WARNING!!!

[Fred in Skirts]

I know this area is for the discussion of skirts and such BUT I thought this was of such importance that it needed to be placed here...

I just received a call supposedly from a bank in Texas saying that my Social Security number has been used for committing a crime in a town along the border. They want you to give them your number so they can be sure it was your number used.
DO NOT DO THAT, IT IS A SCAM.
Just hang up!

Thank you for your patience!

Now back to skirting..........

[beachlion]

If I don't recognize the number AND the name on the caller ID screen, I don't touch the phone. It took some time to have my wife, who believes in the good of people more than I do, on the same page.

[melsav]

There are so many phone scams out there it almost one afraid to answer the phone unles you know the caller. I use "Truecaller" to filter my calls, it works.

[r.m.anderson]

Play along with the crooks - try to keep the conversation going for a few moments - then take the wind out of their game - - -
" OFFICER DID YOU GET ENOUGH OF A RECORDING AND A TRACE ON THIS CALLER?"
Watch'em hang up and the line go dead.

Never answer "YES" to any of the questions asked of you - - -
What happens they take your yes answer and copy it into a verbal contract acceptance and you are committed to buy whatever they are sailing

Don't give out any credit card numbers Social Security numbers to callers that call you - different if you call them - just make sure you know what you are buying
Regarding the Social Security number only provide that last 4 numbers - never the full 9 numbers for verification

The US Government does NOT DO PAYMENTS by 'GIFT CARDS" and asking you to go to Wal*Mart to purchase that form of payment - - - DUMB CROOKS - dumber is you if you fall for this !

The police county sheriff constable deputy will never come to arrest you for non-payment of taxes - there will be several steps in administration i.e. letters - court appearances

Beware of the scam - a relative jailed in a foreign country and needing bail money

You have won the lottery and need to advance administration funds to claim the prize


These are just a few of the scams - older folks are even more susceptible and scared out of their wits !

[oldsalt1]

Another point The IRS will never contact you by phone until after you have establish contact with them thru the mail.

Many times with a business the IRS will make an actual visit to establish contact.

Yes it is possible to pay the IRS with a charge card but and only after you have established contact with them and you have a notice in hand showing the type of tax the period and the amount due.

[Sinned]

I was watching a consumer affairs TV programme about telephone scamming and texting and apparently they can spoof any number to make it seem as if they are calling from your bank, relative or any place else so you just can't trust the number that appears on your screen. They demonstrated it on the programme. They also demonstrated how plausible the scammers can be and how the conversations are structured to gain your confidence and elicit information from you. YA JUST CANNA TRUST ANYONE THESE DAYZ.

[crfriend]

I was watching a consumer affairs TV programme about telephone scamming and texting and apparently they can spoof any number to make it seem as if they are calling from your bank, relative or any place else so you just can't trust the number that appears on your screen.

This is a very serious problem in the US as well. There's a reason I never answer my 'phone if it's got a number displayed that's in the same area-code and exchange code that I'm in -- it's clearly a forgery, because I know no-else in that exchange code.

Forged meta-data -- be it in e-mail, and now in caller-ID -- used to be a crime in the US. I guess they've repealed the law. The problem is rampant.

About half the time that I actually answer my cell' 'phone I'll answer it in Klingon and if it's somebody I know I'll switch to English. This has been game for some comedy at my local.

[beachlion]

Answering in Dutch might have the same effect, at least in the USA. I have tested it on Jehovah Wittnesses and in combination with my skirt (quite short because it was summer and I was in the house) it worked perfect. I must be on some sort of black list because no more calls at the door at 7AM since.

[Kirbstone]

No phones involved, but our last pair of Jeh.Wit. callers to our 'ranch' got a loud and very speedy send-off from Benjy our German Shepherd. No such callers since.

Tom

[Fred in Skirts]

Jehovah Witnesses have made only one trip to my door since I moved to the country.
I had my door open to air out the house since it was new and had some chemical smells that needed clearing out. I was in my bed room and heard noises in the house so grabbed the gun and charged the kitchen coming face to face with the intruders. They dropped all of their papers and cleared out so fast that I almost shot them anyway. It wasn't until I picked up the trash they left that I found out who they were. None have ever returned.

[moonshadow]

I don't know why, but I VERY seldom get any type of robo-call or telemarketer. I've had my number since 2012. Odd because I've used this number to two different business ventures.

'Bout the only incoming calls I get are from Jenn.

I joke that "I'm so unpopular, not even the robo-scammers want to talk to me!"

[Uncle Al]

I had a call, the caller ID showed A T & T., which is my landline phone company.
Turned out it was a robo call. I called A T & T to let them know about the spoofing
of their company numbers. The were/are aware of the spoofing & have contacted
the FCC. Now the tracing begins & A T & T will procecute the criminals.

Frustrating to say the least

Uncle Al

[r.m.anderson]

I had a call, the caller ID showed A T & T., which is my landline phone company.
Turned out it was a robo call. I called A T & T to let them know about the spoofing
of their company numbers. The were/are aware of the spoofing & have contacted
the FCC. Now the tracing begins & A T & T will procecute the criminals.

Frustrating to say the least

Uncle Al

And ATT will find out the call originated in a sweat shop on the other side of the globe with no way to prosecute
and even if they were able the crooks have a bag full of other phones lines to keep the annoying business going.


One thing to note with that Caller ID - you receive a call and look at the caller ID - if the number "1" precedes the
phone number in your area code - "Who the hell calls you in your own area with the Long Distance prefix ?"
i.e. 1-xxx*-555-1212
where *xxx represents your area code

Back in the late 50's my mom had a pesky salesman calling all the time to sell some gadget -
Finally she got even with the SOB by saying she would be delighted to see the product and test it -
Arranged for the salesman to come out to the house for visit -
When he arrived he was greeted with - "Well you took some of my valuable time interrupting me with your offer
that I was not interested in" -
so be gone and never darken my (slamming) door in his face -
Result no more pesky sales calls -
like our phone was put on a black list or some kind of reverse do not call list !

A sneaky trick I use from time to time is answering the phone on a cordless extension - then if I want to be really
nasty take the cordless phone over to the land line - take the phone off the hook and wave both phones
together creating that screeching feedback noise - then simply hang up - if they call back right away I have
both phones available to repeat - and I will SKIRT the issue as often as necessary to get the message across.

Another method is taking a shrill whistle and blow it as long as you can - then hang up.

Still yet another method answer the call and tell the caller you have to take a boiling pot off the stove -
and you guess it never come back only to hang the phone up maybe a couple three minutes later

Never give them a break - they aren't doing you any favors.

[Daryl]

These are just a few of the scams - older folks are even more susceptible and scared out of their wits !

Trained to trust institutions like phone companies and police, we are.

But it's still amazing to me that older folks are so susceptible. Given our greater experience in life, we should be LESS susceptible on average.

I like to have fun with scamsters, and keep them talking for as long as possible to waste their time and resources, which might save someone else a call.

My first rule is "never acknowledge even your name." When the caller says "is this Mr. Daryl" my only answer is another question -- "who are you" or "what is the purpose of your call". Usually both, in sequence. Ordinary rules of politeness are what scammers abuse, so there's no reason to afford them any. If the call is legitimate, that will become apparent rapidly and no harm will be done. If it's not legitimate, I feign interest or confusion and waste their time until they hang up.

I never indicate that I know it's a scam. They certainly know it's a scam so what purpose would telling them so serve? (It might even motivate them to improve their pitch.) By the time they figure out they should hang up on me, perhaps they will also suspect that I deliberately kept them on the line, and for a moment wonder how close the police are.

"Oh, wait a moment while I find a pen to write this down with" is a very easy time-waster.

[Gusto10]

There are many scams going on.

One which was recently tried, a phone number starting with +214 or +216 (north Africa).

People calling also as if they are with Microsoft and noted that you have a pc problem.

The internet lover you will never meet (MOH has a number of times a week someone call at work recollecting such a story and having lost loads of money)