McDowell sheriff urges protection against scam calls

Call screening and encrypted communications offer different layers of security.

The McDowell County Sheriff’s Office encourages iPhone users to turn on call screening to help evaluate unfamiliar callers before answering.

The feature asks callers from unsaved numbers to identify themselves and explain why they are calling before the phone rings.

To enable it, open Settings → Apps → Phone → Screen Unknown Callers → Ask Reason for Calling, according to support.apple.com.

“Screening is an extra layer of protection—not a guarantee,” the sheriff’s office said in a Nov. 2 statement.

For sensitive conversations, federal cybersecurity officials recommend end-to-end encrypted apps such as Signal. These apps protect messages and calls against interception, according to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

Email provides a written record that recipients can review before responding. However, ordinary email does not automatically provide the same protection as end-to-end encrypted messaging. Email security depends on the protection settings a user has in place.

Neither email nor encrypted messaging guarantees that someone is telling the truth. Federal officials advise verifying unexpected requests by contacting the organization through a phone number, website, or email address known to be legitimate.

Residents can find additional scam alerts through the sheriff’s free MCSO app, available in Apple’s App Store and Google Play.