Outwitting phone scammers

I got an automated call on my land line today, went to my answering machine unit before I could get to it, which said it was the IRS serving final notice that they would be filing a lawsuit against me. It actually had a very legit sound to it, and I happen to have an outstanding balance with them that I cannot immediately cover, so although I was suspicious it was quite frightening.

Couldn't find any direct evidence of it being an IRS number (like them listing it on their own site) and then searched the web for the number along with the words "who called" and came up with this page where I discovered that the number only cropped up today, no reports before today but a bunch all of a sudden now by people who were all told they were being sued by the IRS, and one of them who engaged with the guy being told if he didn't pay before hanging up (by some nefarious means I'm sure, some tricky fake account that will only be open for a week) that a warrant would be issued for his arrest.

This is the page where I got to debunk it (8328152651 | Find who calls you!), but there are a few sites who provide the same type of service so I always just search the number plus "who called" and see where people have been commenting.

Days like today I am very thankful for the internet. Without it I might have panicked myself into a gaddang heart attack.

Wanted to share in case anyone here is not aware of these types of sites. They can be very helpful in debunking the unfortunate array of scams going on.

That, and the IRS doesn't typically call you. And they don't sue you, they just attach your wages. They would send you a certified letter, you would probably also be notified by your bank or employer, and bam, they get their money.

I picked out a scammer the other day too. I listed a car for sale on CL and they texted me, asked if I had "run anything on the history" of the car. I said no, we are second owner and its not had any accidents. He sent me a link (which was not something that made sense like carfax.com) and said "run one of these" then I will come pick up the car. I was like, no, I am not clicking on any links, then he wanted me to send him an email with some information. I told him no. Why don't you come here, look at the car and I will run a carfax while you are here. He says, OK Great. Last I heard....

Lots of fraud. It boggles my mind that people fall for it all. I'm assuming it tends to be seniors.

My BF's sister was defrauded of 60,000. She is being investigated by the government for funding terrorism, has her bank after her and yet STILL insists she is in love and everyone is acting against her. The only reason it has stopped is because her bank won't let her write cheques or send money.

My daughter manages a post office and regularly catches people being duped into wiring money.

If you don't know the individual you are sending money to personally, it is fraud.

That type of love scam seems to happen most often to people who have recently experienced a loss, and often seniors.. It's a luxury to be able to feel like there is something to believe in like that, and people are willing to give up anything sometimes.. even their integrity with themselves. We just have to keep doing our best to educate each other.

I get this phone scam that claims to be from the major telecommunications provider here and they tell me to do certain things with my computer, probably so they can hack it. It seemed unlikely that the phone company would call me and be so adamant that I tinker with my computer because there is apparently a new virus or something out there. I got this phone scam a few times, first I kind of went with it for a few seconds, but then I told them I wasn't interested. Then I told them I was a computer technician next time and they hung up. Another time I told them I don't have a computer. Etc.

I get phone scams almost everyday the main one says they are from windows and they say I have a virus on my computer, I tell them I don't have a computer (in which I do) they then put the phone down.

I've had the same one. The head of the charity I volunteer at also got such a call. What kind of evil person tries to scam a charity.

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I wouldn't doubt they would target charities specifically, thinking they might be easier marks. My mother, who is elderly, gets these types of calls all the time, every day -- despite being on the do not call list -- and I'm sure it's because they know she's a senior. Besides the "fix your computer" calls, she gets all kinds of "you've won a free vacation" scam calls, and a bunch where they try to say that equipment her doctor has ordered for her is on the way and paid for by insurance, equipment like those rascal type scooters that she doesn't need in the least but is the right age for. Clearly they know what they're doing.

Not that long ago, she was in the hospital for a while for a serious and very personal procedure, the type you don't want others to know about because it's so embarrassing, and when she first got home and I was helping her settle in, an equipment company called somehow knowing the exact procedure she got, the date of her procedure, and were wanting to sell her relevant supplies ... I asked how they had her name and information and they couldn't say .. suggested maybe she had called earlier inquiring? I knew for sure she hadn't, because besides her being in a relative coma we'd been given recommendations for good vendors by a friend of hers who's a doctor before we'd even thought about needing them, and it didn't include this company. I was madder than a March hare, realizing that somebody was likely already making money selling this very personal information out of the hospital's database. And these guys might actually have been perfectly legit in terms of what they were selling, but to me invasion of privacy is no way to start a business relationship, and preying on the confusion of those who have just been through the chaos of a harrowing medical emergency is unforgivable.

I had funny text messages come through on my flip phone with an internet address. I deleted it. When i get someone on the phone i say the person died and their number got recycled to me, sorry and hang up. that works.

Ugh that stuff makes me so mad.

In my T's office this week, I was reading a Consumer Reports that had a cover story on scamming the elderly. Didn't get to finish it, but it had some interesting and useful stuff in it. I will have to check if it is on their website because this stuff is so important to know about.

Edit: found it.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/c...ng-elder-abuse

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Good to know thanks

My mom was called by a scammer asking for money for veterans! She asked what organization was calling and the guy hung up on her!

I feel like donations for veterans is a common ploy by some scammers. I had a guy come to my door with that story and I wrote him a check. Didn't realize it was a scam until after, but thankfully still had time to cancel the check. Also goes to show you it's not just phone scammers--some are bold enough to do it in person!

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My sister got this call a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, many years ago, she & her husband had "issues" with the IRS so she's very familiar with the way they do things.

She immediately smelled a rat. She played along, though. Until, finally, she let on she knew the guy was full of crep. I can't remember exactly what she said to him but I know it was so funny I practically fell off my chair from laughing when she told me.

The guy got VERY nasty at that point and then hung up. My sister was like "meh".

We've already had big bad happen in our lives - not much scares us anymore.

I've never had one but my Mum has had numerous calls saying "I'm from Microsoft and I can see there is a fault with your computer...".

One day she decided to show them up and said, "Which computer? I run a business & own 50 computers"

They just hung up the phone...

I have done similar to this by saying which computer I have 6 Lol
This morning I got another phone call saying they were from British Telecom they said there was something wrong with my computer, I said ok I will check with British telecom then. They hung up, I am sick of getting these calls.

OK, first of all that's awful that they tried that BS with your mom. I hope she's feeling better!!

Second, its posts like these of yours that I love. "madder than a March hare" -

I got a call from the IRS in 2009 that was legitimate. The caller ID showed "Private" and I don't usually answer those but fortunately I did that time. I had taken money from my IRA in 2007 to pay off the mortgage on my farm early, put a new roof on my house and buy a used Audi. They said I needed to file taxes for that year (normally I don't have to file my SSDI income). I never did get a letter from them but they were helpful with followup by phone.

My grandfather had a wonderful solution for phone and door-to-door pitches, real or fake. He'd answer the door or phone. They'd start their spiel. He would say "NO!" and slam the door or hang up.

This isn't so much about scammers calling me as someone using my work cell phone number on loan applications. Apparently loan and credit card companies must not do very good background checks. I've been getting dunning phone calls for this woman for TWO YEARS now! I let the calls go to voicemail now. Once I answered and politely explained that this was a business cell number and that person never had this number. The caller got ugly with me, started yelling at me as if I was the person. That's when I stopped answering the calls.

^I like your grandfather's solution. "No" is indeed a complete sentence. "Nope!" can be a nice alternative too. Just "nope". That is all! Thank you and goodnight.

I occassionally get the one claiming to be from Microsoft Technical Support, telling me there's a serious error on my computer. I tell them to call back on my business Line, "Splitimage's forensic Accounting services". That usually gets rid of them pretty quickly.

splitimage

I love some of the ideas here.

I once was hurting in Depression really badly and was crying when I picked up the phone. They didn't know what to do.