Scam calls.....

[Nevada Ed]

So when we go and get a new cell phone from any company......

our name, address and state is logged into the phone companies data, for billing collections.

Why can't our FBI or government agents, go after these people
that call us 3-5 times a day to get our $$$ with bogus calls ?

If we give them the phone numbers.......
nothing happens !!

Is the Government, getting, "Kick backs" ??

 

[lkabug]

All the scam calls I get seem to come from spoofed phone numbers.
Scammers can spoofed most any number to make it look as if they're calling from legitimate number in your community.
I have even received a call from my neighbor while he was having a beer at my house.

 

[jeffrefrig]

I experimented a little bit with these calls. (Retired & bored sometimes!) I answered several calls with different numbers, some with my local area code, and they were the same "scam". Then I don't answer and it's the same exchange number but different last 2 or 3 numbers sometimes, then a local number again and it's again the same scam. (When they call and the machine comes on and they leave no message I can hear the same background noise before they hang up.) Yes, I have too much spare time sometimes, again. Point being here is there are too many different numbers coming from the same place. I doubt the gov't is getting anything from these miscreants besides calls from us that are sick of the phone calls. I don't think they really care or else they just don't have time to follow up on the callers' phone numbers or where they are coming from. I don't think there is anything like an "unlisted" phone number anymore. Just call Brand X gun parts company, or order something from them on the net, and your phone number and/or your e-mail address gets put out there for all to use to bother you.
By the way, Ed, do you know your car warranty is about to run out and you need to renew it with me for only $52.78/month? No, Idon't know which car or truck; could you please give me the VIN and your credit card number?

 

[chief38]

The Gov’t probably doesn’t give a hoot and won’t spend the money on our inconveniences. Plus scam calls are virtually impossible to stop since many of them are made from outside the Country.

 

[Rustyt1953]

 

[ameridaddy]

....Plus scam calls are virtually impossible to stop since many of them are made from outside the Country.

Those number spoofers/robodialer machines do thousands, maybe tens of thousands of numbers/day. Most of the ones I toy with sound like Mombay/Calcutta Indians, even though their names are "Billy" or "Scotty" or some such.
Suppose the government/phone companies instituted a mandatory $1.00 or $5 per call fee, prepaid, to connect any incoming overseas calls?
My many friends in Europe and Scandinavia would think nothing of paying that, but it would blow the Medicare/car warranty/debt reduction scammers out of the water at $thousands per day.

 

[Rudi]

It seemed like they went away. Now, just way too many. Sometimes @ 8:30 in the evening. How do they make any money? Must be a lot of stupid people. Sad.

 

[boykinlp]

Many elderly folks, and I am getting there faster every day, are vulnerable and get taken advantage of. They get scared if someone calls and claims there is a problem with THEIR money.....bank or credit card. I wish I could say what should happen to people who commit these!
Larry

 

[Bald1]

Jeffrefig, I have a BRAND NEW GMC pickup. Apparently I bought the only one that doesn’t have a 36 month warranty. I was informed of this several times recently. $50k doesn’t buy what it used to

 

[COFFEEMUG]

i stopped answering the phone 4 years ago, leave a message i'll call you back ASAP.
it's that simple.

 

[s&wchad]

The current “Do Not Call” list is a joke. I’ve been on it since inception and still get over 50 scam/spam calls a week. It probably doesn’t help that I’ve had the same landline number for almost 30 years.

I’m generally not in favor of additional legislation, but the practice of spoofing or blocking phone numbers from caller ID needs to be outlawed and stopped. Impose large fines, hold the phone companies liable and this nonsense will end. Caller ID needs to show the actual number and there should be a simple way to report spam calls to the regulatory agencies, without jumping through hoops. Dialing “#spamkill” immediately after receiving the call would work for me!

They also need to add some teeth to the “Do Not Call” laws and enforce them. The victims should receive half of all the fines imposed. Perhaps the penalty could be automatically added to the scammers phone bill by their provider. $100 per call sounds fair to me!

 

[NYlakesider]

So when we go and get a new cell phone from any company......

our name, address and state is logged into the phone companies data, for billing collections.

Why can't our FBI or government agents, go after these people
that call us 3-5 times a day to get our $$$ with bogus calls ?

If we give them the phone numbers.......
nothing happens !!

Is the Government, getting, "Kick backs" ??

Well my wife finely got tired of my Luddite attitude and bought me a cell phone. Where we live up till recent we had no cell service and we most times go out together so I did not need or want a cell.

Getting older and having a phone close is now not a bad idea. We get plenty of nuisance calls on our LL regular house phone, all calls go to the answer machine, they speak if its legit we pick up if not it goes to the machine!

What my wife has done for years is her normal cell phone MO.
I will do the same now that I have a phone. That is only have the phone on when making a call, call over shut down the phone. No voice mail set up, and only 7 people have the phone number. We have not yet had a situation where we need to leave the cell phone on for a incoming calls so we will not get BS calls.

Works for us!

 

[pharmer]

My phone says "Scam Likely" about 5 times a day. My wife says that so-and-so needs to quit calling my man. Joe

 

[jeffrefrig]

As I said, sometimes I'm just in the mood to (mess) with people. I'll answer and say stuff like DVE, you're on the air, caller. Or answer and ask Hello, is Jimmy there? Confuses some of the out of country callers. There's usually beer involved on my end!

 

[glenwolde]

Most of these calls come from outside the country, and they are using a computer to make calls over the internet. They are also routing through random and ever changing U.S. based servers so they are just impossible to track.

My solution: I have an Illinois phone number. We lived there for just a couple of years and while there I was forced to get a new phone number. We left and I have no contact with anybody there, so I just blocked every area code in the State of Illinois. That kills 90% of them. I have a free SPAM app (Calls Blacklist) where you can block numbers just "starting with" anything you designate.

Last week a few got through. Turns out Illinois got a new area code. DOH! added to the list.

 

[Skeet 028]

My LL phone givees me a message...Potential Spam... Sometimes if I am bored I will answer just so I can tell the woman on the phone I am naked...what are wearing? If it's a "man" I ask how their wife or mother is...Son. Every now and then I get to hear actual english when they start talking about mothers or something. BTW When you answer the call...any call even local never use the word YES. Especially if they ask is the lady of the house there? A yes answer might just get someone the word to charge your credit card for an item you don't want to buy. I sometimes answer that question ..no but the lady of your house is here. That's when I hear the recognizable english phrase! Good Grief...As I was typing this I got a call about my medicare card from someone that almost spoke English. When they started up I told them they had a Wrong Number and this was the Deaver Wy police dept...click

 

[bobcat]

I've got a Verizon Iphone, between Verizon's security settings and Apple's, if you're not on my contacts list the call goes right to my voice mail. It's wonderful, I've knocked out all of the annoying scam calls. If it's a legitimate call, they'll leave a message and I can return the call. Most of the calls that are blocked are spoofed numbers, with the occasional unknown. It's made my life a lot quieter and pleasant, unfortunately the era we live in.

 

[Bald1]

Well my wife finely got tired of my Luddite attitude and bought me a cell phone. Where we live up till recent we had no cell service and we most times go out together so I did not need or want a cell.

Getting older and having a phone close is now not a bad idea. We get plenty of nuisance calls on our LL regular house phone, all calls go to the answer machine, they speak if its legit we pick up if not it goes to the machine!

What my wife has done for years is her normal cell phone MO.
I will do the same now that I have a phone. That is only have the phone on when making a call, call over shut down the phone. No voice mail set up, and only 7 people have the phone number. We have not yet had a situation where we need to leave the cell phone on for a incoming calls so we will not get BS calls.

Works for us!

U will soon figure out surfing the web and gong on this forum is a lot easier on a phone. Sitting on the couch is better than a table or desk with computer. Plus it’s mobile. Entertain yourself in waiting rooms too. Just make sure to mute your volume

 

[ladder13]

…….

Is the Government, getting, "Kick backs" ??

Someone is.

 

[johngross]

Why can't our FBI or government agents, go after these people
that call us 3-5 times a day to get our $$$ with bogus calls ?

Yes, the FBI CAN do something. But only if you are the former director of the FBI and CIA. I posted this about a month ago.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/lounge...one-about-scammers.html?679056=#post141482905

"In 2014, Webster himself was a victim of elder fraud. According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Keniel Thomas, a Jamaican national, contacted Webster and told him he was the head of the Mega Millions lottery game. He then proceeded to claim that Webster had won $15.5 million and a 2014 Mercedes Benz. Before being awarded the prize, Thomas said Webster would need to pay $50,000 'to cover the taxes.'

"Webster reported the incident to the FBI, and when he received a second call from Thomas the next day, the agency was able to record it. Thomas continued to make additional calls throughout the month, during which he said he had surveilled Webster's home. He also placed a separate call to Webster's wife, threatening violence if the Websters did not pay, the DOJ said. Thomas was identified in an investigation and arrested on Dec. 18, 2017 and sentenced to 71 months in prison in Feb. 2019."

 

[quikdraw67]

Simple rules to live by.

1) Caller ID is your friend. If I don't know the number, I don't pick up the call. If it's legit, they'll leave a message and I'll call them back.

2) Spam filters work. My Verizon phone recognizes spam calls and displays "Potential Spam". I block the number. No more calls.

 

[sousana]

If I get a call from a number I don't know I answer it the following way,
" Extension 851, how may I help you?". If they ask me who I am I tell them I'm extension 851. When they ask me where I'm at I simply say Norfolk Federal Building. Seems to work.

 

[VictorLouis]

I answer in Spanish:

"Bueno".....
(colloquial for Hello)

If they respond, or after a brief pause of silence....

"Quien es?"
(Who is this?)

Usually I get a hang-up there. Sometimes they will prattle-on in English.
SO, I utter an exasperated,

"Adios, Mio"
(My Lord)

and hang-up. Yes, in hundreds of calls, I have had just a handful that responded back to me in Spanish, LOL. It still works........

 

[NYlakesider]

U will soon figure out surfing the web and gong on this forum is a lot easier on a phone. Sitting on the couch is better than a table or desk with computer. Plus it’s mobile. Entertain yourself in waiting rooms too. Just make sure to mute your volume

My wife does that, I spend too much time on line to begin with.

As far as volume goes I normally have sound turned off, only turn it on if its something I want to hear. Done that for many years!

 

[Old Arkansawyer]

If I am in the mood I try to sell them something. Usually, in my best
Southern redneck voice, a truck load of rocks. After a few attempts
of them talking they hang up.

 

[Marine Corps Air]

True story. It actually happened in the Atlanta area.

Scammer is in India and makes the scam call. Homeowner is fed up and answers the call. An argumentative exchange takes place and the homeowner ends the call. The scammer is even angrier and calls 911 to report a "domestic violence" situation in progress at this address. The local law enforcement authorities responded, including bringing their SWAT teams with them, with the situation going downhill fast! Law enforcement arrives on scene along with SWAT.

Now I'm a big supporter of "Back The Blue", but having SWAT arrive at my home, then asking to come in to our home and start asking my wife domestic violence questions, including "Do you have any firearms in your home?" [I do, several of them!]

It wasn't a good day for this family, by anyone's definition!

Since the scammer was not in our country the law enforcement representatives could not trace the call, or even prosecute if they could have.

Cheers!

Bill

 

[Ingramite]

Car Shield.
That's the one that's on the top of my spit list.

I took their call to explain to them that my daily driver is an old VW bug.

Soon I began to get spam calls from auto transporters wanting to transport my "classic" vehicle.

I wouldn't do business with Car Shield if my house was burning down and they had the only fire hose in town

 

[steelslaver]

I used to entertain myself with scam calls. Evidently word got out that my number could turn into a huge waste of time because except for a brief spat of medicare call I never get them anymore.

Kinda miss them I had developed some really good routines. The dumb guy, the suspicious guy, the hen pecked husband, the guy who wanted to do it but kept messing something up. Turning the table and becoming a chain sales man and pressing them to buy some. Sometimes switching from one routine to another. Asking how the weather was in India and upon them telling me they were in Chicago, telling them I was there too and then inviting them to lunch and getting mad because they were to good meet me for lunch. Being their buddy and then asking them if they knew their wife was having an affair or if it was a woman asking her if she would like to have one. For a while I answered with FBI cyber crimes, Jim speaking, those always ended quick.

 

[Golddollar]

Caller ID is your friend. If I don't know the number, I don't pick up the call. If it's legit, they'll leave a message and I'll call them back.

My feelings exactly. I'm not going to waste my time with somebody who is trying to take my money.

On two separate days I had the scammers try to spoof me with my own telephone number. I've been talking to myself for years and I never needed a telephone to do it.

 

[7shooter]

It's from a Nigerian Prince.