The Mississippi Public Service Commission offers some advice to prevent scammers and telemarketers from convincing Mississippi residents to reveal their private information over the phone.

Scam artists may pose as bank representatives or auditors with the Internal Revenue Service and demand money from victims. Others may offer free trips to trick victims, who fall into the traps of scam artists without realizing it, according to the commission.

To prevent these calls, the commission suggests Mississippians register for the Mississippi No Call list by calling (800) 356-6430. Though registering won’t stop all telemarketing calls, the number of calls will be reduced.

It can take up to 60 days for a caller’s information to be added but that information won’t be sold to third-party vendors. 

The commission recommends that residents report telemarketing calls by filing complaints with their office. The commission uses these complaints to track down scam artists. Visit www.psc.state.ms.us/nocall/complaint.aspx to complete the complaint form online.

Legitimate businesses and government agencies will send a letter and not call to threaten action, the commissions warns. If someone doubts the legitimacy of a call, they should hang up, look up the company’s phone number and call them back to check. 

Additionally, if a phone call instructs the recipient to press a number to “get on the no-call list,” the commission says to ignore that request. Pressing the number lets the scam artist know that the number works and telemarketing calls may become more frequent. 

To learn more visit www.psc.state.ms.us.