{"id":26872,"date":"2026-06-15T15:33:28","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T23:33:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/?p=26872"},"modified":"2026-03-26T14:33:35","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T22:33:35","slug":"are-car-extended-warranty-calls-a-scam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/are-car-extended-warranty-calls-a-scam\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything You Need to Know About Car Warranty Scams"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Your caller ID<\/a> shows you a local number, and you pick up to a guy named \u201cBrian\u201d \u2013 who suspiciously sounds a lot like he\u2019s calling from a busy office in Kolkata \u2013 with some important news about your car warranty.\u00a0 Do you listen, or bail out?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While most people are generally going to hang up immediately, some people might be a lot more susceptible to this common type of scam call. In fact, these sketchy calls have even topped the Federal Communications Commission complaint list<\/a> in recent years. It seems like as long as cars exist, so too will car warranty scams.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s what to look for so you know exactly when to pump the brakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Are Car Warranty Scams? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The all too common car warranty scam takes the form of a phone call, and the contents of that call can range from crude to convincing. At the lower end of the spectrum, an automated voice \u2014 reading from a script but claiming to be your car dealer, manufacturer, or insurer \u2014 tells you that your car warranty is due to expire soon (or something along those lines). They then ask you to follow a few button prompts to get more information and, of course, eventually make a payment. Spoiler<\/em>: that payment will not be going to anyone remotely responsible for your vehicle\u2019s warranty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trickier, more subversive phony car warranty calls come from real, human callers (i.e., scammers) who might even share accurate details about your car\u2019s make, model, mileage, insurance, and current warranty. Using high-pressure sales tactics and some simple social engineering<\/a>, they\u2019ll typically ask you to confirm your private information (such as your social security number, credit or debit card details, or other banking info) and try to get you to purchase something like an \u201cextended warranty.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As real human con artists, these callers will often use emotional tactics to drum up guilt or pile on pressure. They\u2019ll often claim to have already sent you numerous requests by mail or urge you to seize a tempting \u201cone-time-only\u201d offer that you can cancel easily \u2013 or they may threaten to close your file altogether. No matter the tactic car warranty scams employ, it\u2019s all a ruse to get the private information or money that the scammers ultimately want out of you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Car Warranty Calls: Red Flags<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The bad news is that car warranty scams are a tale as old as phone scams themselves. The good news is, when a scam is this played out, we know all of the regular red flags that give it away as a con. Sketchy car warranty calls share a lot of red flags in common with general scam and phishing calls, but they also have some specific traits to keep an ear out for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n