November 15, 2018

Your cellphone rings. You don’t recognize the number on the screen, but the call appears to be coming from your area code – perhaps even your exchange. Maybe the display shows it’s coming from your town.

So you answer – and the unwanted recorded message begins.

A voice wants to sell you an extended warranty for your car, or a timeshare in a vacation spot, a loan to refinance your home.

It might even be a Chinese-language message about a purported package awaiting pickup at the local consulate…