How To Handle Scam Calls

Did you ever receive calls from strange voices you can beat your chest that you don't recognize or know? 

A week ago?

Yesterday?

Or indeed, are they on your line right now?

What is the voice asking for?

Is it claiming to be from your bank, government  agency, or financial institution?

Or, is it purportedly  from your insurance company and advising you on some new fees you need to pay or something thereabouts?

Do they want to verify your personal details or account, ostensibly to correct errors they have discovered?

If you are not sure of their identity, hang up that phone right now please!

End the call, in your own interest.

If you don't, you may find out, regrettably much later, that you have given out sensitive information that may grant unwanted parties fraudulent access to your privacy and finances.

Therefore, in this article, let's discuss about scam calls and intrusions. 

We should explore the tricks and tactics which they employ to dupe people.

We are going to examine all relevant aspects of their wicked practices and together identify actionable ways to frustrate them. 

Here, below, are some linked subtopics which will serve as roadmaps in this exercise.

While you can also actively participate via the Comments Section located at the bottom of this article, please use the provided links to track the flow:

The Premises And Essentials

_Common Features Of Scam Calls

Their Manipulative Tactics

How To Handle Scam Calls And Frustrate Scammers

Premises And Essentials

I believe the most practical approach for this examination is to start by setting records straight.

Doing so is necessary, especially because of those of us who may be confused or are ignorant of certain facts that we need to know about and understand.

Here we go.

1. Banks don't ask for sensitive information over the phone:

Your account holder,  bank,  or insurer, etc, will not call you up and start asking you for personal or financial details OVER THE PHONE.

That's not standard practice and if anyone tries to convince you otherwise, THEY ARE LYING AND TRYING TO SCAM YOU!

2.  If there are issues or errors

 in your financial details like passwords, PINs, or OTPs, there are  official channels and procedures already established  by your financial institution to resolve them. 

These are safe and trusted portals which give you confidence and are authentic.

3.  Know that scammers

 usually try to impersonate bank employees or officials.

Listen to my personal experience in this context.

I remember occasions when I have received such calls from persons who claimed to be from one of my financial institutions. 

There were two guys calling over several days, ostensibly to correct errors in my dates of birth.

Possibly through their nefarious acts of database hacking, somehow they got my date of birth.

Now to suck me in and achieve their aims, they wanted to correct dates of the day and month of birth by getting the real dates from me. 

Next thing you know, they wanted to be sure of how much money I had in my account, because (according to them)  their system had suffered a glitch and they  wanted to be certain that customers' deposits were not adversely affected.

They said that's why they are calling clients.

Sounds reasonable, doesn't it?

Believe me, I fell for that one , so many years ago before I knew better.

Then thank God, they went ahead and spoiled everything by themselves through their overreach. 

I mean, they demanded to confirm my number and said they would send a code to me by sms message, I should call out the numbers to them.

Next thing, I received the digits they sent.

Now, give me your undivided attention, because here's where you can start confirming your suspicion.

I will not reveal my bank identity, for obvious reasons.

But the callers claimed to be officials of Bank A (my bank), yet the name or emblem on the sms showed it's from another organization.

It was in actual fact,  from a microfinance organisation usually trying to entice people with mouth-watering bonuses and lower rates to collect loans from them.

At that point, as far as I was concerned, the game was up.

I blocked that number on my set.

I thought that had ended it, but believe me, the joke was on me.

Next day, they called again. 

This time it was another character on the line using another number, since they couldn't get through with one I had blocked. 

This one was testy, impatient, trying to portray that he was actually doing me a favour by calling.

What did they want now?

They would send me a code and I should input that code into my mobile app so that they could migrate my account for safety.

I cut the call.

They kept calling, I kept ignoring it. 

Then, at a point in order to put an end to this stressful charade, I picked it up.

I told the guy quite frankly that I believed he was a fraudster.

I let him understand that I knew he was calling from a microfinance institution and was trying to trick people into transferring their funds or accounts to them.

I warned him I would report their number to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) if they ever called me again.

That was it.

Believe me, since that day, they never called me again.

Common Features Of Scam Calls

What are the regular faces of scam calls?

I mean, do they show trademark characteristics by which we may recognize them?

Yes they do, no matter how hard the practitioner try to disguise it.

They all feature a common thread somehow.

Let's look at some of them presently.

1.  Pressurizing

Remember what we said in Warning Signs Of Scam https://descamit.blogspot.com/2025/08/warning-signs-of-scam.html ?

Yeah, that's right.

They will typically:

• pile pressure on you by creating a nagging sense of urgency.

• Tell you there's a deadline to beat.

• Hammer it in your brain that if you delay you will miss your opportunity. 

2. Vague Manner Of Approach 

There's always something vague and distance in the way they interact or communicate with you.

This is mostly demonstrated in the form of genetic (lacking personal touch) greetings.

For example, because they don't have your personal information,  these are typical examples of how they may address you on the phone:

"Dear customer"

"Hello, bank account holder"

"Dear valued client", etc.

On the contrary, you should note that legitimate financial institutions  or banks, which have direct access to clients' information, often address their customers directly by name:

"Hello, Mr./Ms./Mrs./Dr. [Last Name]"

 "Hi [First Name], this is [Bank Name] calling"

Their Manipulative Tactics

Moving forward, we ought to identify the tactics they employ in order to successfully manipulate their victims.

1. Impersonation 

 They claim to be who they are not - in order to deceptively gain your trust, trick you, and defraud you.

That includes telling you that they are from a particular department in a bank or organisation, so as  to give themselves fake credibility in your eyes.

2. Threats of Account Closure or Service Disruption:

    "We will close your   account if you don't verify your information right now."

     "Your identity has been stolen, confirm your details now or suffer the consequences."

3.  Alarming Language:

To bamboozle you into subscribing to an antivirus product:

 "Your computer is infected with a virus, you either subscribe now or lose all your data." 

4.  Intimidation

In pursuit of illegal fines or fees:

  "Look, the only way to resolve this is for you to pay the fines now. "

5. Threats Of Arrest

Threats are applied in some cases. 

It could be in matters of expired licences, business registration, landed property or assets:

  "Am from ... authorities. Am sure you are aware of the new renewal fees, which you have to pay into the official account I just sent  you. Today's the closing date  and if you don't cooperate, you will face serious repercussions."

How To Handle Scam Calls And Frustrate Scammers

Now, to the nitty-gritty of this exercise: 

how you can protect yourself and finances from scammers.

What do you do if or whenever you receive a call purportedly from your bank, asking for your personal details?

1. Verify the caller's identity: 

First step: verify and confirm the identity of the caller.

You should know who you are talking to.

You can easily do this through these simple steps:

• Ask for the caller's name, department, and a callback number. 
• Then hang up and call the official customer service number of the bank, financial institution or organization which the caller claims to represent, in order to confirm their legitimacy.

Very Important:

If you don't already know it, make sure you equip yourself with the essential Customer Service and Complaints numbers, please. 

As a matter of fact,  all legitimate businesses and organisations openly display their Customer Service lines on their websites and other official portals.

2. Don't Engage Them: 

Shine your eye - meaning, be vigilant and very careful.

If you are not sure of who's on the line, don't enter into any discussion with them.

Stay calm.

Beware of suspicious callers and resist providing them with any  information.

3.  Alert Relevant Authorities:

Once you have suspicions about a caller, report it to the  anti-corruption agency.

That may as well be the following:

• Complaint or Fraud line, or Customer Service, of your financial institution
• Government anti- fraud agency

4. Don't Give Away Sensitive Information: 

Most definitely, if you are not certain about the caller's authenticity,  absolutely refuse to cooperate.

Never provide  personal details like passwords, PINs, OTPs (One-Time Passwords), or other sensitive data over the phone.

5.  Beware Of Faked  "Urgencies" 

Now you know that scammers are masters at creating a sense of urgency.

Remember it's a tool they utilize to pressurize you into sharing personal information with them. 

Be on your guard and refuse to be rushed into doing anything.

Bear in mind that legitimate banks and institutions usually don't rush you into providing sensitive details.

In fact, they always have trusted official channels and secure protocols for resolving customer complaints and challenges, so please use them instead of listening to random callers.

6.  Look For Red Flags

Listen closely to the caller.

Pay attention to their tone, language,  grammar, etc, and check for red flags or warning signs.

Scammers' talk or  communications are often spiced with bad grammar and other linguistic errors.

Also, don't forget that legitimate representatives of financial institutions and other organizations typically communicate professionally, while scammers most usually may not.

7.  Be Pragmatic

If you are still unsure:

• visit the official website of your bank or institutions concerned
• Go to their nearest branch office to make clarifications or for assistance
• Be reminded that banks  never ask for sensitive information like passwords or PINs over the phone.

Conclusion 

In conclusion, calls from unknown persons or unverified sources can have security implications.

It's a hotbed for scammers and answering them without taking precautions is actively not advisable.

Doing that can open you to risks of divulging personal or confidential information to unauthorized persons (especially scammers).

That could also open the floodgates to your finances and render you vulnerable to fraudulent activities.

In order to prevent this, we have discussed scammers' motives, their common tactics, how to treat such calls, and what you should do to protect yourself and your finances.

I hope that this article has somehow added quality to your desire to gain awareness about suspicious or scam calls and how to protect yourself against them.

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