Most if not all of us have received a call from the “IRS/Social Security Administration/Insert your countries government agency that administers benefits or collects taxes”. When you pick up the phone, the scammer typically says something along the lines such as you need to send them money via gift card, bitcoin (or another cryptocurrency), or money wiring service such as Western Union in order to avoid some type of legal consequence (typically jail time or asset seizure…). These calls are typically spoofed using software that forces the caller ID to display fake information. Often times, the scammer will use a number within your area code and some will even match the first six digits of your phone number to trick you into answering the call. Luckily for us call blocking technology can flag these types of calls in most cases. The below video from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) provides you with measures that you can take to protect yourself from scams that involve spoofed numbers.