Caregiver.com's article "Caller ID Spoofing," gives advice that can't be repeated too often. Most of us who aren't super tech-savvy and don't operate with criminal intent naturally believe that our Caller ID tells the truth. If Caller ID says our bank is calling, then we expect to be talking with our bank when we answer the call. If Caller ID says Microsoft is calling, then we assume Microsoft is calling. Most seniors can't imagine it's possible to program a phone to lie.
You can read the Caregiver.com article here, for great reminders, such as the trick of verifying by independently researching the supposed caller's actual phone number and calling them. I might add that this wisdom applies to e-mails as well. I recently got an e-mail telling me my I-Pass account to pay tolls had little or no money left in it and I needed to replenish my account right away. Everything ~ the I-Pass logo and website URL ~ looked legit. But I left that e-mail and Googled I-Pass, where I found a banner warning of this very scam. Also, my account was nowhere near depleted.
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