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Thread: Scam alerts!

  1. #31
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    I just don't answer the phone if I don't know the number. If I'm bored I might look it up later. If I have a problem then I guess it was a legit call. Haven't had one of those yet.
    “When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle.” Edumnd Burke

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  3. #32
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gunny View Post
    I just don't answer the phone if I don't know the number. If I'm bored I might look it up later. If I have a problem then I guess it was a legit call. Haven't had one of those yet.
    Yup. In my experience, anyone legit will leave a message if you don't answer. As will some scammers, but very rarely. They just want to get you to pick up, and if you don't, they disconnect and quickly move on to the next victim.

    If they do happen to leave a message, I will listen to it and not call back, lol.
    After the game, the king and the pawn go into the same box - Author unknown

    “Unfortunately, the truth is now whatever the media say it is”
    -Abbey

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  5. #33
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    Quote Originally Posted by Elessar View Post
    Got a call from 209-631-2059 that showed 'Unavailable'. I traced it to the
    Modesto area of Central CA.

    The caller had a heavy Middle-East Accent and said he was from Microsoft
    and was advising me of a 'Computer License Security I.D.' that was out of date!

    He rattled off a whole string of numbers that made no sense at all. But he wanted
    access to the computer to "FIX" the problem.

    For one...Microsoft does not have any offices in CenCal. for Two - they NEVER
    telephone anyone! The client has to call!

    Yeah, a friend of mine gets these, every once in a while. They've targeted her for some reason. Maybe because she picks the calls up! She loves this stuff, teasing them and wasting their time. I think it's dangerous: we have NoMoRoBo against robocalling and so daily get one to three single ring calls: then NoMoRoBo shuts it down. So we wait to see if a caller rings twice before moving out of the chair. And of course we have that federal program, but that has worn out and the scam callers are back in force.

    Now, you can still get scam callers IF they have hired humans to dial phones by hand and play the message when someone picks up. These always have a fake number on the Caller ID: often my own number! Which works surprisingly well --- I used to get curious. No more. Also they use numbers computer-generated (I assume) from areas supposedly that I am in or near. I have finally figured out that no call from the local black area is ever, ever legit --- I don't know anyone there, so I should just never pick those calls up when I see the area name on Caller ID. If it's a real person they can leave a message. But it never is.

    We get a lot more scam calls than actual people calls. I suppose that's been true for most people for 45-50 years. I don't use cell phones and have considered unplugging the landline except for once a day checking for messages. If it gets bad enough, we could try that. I don't like to, though, as sometimes calls are time-crucial. I could invent a twice-a-day call-checking routine if it gets bad enough.

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    Quote Originally Posted by aboutime View Post
    Whether anyone here cares to believe me or not. Whenever you receive a call from an Unknown number, from anyone you do not know, or do not recognize the number. IF YOU ANSWER IT, you are giving the caller the PHISHING bait they need to use your number. Even if it is UNPUBLISHED.

    RULE OF THUMB. If you didn't call someone, or haven't seen the number before. HANG UP. PERIOD!

    You mean, just let it ring until it's gone, right? Because if you can hang up, you've picked up the phone, which does probably signal their computer that this is a live line. They can at least sell that info. My husband keeps saying, "Let it go, let it go! If it's a real person, they'll leave a message." That's hard for me, but I do think he's right. It's usually a scam recording.

    Law and order enforcement is very bad in this country. Phone scammers have been operating with impunity for many decades and that's why this crime does nothing but increase and spread to countries all over the world.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Drummond View Post
    Possibly some scammers are more sophisticated than I'd give them credit for (... depends on who they are ?). But, I suggest a VERY easy, simple, litmus test that can be applied to any suspected scammer trying to contact you.

    Simply ... ask THEM to give information about YOU ... assess for yourself, if you can, what information about you they SHOULD already have, if they are really who they claim to be. The last scamming attempt I was subject to was stopped in its tracks by my asking the caller the simple question: 'If you are who you say you are, you'll have a database containing basic information. Tell me .. WHO AM I ?'

    The caller abruptly rang off, and didn't call back.

    Maybe in the US, scammers do more to attempt research on their hoped-for victims. But in many instances, they'll have scant info to start out with ... remember, their approach is to get information from YOU, not the other way around. Counter it by probing to see what, of a basic nature, they can tell you they already have (and should have !) on file about you. My guess ... almost always, they'll fail that test.
    Excellent, thanx for the suggestion.

    Ask callers who they suppose they are calling. I got some bad calls from our medical service carriers that seemed to me very close to scams and I ended up protesting to the company vehemently. (I think they had lost all our records, is actually what happened, because they sent us cards in the end with out-of-date info, and they had been badly hacked: MedStar, it was in the news. I think they had one of those encryption hacks.) These callers did know who I was, but they were still very shifty. If they don't know who I am, they are certainly scammers, but they could be anyway if hackers got the info. We've all been hacked six ways to Sunday by now: I know we have, by several companies that had our data that was hacked by Eastern Europeans or whatever with total data abstraction. I don't think they can do as much with all that as people feared, because it takes humans to sort it and use it. Mostly it's still email scams, and that I'm pretty good against. Though they are getting better and better and getting through the spam filters more and more lately.

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    Quote Originally Posted by mundame View Post
    You mean, just let it ring until it's gone, right? Because if you can hang up, you've picked up the phone, which does probably signal their computer that this is a live line. They can at least sell that info. My husband keeps saying, "Let it go, let it go! If it's a real person, they'll leave a message." That's hard for me, but I do think he's right. It's usually a scam recording.

    Law and order enforcement is very bad in this country. Phone scammers have been operating with impunity for many decades and that's why this crime does nothing but increase and spread to countries all over the world.
    .................................................. .....................
    mundame. Don't need to do anything when you see an unfamiliar number, than silencing the ring tone. Let them call again, and label their number as SPAM.

    Or, you can make up you RECORDING for calls to say.
    "You have reached........
    " If I didn't call you, or I don't know you!. Don't call again! unless it an actual EMERGENCY!"
    I love to make Liberals Cry, and Whine.
    So, this is for them.
    GOD BLESS AMERICA - IN GOD WE TRUST !

  11. #37
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    Dumb Scam attempt. FBI does NOT use g-mail. FBI contacts people face to face, not over media or even telephone.
    Do NOT click the link:

    FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
    FBI HEADQUARTERS IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
    J. EDGAR HOOVER BUILDING
    935 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, NW WASHINGTON, D.C. 20535-0001
    http://www.fbi.gov

    This is the International Financial Watch Unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI Washington D C) United States of America and we are mandated to monitor financial transactions around the globe in order to combat financial and internet fraud world wide. Our monitoring device picked up several signal transactions on your server and since then we have been monitoring all your financial/internet transactions and we have discovered that you have been into series of transactions.

    From our investigations, you have been involved in a series of transaction worth of millions of dollars. Importantly, we discovered that you have an outstanding transaction worth US$2,700,000.00 which is either inheritance, lottery or contract payment which has been approved for payment but is yet to be paid to you.

    We are working with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Benin Nigerian and Ghana Government and the United Nations (UN) to ensure that you receive your payment. We thus, officially inform you that we have verified your contract/Lottery/ inheritance payment file after close monitoring and found out why you have not received the payment, both on your part and on the part of your debtors.

    Our discussion with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), United Nations (UN) and Benin Nigerian and Ghana Government agreed that the US$2.7M should be paid to you through the use of an Electronic ATM Card System. The ATM card will be processed by the UBA Bank.

    NOTE THAT FOR YOU TO RECEIVE YOUR FUND TRUE ATM card IT WILL COST YOU $80 FOR THE DELIVERY OF YOUR ATM card AND YOU WILL RECEIVE IT OTHER TWO DAYS AND MAKE USE OF IT

    Note that if you still wish to receive your FUND do get back to us Immediately so that we will remove your FUND transfer from the list of Those FUND to be seized by the United States Government. Also be Informed that we need only a DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY SEAL OF TRANSFER (DIST) to complete the delivery of your ATM card. The fee to delivery your ATM card is $80 and no other fee is involved. You are required to send The fee of $80 by WESTERN UNION or MONEY GRAM to the issuing office at The bank where your FUND originated as stated below

    Receivers Name:..Ben ikechi
    Country ...Benin
    AMOUNT $80 USD
    Sender's name...
    MTCN Number.....

    Reconfirm you full details below to be forwarded to the Bank or FBI

    (1)Your Full Name:
    (2)Address:
    (3)City:
    (4)State:
    (5)Zip code:
    (6)Direct Cell phone Number:
    (7)Age:
    (8)Sex
    (9)Occupation:
    (10)Confidential E-mail address:

    We have mandated the United Bank of African . Plc to process your payment within 48 hours of receiving your details which means that you must notify us once you contact the bank to enable us follow up with them to ensure that your payment is promptly processed. You are to get back to us if you need further clarification and do feel free to inform us of your past effort to claim the funds and if there has been any monetary involvement from you. To who and how much did you spend without results as this will enable us to prosecute those involved.

    Faithfully Yours,
    chuks Eze
    FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
    (FBI Washington)
    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
    Last edited by Elessar; 02-17-2018 at 09:23 AM.
    I have lost my mind. If found, please give it a snack and return it?

    "I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same of others"...John Wayne in "The Shootist"

    A Deplorable!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Elessar View Post
    Dumb Scam attempt. FBI does NOT use g-mail. FBI contacts people face to face, not over media or even telephone.
    Do NOT click the link:

    FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
    FBI HEADQUARTERS IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
    J. EDGAR HOOVER BUILDING
    935 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, NW WASHINGTON, D.C. 20535-0001
    http://www.fbi.gov

    This is the International Financial Watch Unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI Washington D C) United States of America and we are mandated to monitor financial transactions around the globe in order to combat financial and internet fraud world wide. Our monitoring device picked up several signal transactions on your server and since then we have been monitoring all your financial/internet transactions and we have discovered that you have been into series of transactions.

    From our investigations, you have been involved in a series of transaction worth of millions of dollars. Importantly, we discovered that you have an outstanding transaction worth US$2,700,000.00 which is either inheritance, lottery or contract payment which has been approved for payment but is yet to be paid to you.

    We are working with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Benin Nigerian and Ghana Government and the United Nations (UN) to ensure that you receive your payment. We thus, officially inform you that we have verified your contract/Lottery/ inheritance payment file after close monitoring and found out why you have not received the payment, both on your part and on the part of your debtors.

    Our discussion with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), United Nations (UN) and Benin Nigerian and Ghana Government agreed that the US$2.7M should be paid to you through the use of an Electronic ATM Card System. The ATM card will be processed by the UBA Bank.

    NOTE THAT FOR YOU TO RECEIVE YOUR FUND TRUE ATM card IT WILL COST YOU $80 FOR THE DELIVERY OF YOUR ATM card AND YOU WILL RECEIVE IT OTHER TWO DAYS AND MAKE USE OF IT

    Note that if you still wish to receive your FUND do get back to us Immediately so that we will remove your FUND transfer from the list of Those FUND to be seized by the United States Government. Also be Informed that we need only a DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY SEAL OF TRANSFER (DIST) to complete the delivery of your ATM card. The fee to delivery your ATM card is $80 and no other fee is involved. You are required to send The fee of $80 by WESTERN UNION or MONEY GRAM to the issuing office at The bank where your FUND originated as stated below

    Receivers Name:..Ben ikechi
    Country ...Benin
    AMOUNT $80 USD
    Sender's name...
    MTCN Number.....

    Reconfirm you full details below to be forwarded to the Bank or FBI

    (1)Your Full Name:
    (2)Address:
    (3)City:
    (4)State:
    (5)Zip code:
    (6)Direct Cell phone Number:
    (7)Age:
    (8)Sex
    (9)Occupation:
    (10)Confidential E-mail address:

    We have mandated the United Bank of African . Plc to process your payment within 48 hours of receiving your details which means that you must notify us once you contact the bank to enable us follow up with them to ensure that your payment is promptly processed. You are to get back to us if you need further clarification and do feel free to inform us of your past effort to claim the funds and if there has been any monetary involvement from you. To who and how much did you spend without results as this will enable us to prosecute those involved.

    Faithfully Yours,
    chuks Eze
    FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
    (FBI Washington)
    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
    I love to play with these idiots. I feed them all kinds of lies and act as though I'm all excited and compliant. At some point they usually figure out they're being played and leave me alone.

    Even the hack emails supposedly from foreign women looking for love, I tell them I want to meet them and I'm rich and want to send them lots of money...

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    Quote Originally Posted by aboutime View Post
    .................................................. .....................
    mundame. Don't need to do anything when you see an unfamiliar number, than silencing the ring tone. Let them call again, and label their number as SPAM.

    Or, you can make up you RECORDING for calls to say.
    "You have reached........
    " If I didn't call you, or I don't know you!. Don't call again! unless it an actual EMERGENCY!"

    Good advice if we used cell phones --- you are so modern.

    We really only use the landline, unless there is a car emergency, so it's more difficult. I swear, there are times I have decided to unplug that phone, and I may yet.

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    Quote Originally Posted by mundame View Post
    Excellent, thanx for the suggestion.

    Ask callers who they suppose they are calling. I got some bad calls from our medical service carriers that seemed to me very close to scams and I ended up protesting to the company vehemently. (I think they had lost all our records, is actually what happened, because they sent us cards in the end with out-of-date info, and they had been badly hacked: MedStar, it was in the news. I think they had one of those encryption hacks.) These callers did know who I was, but they were still very shifty. If they don't know who I am, they are certainly scammers, but they could be anyway if hackers got the info. We've all been hacked six ways to Sunday by now: I know we have, by several companies that had our data that was hacked by Eastern Europeans or whatever with total data abstraction. I don't think they can do as much with all that as people feared, because it takes humans to sort it and use it. Mostly it's still email scams, and that I'm pretty good against. Though they are getting better and better and getting through the spam filters more and more lately.
    I got one recently that I picked up and answered. (I was waiting for call backs from my late mothers accounts)

    This one got my hackles up saying he represented a Credit Card security company.
    He wanted my personal information.

    I said..."Buster, if your represent my accounts, tell me which you are referring to".
    This clown mentioned cards an accounts I do no hold.....nor could he identify the accounts
    I do hold.

    Told him to ***off and try a stupid person...and was going to turn him and his phone number
    to the FBI and FCC.]
    Last edited by Elessar; 02-17-2018 at 05:08 PM.
    I have lost my mind. If found, please give it a snack and return it?

    "I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same of others"...John Wayne in "The Shootist"

    A Deplorable!

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    Quote Originally Posted by High_Plains_Drifter View Post
    I love to play with these idiots. I feed them all kinds of lies and act as though I'm all excited and compliant. At some point they usually figure out they're being played and leave me alone.

    Even the hack emails supposedly from foreign women looking for love, I tell them I want to meet them and I'm rich and want to send them lots of money...
    I would love to have one of these 'agents' show up on my porch.

    They would be shitting teeth for a week.
    Last edited by Elessar; 02-17-2018 at 05:07 PM.
    I have lost my mind. If found, please give it a snack and return it?

    "I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same of others"...John Wayne in "The Shootist"

    A Deplorable!

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    Default Easy answer nobody wants to hear.

    We got rid of Land Line phone about 10 years ago. When we got a package deal of Internet, and TV on cable from COX...part of the deal was a Land line. But, we never used it.

    All we have are TWO cell phones that allow my wife and I to stay in touch from the Doctors office, or the Grocery store. Our family knows our numbers, and so do our bill collectors. Otherwise, any numbers we do not recognize, or haven't listed as CONTACTS...get MUTED by hand while they ring. Many of them leave voice messages from 1-800 numbers that we just GET RID OF of label as SPAM.
    Our rule is. If we don't know you, or we didn't call you. WE FORGET YOU.
    I love to make Liberals Cry, and Whine.
    So, this is for them.
    GOD BLESS AMERICA - IN GOD WE TRUST !

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    Quote Originally Posted by Abbey View Post
    Yup. In my experience, anyone legit will leave a message if you don't answer. As will some scammers, but very rarely. They just want to get you to pick up, and if you don't, they disconnect and quickly move on to the next victim.

    If they do happen to leave a message, I will listen to it and not call back, lol.
    I always do this except when it's someone I know (the name or number comes up both the phone and the tv screen). But when it's a scammer that calls repeatedly and does or doesn't leave a message my phone allows me to block the #. I know they can switch to another number but works on about half. For those that persist, just do the same drill and block them again.

    The wife always feels compelled to answer. Makes me crazy.

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    Found another scam.

    Turns out "The Government" takes a large portion of YOUR money, puts it in some unsealed coffer and promises to earn money on your behalf and then repay you the money you paid in - but the kicker is - the Govt SPENDS that money willy-nilly.


    Be warned.
    “… the greatest detractor from high performance is fear: fear that you are not prepared, fear that you are in over your head, fear that you are not worthy, and ultimately, fear of failure. If you can eliminate that fear—not through arrogance or just wishing difficulties away, but through hard work and preparation—you will put yourself in an incredibly powerful position to take on the challenges you face" - Pete Carroll.

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    Quote Originally Posted by darin View Post
    Found another scam.

    Turns out "The Government" takes a large portion of YOUR money, puts it in some unsealed coffer and promises to earn money on your behalf and then repay you the money you paid in - but the kicker is - the Govt SPENDS that money willy-nilly.


    Be warned.
    They don't pay you any interest on it either.

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