OT Phone Scam

[postcall]

I don't normally start topics and mostly lurk. I just wanted to share something that has been happening. Over the last few months we have been receiving on average 3-4 calls a week from foreigners with bad accents claiming to the IRS, Microsoft, and the FBI. They all seem to be asking for information or money etc. Today's call was the worst when they called stating somebody was in a car accident and wanted information etc. this of course sent everybody into a panic etc but everyone is safe...thank god. I didn't mind the other stuff so much but this one is over the top so I thought I would share the info. My parents are immigrants and maybe that has something to do with who they target also I know a bunch of info was leaked with that Target credit card fiasco. In either case I wanted to let my Fellow Knicks fans know so they don't get caught up in it.
Mods feel free to lock if not appropriate.

[Ignitowsky]

I've recently been scam baiting in my spare time. If I get a call I keep them on the line for as long as possible. I've been mining the spam folder of my old AOL account to find lotteries that I've won, inheritances, business opportunities, etc and I've been answering some of them and again, trying to keep the bastards busy with me so that they have less time for real victims. I pretend to be an 85 year old freshly widowed lady living in Seattle. I use a free phone service that lets you get voice mail and faxes. They are sent to your email account. It's great fun , and can be really funny at times.

[Ignitowsky]

BTW, the rule is NEVER NEVER NEVER believe you have won anything randomly, and NEVER believe emails that say your Paypal, Blizzard, Bank, etc. account is about to be suspended unless you verify details in the link they provide in the email. ALWAYS call first if you are worried and use a number that you already have or can get from a trusted source, not one provided in the email.

[poeman]

I've been getting these...Are you from India or South Asia?

These **** have been calling from their and I think they must have bought information from data brokers and are calling indians, pakistanis, and other south asians from that country to threaten them.

Some guy called my from IRS and FBI saying he was Kevin something and he sounded like a FOB desi man. I am Indian, and too smart for these fools so I tracked them down and called them so many times that whenever they answer with the phone number they left to call back on I curse them out and they get so angry.

This car accident thing must be a new tactic...Sucks these **** are doing this...US has no jurisdiction on these as they call from overseas or they'd be arrested by the real FBI

[Boss_]

Nothing to me yet, besides the usual email spam saying I won something or am due for an inheritance and am owed 1 million dollars o_O

I have colleges calling me up from Arizona trying to give me a "deal" to sign up for online courses though, lol. And the usual donation company calling me up asking for money to donate. (donation companies are allowed to call you even if you are on a do not call list).

here is do not call list incase someone hasn't done it yet
https://www.donotcall.gov/

Also, you can block anonymous and private calls from your home phone if you call them up or go online and log in and go to phone options. Some phone providers also let you block 1800, 1-877 numbers and overseas calls as well.

[Jstarks3]

logged in just to say that this has happened to my parents living in CT, getting a call from the "IRS". they obviously knew better but i guess some people could get duped. i dont think anything can be done as these calls are apparently being made from another country...

[knickabocker88]

My Parents called me about this as well, My advice would be just to get rid of landline phones.

[dynamic duo]

a guy tried to scam me through mail and phone but with a help of a friend i got the address, he tried to buy his way out of a beating but he knew what was coming.

[Ignitowsky]

My Parents called me about this as well, My advice would be just to get rid of landline phones.

I've gotten a few spam calls on my cell phone recently. I just put my cell phone on the Do Not Call Registry. It won't help with anything from overseas though.

[moocow007]

There's all sorts of scams going on.

Some like the poorly misspelled emails from foreign countries that asks you for help to collect a large sum of money that the person on the other end can't because of legal reasons are obvious scams. But some of the not so obvious scams come through your spam every single day.

Never, ever, ever, ever, EVER respond by sending personal information (even if it's just your phone number) to an email soliciting low mortgage rates, work at home opportunities that can earn you "serious money", free porn, etc., etc., etc. Even a simple response back via email (like a "f you stop bugging me, I ain't got ****" response) can potentially put you at risk by a serious hacker. Just ignore it. Report it if you wish, but never respond!

[moocow007]

My Parents called me about this as well, My advice would be just to get rid of landline phones.

I've gotten a few spam calls on my cell phone recently. I just put my cell phone on the Do Not Call Registry. It won't help with anything from overseas though.

Yeah, the do not call registry only protects you from "legit" spam callers (the official telemarketers out there). It's not going to protect you from folks looking to do nothing else but rip you off and scam you. Those types of criminals don't care about DNCR's.

[City Wok Guy]

A lot of the posters on here are too savvy to fall for something like that. Unfortunately the people that do usually fall for money scams are the older generations of grandmothers and grandfathers who aren't that tech-savvy and probably won't read these boards. It's really sad to see people who worked hard their whole lives have their savings wiped out by lazy thieving bastards.

I get a lot of spam calls from collection agencies looking for the wrong guy. Asking about unpaid parking tickets from like 10 years ago even though I was a kid and didn't drive. Never give any information to these guys, even if they want to verify that you're not the person they're trying to reach, don't give them anything they can use against you.

[Ignitowsky]

My Parents called me about this as well, My advice would be just to get rid of landline phones.

I've gotten a few spam calls on my cell phone recently. I just put my cell phone on the Do Not Call Registry. It won't help with anything from overseas though.

Yeah, the do not call registry only protects you from "legit" spam callers (the official telemarketers out there). It's not going to protect you from folks looking to do nothing else but rip you off and scam you. Those types of criminals don't care about DNCR's.

To add to this, if you're on the DNCR and you get a "marketing" call it's either from someone you're already doing business with, such as your credit card company, cable company, etc. or it's very likely going to be a scam.

[br7knicks]

BTW, the rule is NEVER NEVER NEVER believe you have won anything randomly, and NEVER believe emails that say your Paypal, Blizzard, Bank, etc. account is about to be suspended unless you verify details in the link they provide in the email. ALWAYS call first if you are worried and use a number that you already have or can get from a trusted source, not one provided in the email.

i was told that a good rule of them is that only give information if YOU make the call

[Capn'O]

I've recently been scam baiting in my spare time. If I get a call I keep them on the line for as long as possible. I've been mining the spam folder of my old AOL account to find lotteries that I've won, inheritances, business opportunities, etc and I've been answering some of them and again, trying to keep the bastards busy with me so that they have less time for real victims. I pretend to be an 85 year old freshly widowed lady living in Seattle. I use a free phone service that lets you get voice mail and faxes. They are sent to your email account. It's great fun , and can be really funny at times.

The Capn'O's And1 Solutions service reps have told me about you Our 1,000,000 And1 offer is REAL!

[Capn'O]

I've been getting these...Are you from India or South Asia?

These **** have been calling from their and I think they must have bought information from data brokers and are calling indians, pakistanis, and other south asians from that country to threaten them.

Some guy called my from IRS and FBI saying he was Kevin something and he sounded like a FOB desi man. I am Indian, and too smart for these fools so I tracked them down and called them so many times that whenever they answer with the phone number they left to call back on I curse them out and they get so angry.

This car accident thing must be a new tactic...Sucks these **** are doing this...US has no jurisdiction on these as they call from overseas or they'd be arrested by the real FBI

You just got a bunch of And1s too

[Fat Kat]

http://howtoprankatelemarketer.ytmnd.com

[DrKnick]

I just hang up on those calls. Even if it's the actual FBI and IRS. Hang up on their ass couple times this year.

[Ignitowsky]

I've recently been scam baiting in my spare time. If I get a call I keep them on the line for as long as possible. I've been mining the spam folder of my old AOL account to find lotteries that I've won, inheritances, business opportunities, etc and I've been answering some of them and again, trying to keep the bastards busy with me so that they have less time for real victims. I pretend to be an 85 year old freshly widowed lady living in Seattle. I use a free phone service that lets you get voice mail and faxes. They are sent to your email account. It's great fun , and can be really funny at times.

The Capn'O's And1 Solutions service reps have told me about you Our 1,000,000 And1 offer is REAL!

OMG!!!! This is my lucky week I've hit the Brazilian FIFA lottery for 5.2 million, my Uncle Tywin died and left me 13.7 million, I'm getting to help an American service man smuggle 8 million that he found in a basement out of IRAQ, and best of all, I just got an email from the representative for a rich heiress that needs help to invest her money. I have my Western Union MTCN ready if you want to go over to the office and pick up the cash for those And 1s

[City Wok Guy]

Sometimes if I'm in a good mood I might just answer and speak in only Japanese. I only know a few words that I learned from anime so it's just gibberish but they don't know that and usually get angry and hang up. OHAYO GOZAIMASU MOSHI MOSHI OH SOU DESU NE BAKA KAWAII ARIGATOU ONI CHAN