Today I recieved a call claiming to be from DELL because they said they havent recieved my payment. (I am infact up to date so decided to play along a bit) I told the woman to hold on while I went and got my bank/visa card. While I was gone I hooked up my tape recorder to my extension phone. Then went back and told the woman ok I had my card ready and asked her how I could varify that she worked for DELL. Instead of telling me her name and DELL Representative number extension she stated a 4 diget number and asked if that was my last 4 digets of my social security number. It was not but I told her yes to see where she would take it and then she asked me for my address and I told her if she was from DELL she already had that information. She then told me DELL doesn't take debit/visa cards she needed my bank account number. (I purchased my computer from DELL with my debit/visa card and made this months payment already using my card) I told her no I would not give her my bank account number I would go to the bank and get a check and mail it in to DELL. She hemmed and hawed about late fees if I did that and I told her that was quite alright. and she hung up. I then called DELL and found out they DID NOT authorize that call and they don't normally call their customers for late payments. They go into collections or they send a representative out to repossess the computer.

So thought I would post a heads up on this incase others get called too. I am so glad I didn't just give out my real social security number, address and bank account.

[eskielover]

Haven't been mentally able to be here much lately......being that it was exactly a year ago when I went through my mothers ID Theft by the home care RN for my Mother who was dying of cancer. The triggers & flashbacks of similar things that you have talked about are as vivid in my mind today as they were when they happened last year. The memories have been haunting me now for weeks at a much higher level than it had for a while.

There were so many things that happened in just 5 days......these people that do this are horrible & need to be stopped. The worst part of my situation was that I caught the things as they happened so there wasn't enough proof for the DA to be able to prosecute her.

When someone actually gets into the home & works from inside with information that is easily gotten from someone whose cognative abilities are progressivly getting worse as the cancer spreads is horrible. Like you, I want to yell out to the world to watch out for these things that can happen. I saw it happening but no one would believe me.....& then the police were called out on me saying that some annonamous person reported that I was abusing my Mother.....while everything was going on around me.....so even the police initially wouldn't listen to me because I was supposedly the bad person.

I didn't mean to hijack your thread, but when I read it, the flashing red of anger flared up about people that do this kind of thing. Unfortunately for me, triggers seem to be all around me right now so it doesn't take much to set me off on this subject.

The sad part was that my Mother didn't know much about what was going on....& I was trying to let her know enough without upsetting her.....her response was "why would anyone want to do this to me.....I don't have enough money to matter to anyone?"

I am very glad that you were knowing enough to not fall for something like what happened to you......the sad part is that they also prey on the older people whose minds are so trusting & can't even conceive of something like that happening to them. For me, the really hard part was that I saw things happening around me constantly for 5 days. I caught a phone converstation requesting a credit card in my mothers name & then the phone chord was cut at the base after I got hold of the cordless phone. No one could imagine anything like that happening. It also seems that they will go to all extremes to protect themselves when they feel presured.....as the RN OD'ed my Mother on morphine......for what reason I probably will never know.

It is good to warn people often of these things that happen....in hopes that if even one person can be helped with a warning......the sad part is that most people who are performing these scams never get caught. All I can pray is that in the end, they will get what they really deserve. I wasn't physically harmed by her.....but unfortunately living through the experience & threats, I ended up so stressed that nausea took over & I couldn't eat or drink anything for months.....& ended up in the hospital myself just a few hours before my Mother died. Weight loss took over my body & the flashbacks & nightmares took over my mind. But I do have hope that when I recover more I will be able to get together with others who have been harmed by people like this & put out a strong fight against this......especially in my case for the elderly.....even though it is needed throughout all age groups.

Thank you for the warning....it is important for everyone to realize that scams are all around us constantly & we definitely need to BEWARE.

Debbie

Your welcome

and I do know about ID theft first hand that is why I was so cautious today. I used to be one of those trust the callers type person until January 2000. My SSI check did not get deposited by social security. I called them and asked what was going on thinkng I missed a recert date. They told me that they don't give money to incarcerated inmates. I laughed cause I thought the person was joking maybe talking to someone else so I asked him what? and he said their records show I am an inmate in a prison in chicago illinois. I asked the guy if he had caller id and he said yes so I had him read my phone number and varify the area code was oregon not chicago. but he still said he was sorry but a woman had been arrested for drugs in chicago with my name soc number address birthdate and so on and until this was cleared up I could not have my check. I ended up releasing my medical files from when I was on the mental health unit to the chicago police. Once the woman was confronted with they were going to hospitalize her for observation/and then possibly send her to the state mental facility she came clean with who she was and how she got my information. It took about three months to get all my accounts straightened out and everything credit cards, bank you name it of mine is now labeled "flagged" which means before anyone can apply for credit and so on in my name now has to varify certain information known only to me and I an notified of that application and if I dont give approval and varify who I am the applications don't go through.

Dont worry I wont have any problem reporting scam artists. The police handle reporting these type of things very well. and if there is a scam artist in the area they usually get caught at one time or another around here.

[SeptemberMorn]

Oh, boy! Just let them call me! I paid for my Dell computer with my debit card, but it's paid off! C'mon! Call me, scammer!

Thanks for sharing what you did in going along with the wrong SS#. Good tip! Don't know that I could connect any kind of a recorder to my cell phone, though.

[(JD)]

Yes myself... I don't have any reason for Dell to call me (but you who do might call the proper company and let them know this is happening)

I did just receive a call from "THE FHA, AMerican Best" who tried the same thing... did I know.... such and such.. OH? and then offered to assist me with the updated information on my house (FHA Federal Housing Administration) well, I said, if you were with the FHA you would have that information? Oh well, no they don't have any of the pertinent information of my (supposedly) housing information.

(Now, he didn't have as much info as you can get by going into the County property records...so I knew it was a farce.) So then he asked how my credit is, and I said fine... so he's going to "help" me BUT needs my social security number and date of birth. sigh. No way. I don't give that out, expecially to someone who called ME and not me them...

He was very "convincing" ...I guess...for the average person. I suggest if you are an easy target, don't listen to anyone on the phone, take their name and # and tell them you'll get back to them "after the holidays." They usually can't be called, or will you give a number that isn't working...

your welcome.

what I did for recording is that I have a normal tape recorder when I get a call I set my cordless phone volume on high then set the phone on the mic. It records perfectly and clearly as long as I am on the other phone in another room.

Take care all