Am I Nuts?

[boykinlp]

Some of these replies have been good. Remember, I was waiting for a call from my doctor’s office. I don’t know about y’all’s doctors, but sometimes around here the doctor or more than likely, their nurse will call using their cellphone. No way to recognize that number for me. It was a force of habit for me to say yes being a southern gentleman. I guess I need to break myself of that habit! My SIL sent me this:
Larry

What is the “Say Yes” Scam? - Experian

Learn what a “say yes” scam is, how fraudsters can record you saying “yes” and commit fraud and how to protect yourself from this scam.

www.experian.com

 

[DWalt]

On occasions when I answer a call from an unknown number, I always answer with “Who is this?” Most times, the answer will be dead silence. Or someone speaking Spanish.

A new experience today which could be a scam, but I don’t know how. We went to Sam’s Club, bought a few items, total was about $45. Came home later, and there was an email waiting from Sam’s. It acknowledged we made a purchase, but it was $86 for items we did not purchase but nothing we actually did purchase. And it showed as payment made on a Visa credit card with a different number than our Visa credit card, i.e., not on our Visa card. Anyone else had that happen? Maybe an Iranian hack?

 

[Buford57]

I have the words for "Hello" and "who is calling" in a half dozen foreign languages on a card. If I don't recognize the the number I'll answer in, for instance, Swedish or Tagalog and have some fun. Whatever they say I just keep repeating "Hello. Who is this?" One of these days I suppose I'll get a Swedish or Philippino salesperson who will try to continue the call in their native tongue. I plan to say "no hablo" and hang up. When my work cell was active I had to take all incoming calls, but answering "Investigations, Buford" weeded out the scammers.

 

[old bear]

You are welcome, Yet do stick around and have some fun with the real Nut Cases here .

 

[Krogen]

The very first thing you should say when this happens is : Who is calling? I learned a long time ago to NEVER say "Yes" to anyone on the phone that I do not know...

This! In my mind, it's bad manners to call someone and not immediately identify yourself. "Hello, this is ____ calling, may I talk with ____." If I pick up and somebody just asks for me, my response is simply "who's calling?"

 

[smithman 10]

Reception is such that I sometimes don't even recognize friends' voices on the cell phone - knowing that I always identify myself when calling anyone.

Folks are usually surprised when I occasionally have to ask who is calling me.

I believe in the old days folks were taught to do just what the previous poster says. To identify oneself is just common courtesy, an increasingly uncommon commodity.

 

[Rudi]

Even paranoids have enemies.

 

[Rubone]

Be sure and check credit card activity. there are scams that sign you up for products or services and claim you answered yes to their offer and it is on you. It happened to me some years back. The CC company reversed it but warned they saw a lot of it!

 

[Beemerguy53]

When I get a call from an unrecognized number, I pick it up and say...

Hallo, wer ruft an? Es tut mir leid, ich spreche kein Englisch. Sprechen Sie Deutsch? (Hello, who is calling? I'm sorry, I don't speak English. Do you speak German?)

At that point, they invariably hang up, and I never get a second call from that number...

 

[greenwellg]

If the phone rings they know the number is good. Silence and then they hang up means the AI activated voice never engages and they get nothing else of any value.

 

[smithman 10]

When I get a call from an unrecognized number, I pick it up and say...

Hallo, wer ruft an? Es tut mir leid, ich spreche kein Englisch. Sprechen Sie Deutsch? (Hello, who is calling? I'm sorry, I don't speak English. Do you speak German?)

At that point, they invariably hang up, and I never get a second call from that number...

Hat denn niemand auf Deutsch geantwortet?

 

[Beemerguy53]

Hat denn niemand auf Deutsch geantwortet?

Nein, niemals...