Another scam

[baymule]

We only have cell phones no land line. I have a large contact list in my phone if the phone rings with an unknown number I do not answer it period. If it is important they will leave a message and I will call right back. With all the scams going on these days answering an unknown call is risky business.

Absolutely! Me too. We moved here from a different area code, most people don't recognize it, so they don't answer. I leave a message and get a call back. I don't blame them, I do the same thing

 

[Collector]

I do the same thing

You have to be vigilant about strange numbers there are some scams only requiring you to answer for them to access the information on your phone. I play lots of phone tag with the drs office and other large agencies that have multiple phone numbers and 100s of extensions that you don’t know when you call right back lol. I am really good about adding numbers to my contact list when they come in and I need to have the contact for future. The Information Age comes with many dangers and scams, so not answering the unknowns is a good idea.

 

[R2elk]

You have to be vigilant about strange numbers there are some scams only requiring you to answer for them to access the information on your phone. I play lots of phone tag with the drs office and other large agencies that have multiple phone numbers and 100s of extensions that you don’t know when you call right back lol. I am really good about adding numbers to my contact list when they come in and I need to have the contact for future. The Information Age comes with many dangers and scams, so not answering the unknowns is a good idea.

That is the advantage of my analog landline. There is no information on it that they can access.

 

[Zeedman]

we are on the do not call list, but for some reason the telemarketers don't use it.

Since most of the scam calls are spoofed numbers, scammers could care less about the "do not call" lists... nothing will ever get tracked back to them, unless they call into a traced line.

One of the reasons to not answer unknown numbers, is that sometimes it is robocalls just tracking what hours you are at home... and turning that info over to the scammers, who will call during those hours. Almost every day, we get unwanted calls about an hour after we get up, and again during dinnertime. Some of those are "non-profits" or "surveys" which are exempt from the do-not-call restrictions... and IMO those are usually either politics, or data mining. A couple times I answered with the intent of telling the caller to stop calling; but recordings can't hear, and scammers don't listen, so what's the point.

Today I was expecting a call (from the tree trimmer) so when I saw the call was local, I picked up. It was a spoofed scam call. The recorded voice said that my social security had been frozen due to suspicious activity... and of course, "call this number". At least the "microsoft customer service" people with the heavy accent haven't called in awhile. It has reached the point where DW & I won't even get up to answer the phone anymore, unless we hear the voice of someone we know on the answering machine.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

We only get a real person on the line maybe once every 3 months. If it’s an unknown number that I feel the need to answer like one that pops up as local which is almost never a robo call or scam. I just answer and don’t say anything if it’s a robo call it doesn’t trigger it and it hangs up after about 15 seconds of silence. Unfortunately they’ve made a point to spoof calls from areas I normally get calls from like my Aunts town or the one my friend M lives in. So that creeps me out a little.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Yeah, technology has taken all the fun out of those calls. Back when it was land lines and real people, it was pretty safe to talk to them. I remember one time when the phone rang at suppertime I answered and could immediately tell it was a telemarketer so I screamed into the phone, "I thought you were the baby's doctor calling back" and slammed the phone down. Another time it took some work but the caller finally said they were local, just a bit to the east, so I tried to talk them into buying some raffle tickets my kids were selling from school. It didn't work. We had a nice chat though, seemed like someone I'd enjoy sharing a beer with. And they were not calling anyone else if they were chatting with me.

I once had a pager issued by the company. For those that don't know that was a device you carried and when you got an unanswered phone call they'd leave their number and a short message. Each pager had its own phone number. Mine was stolen but I kept the same pager number when I replaced it. Then I started getting some calls from real strangers. Turned out the guy that was using my stolen pager was from Houma, a nearby town. I had a couple of nice chats with his Grandmother, she was really aggravated with that boy, he just wasn't behaving right. I had an interesting chat with his adviser at a local junior college. He thought the boy was trying to better himself. Then I discovered he had two different girl friends that didn't know he was seeing the other. I gave them each other's phone number and names. Sounded like nice sweet girls and very interested in the other's name and phone number. I called the local sheriff's office when I found out the guy's name but they weren't interested. So I started calling that pager myself and left a call-back number that was a sheriff's office. It took me about two weeks before he stopped using that pager.

I did take some precautions. Returning a call from the office was pretty safe, the call went through a switchboard so the number could not be traced. If I wasn't at the office I'd go to a pay phone to return a call. This was that far back, when pay phones were plentiful. I doubt if the guy using the pager was the one that stole it, he probably bought it from the thief. But I did notice someone with that name and the right age was arrested a few months later, I saw that in the paper.

Now it's almost never a person so you can't do that. No fun at all.

 

[bobm]

I miss the Tax evasion posts that you wife would discover/uncover. They were great!

I miss the Tax evasion posts that you wife would discover/uncover. They were great!

Since you ask ... my wife is now working for Turbo Tax from our home. She is equally good at figuring out complex issues from folks that file taxes for this year and IRS rejects the filing several times. Somewhere in the US this client owns a small business and filed his 2020 quarterly tax report showing no profit , so did not pay a quarterly tax. Next , at the very end of 2020 , he files an amended return showing a small profit. Since the IRS had not processed that return due to the corona virus backlog, his 2021 tax return filing was rejected several times. My wife had virtually nothing to go on when that client asked for help. She then told this client to e-mail IRS and ask for a specific tax form. After, he received it, while on the phone , my wife walked him through to fill out the form, then had him make specific changes to his 2021 tax form , then had him electronically send those forms to the IRS. which were then accepted. All this within 2 hours. Cost to client... his original purchase of the Turbotax , then $ 0.00 . A CPA had quoted this client $700 to fix his issue. I f you use Turbotax and get stumped, call them and ask for Karen in SW Wa. if she is on line at the time ( or leave her a message and she will call you when she is available ) to get advice.

 

[Zeedman]

Since the robo-calls kept coming, I adopted a different strategy. When it is a number I don't recognize, I answer in a different language. I spent a lot of time in the Pacific, and know a smidgen of some languages which are less common. The callers either just hang up, or keep trying to get me to speak in English - which I pretend not to understand. The frustration of a few of them has been priceless, and the scam calls at some times of the day have stopped.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

Since the robo-calls kept coming, I adopted a different strategy. When it is a number I don't recognize, I answer in a different language. I spent a lot of time in the Pacific, and know a smidgen of some languages which are less common. The callers either just hang up, or keep trying to get me to speak in English - which I pretend not to understand. The frustration of a few of them has been priceless, and the scam calls at some time of the day have stopped.

This makes me wish I knew another spoken language! I only know a few words and phrases in Spanish and I know I couldn’t pull it off. My sign language is quite a bit better but unfortunately won’t work over the phone.

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

I've been using Turbo Tax for a few years. Thanks to you and wife!!