16 replies to this topic

[tessieca]

Have any of you received those "IRS" phone calls?  We've had several in the past couple of weeks.  We told one of them that I am an IRS lawyer myself.  He hung up immediately.  We played along with another lady and finally got sent to her supervisor.  He mentioned the State of New York and when we said we were in California he hung up.  They spoof the IRS line on caller ID, but all of the callers have had Indian accents and start out very threatening.  "Sir, you don't want a Marshal to come to your front door and arrest you."  "You have been defrauding the government since 2002."  "Do you have a lawyer?"

 

I can see how some people might be terrified by this sort of tactic.  Beware!

[ducky]

I've had the "IRS" phone calls as well.  One even left a message in such broken English it was hard to decipher.

 

I've also had the "Microsoft" people call to tell me I have a virus on my computer.  FYI, Microsoft doesn't call you to tell you you have a virus on your computer.  These scammers try and get you to let them take control of your computer to "fix" the virus and then demand your credit card to charge whatever they want to unlock your computer.  If you refuse, they wipe your computer clean.

 

Another thing I've run into recently is "late charges" on credit cards when you've paid them on time by check.  Yes, I'm a dinosaur and don't bank online., but it doesn't take 10 days for mail to get to anywhere in the United States of America.  I'll be damned if I'm going to pay a late fee because they've sat on the payment for a week.  Check your statements, folks.

[leenda]

I have caller ID and NEVER answer my phone unless I recognize the name and/or phone number.  If, for some reason, a call comes in as "private caller" or "unavailable" with no corresponding phone #, I do not answer.  If they really want to reach me, they can leave a message (which, telemarketers or scammers typically DO NOT do).  Regardless, every phone call that comes in shows up as a "missed call", so I just monitor all of those missed calls at my convenience to see if they are, in fact, legit.  Case in point, I even convinced my own Mom to have her number "unblocked" because she always showed up on my caller ID as "private caller" with no phone number, and she always became frustrated that she always had to go into my recording and leave a message.  Now, when she calls me, I answer immediately (unless, of course, I'm not home, and then she knows how to reach me on my cell phone# -- which I only give to people who REALLY need it). 

[ducky]

I have caller ID and NEVER answer my phone unless I recognize the name and/or phone number.  If, for some reason, a call comes in as "private caller" or "unavailable" with no corresponding phone #, I do not answer.  If they really want to reach me, they can leave a message (which, telemarketers or scammers typically DO NOT do).  Regardless, every phone call that comes in shows up as a "missed call", so I just monitor all of those missed calls at my convenience to see if they are, in fact, legit.  Case in point, I even convinced my own Mom to have her number "unblocked" because she always showed up on my caller ID as "private caller" with no phone number, and she always became frustrated that she always had to go into my recording and leave a message.  Now, when she calls me, I answer immediately (unless, of course, I'm not home, and then she knows how to reach me on my cell phone# -- which I only give to people who REALLY need it). 

 

I usually don't answer calls I don't recognize, but I have to disagree about the IRS scammers NEVER leaving a message.  They aren't the sharpest pencils in the box and the IRS seemed to appreciate me passing the voice messages along to them.

[Rich_T]

I wouldn't normally take such calls, but maybe I'll start treating them as a new form of entertainment, to see how long I can waste their time on the line, by playing dumb or acting panicky, or even by being abusive, with the goal of seeing how long it will take before they hang up on me.  Maybe I should record any such calls "for quality purposes", then forward them to the authorities.

 

Phone scammers need to be punished with very long prison sentences, as a deterrent.
 

[Deb aka Resume Lady]

I have caller ID and NEVER answer my phone unless I recognize the name and/or phone number.  If, for some reason, a call comes in as "private caller" or "unavailable" with no corresponding phone #, I do not answer.  If they really want to reach me, they can leave a message (which, telemarketers or scammers typically DO NOT do).  Regardless, every phone call that comes in shows up as a "missed call", so I just monitor all of those missed calls at my convenience to see if they are, in fact, legit.  Case in point, I even convinced my own Mom to have her number "unblocked" because she always showed up on my caller ID as "private caller" with no phone number, and she always became frustrated that she always had to go into my recording and leave a message.  Now, when she calls me, I answer immediately (unless, of course, I'm not home, and then she knows how to reach me on my cell phone# -- which I only give to people who REALLY need it). 

 

If your mom prefers to have her number blocked, all she has to do is dia. *82 and then your phone number; it unblocks it just for that one call. Some people have their phones set to not receive blocked calls; if she gets a message to that effect she can do the *82 thing for those calls as well. Again, it only affects single calls each time it is used.

[Rich_T]

Don't they charge you to use *82?  Like maybe a dollar?

[Steve Heard]

I've had them call me twice! I sent them a check the first time, and now they want more! I think I'll just give them my bank account number so they can take whatever they want. It's just not worth risking jail. 

[supermom]

We have recently had several people who claim to be members of the ultra secret club called Anonymous contact us. They have threatened us with destruction of our banking, our online name, and all sorts of other stuff. Naturally, I told them where to stick their mouse. Jerks abound on the digital super-highway.

[tessieca]

Leenda: I have caller ID, and the calls show up as IRS.  They are sophisticated at spoofing phone numbers but not much beyond that. 

But it can be scary to some, so I understand why Steve gave them his bank account info.  Better safe than sorry.

[Deb aka Resume Lady]

Leenda: I have caller ID, and the calls show up as IRS.  They are sophisticated at spoofing phone numbers but not much beyond that. 

But it can be scary to some, so I understand why Steve gave them his bank account info.  Better safe than sorry.

 

Methinks Steve was joking.

[tessieca]

Of course!  So was I.

[Deb aka Resume Lady]

Of course!  So was I.

 

Just want to make sure newbies who don't know our sense of humor don't take these jokes as truth.

[Steve Heard]

 

Methinks Steve was joking.

WHAT? They're not legit?

 

Oh well, it's only money.

[The Average Joe]

I've had the Microsoft guys get very angry and yell at me. I just laugh at them. This is a great telemarketer response, but I don't think I could keep myself in character that long:  https://youtu.be/qZYjA8iwbqE