Security expert warns of terrifying 'phone spoofing' scam and how to avoid it

A cyber security expert is warning against a terrifyingly realistic new scam.

Caitlin Sarian, who posts as Cybersecuritygirl on social media, shared an alarming video of a woman who's husband had almost been scammed in the most horrifying way.

The woman in the original video, Sloan Dalley, revealed her husband Josh had received a phone call from her number, featuring her number, her picture and everything else you would expect to see from a regular phone call.

However, when her husband answered the call, he was horrified to hear a man's voice telling him he had taken Sloan hostage and would shoot her if he didn't send money via Zelle. Fortunately, he had a friend in the FBI who he contacted immediately by text, who advised he keep the unknown man on the phone for as long as possible.

"So my husband Josh is keeping him on the phone, trying to tell him to put me on the phone. In the meantime, he's also tracking my phone while I happen to be at the hospital because my son had a doctor's appointment," the woman recalled.

Fortunately, her husband was able to drag out the phone call for five minutes and kept demanding to speak to his wife, but when the hacker wouldn't put her on the phone, he eventually decided to hang up the call and ring his wife's number straight back.

"My husband hung up and called me right back and I answered and he was like freaking out," she continued.

"The scariest part about all of this is that they call from your number, and the knew everybody's names, so please spread the word that this is a new scam, because it is very realistic, it is very terrifying."

Stitching the video, security expert Caitlin revealed this was an example of 'phone spoofing,' a horrible scam for anyone on the receiving end, but fortunately, one that has a simple fix.

"Scammers can make a call look like its coming from the bank, the police, or even your phone number. It's called phone spoofing and they disguise their number so caller IDs show a trusted contact or even your own," she explained.

"This means they could trick you or your loved ones into thinking the call is real and steal money or info etc."

The first thing you need to do is log into your online account with your phone carrier and set up a pin. You can also do this by phoning your mobile carrier or going into store. The second thing you need to do is turn on the anti-spoofing protection with your carrier.

Meanwhile, people in the comments suggested creating a 'safe word' with loved ones so that if anyone ever tries to imitate them, you can tell if its really them or not.