeting, JP Carr Community Center, 981 Taylor Street, Conyers, GA  30012  
  • 2 p.m.: Community meeting, T.W. Briscoe Park, 2500 Sawyer Parkway SW, Snellville
  • 6 p.m.: Town-hall meeting, 4800 Ashford Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody

Robocalls continue to be one of consumers’ biggest complaints, according to the FCC. Now a new method called spoofing is being used to target consumers. Spoofing is when a number looks legitimate because it has a local area code but is in fact an imposter scam.

The FCC provided the following tips for consumers to help them avoid spoofing scams: 

  • Don't answer calls from unknown numbers. If you answer such a call, don’t hang on, hang up immediately. 
  • If you answer the phone and the caller - or a recording - asks you to hit a button to stop getting the calls, you should just hang up. Scammers often use this trick to identify potential targets. 
  • Do not respond to any questions, especially those that can be answered with "Yes" or "No." 
  • Never give out personal information such as account numbers, Social Security numbers, mother's maiden names, passwords or other identifying information in response to unexpected calls or if you are at all suspicious.