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Phone and email SPAM and SCAM alerts

frankberry

frankberry

Administrator
Staff member
I just received a call from (565) 454-3434. (That number doesn't look suspicious, does it?) 565 is not a valid area code.
The woman on the other end of this very ... VERY short phone call had a pronounced foreign accent (perhaps from India).
She claimed to be from the United Government for the States of America.
HUH?
I didn't bother to listen to anything more.
I told her to quit scamming me.
I hung up the phone.

I have no idea what she wanted but I fear that others may be taken-in by these calls.
Our younger RadioDiscussions.com members might want to warn their older friends and family members about this scam.

Grumpy, crabby, short-tempered but not gullible ol' Frank
 
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My rule these days is if I don't recognize the number, particularly if it's an unfamiliar area code, I don't answer. 99-1/2% of the time, it's a scam. And I get dozens a day. And I'm on the do-not-call list.
 
I'm on the do-not-call list too. I knew it was a scam when I saw the phone number. I've blocked the number and any number with the area code 565. I'm not sure why my cell phone provider doesn't block these bogus calls. Oh well .... it gave me a chance to be nasty to someone without feeling guilty.
 
This is one of the older scams out there. They call and pretend to be either from the U.S. government or with "Windows Services" (note: not Microsoft, just Windows). They claim that there's a virus on your computer and that they'll instruct you on how to let them into your computer. If you do a reverse search on that number, you'll find a TON of postings to that effect on various message boards set up for exactly this reason.
 
The Do Not Call list means nothing to these clowns. They know they're breaking the law but don't care. They can post a fake number to the caller ID that has a valid area code or even a totally valid number, so they're harder to trace. :mad:


I've had problems with calls that start with recorded messages with scams to consolidate your bills or sell security systems. Most of the time if you call it back you'll get a message that the phone number is no longer in service. I've also had some scam calls that have my own area code (731) and when I called it back it went to the voice mail for some valid phone number that didn't belong to the scammers.

I like the idea that someone had on another forum, which was to press 1 to speak to a person, and then blast them with an air horn!!! I tried that with a car horn, but I found out that all it does is make them call you more, apparently because pressing 1 makes them think you're actually interested, and they get worse about calling you.

I've found out the best response is to hang up on them immediately and don't press 1 even to retaliate. :rolleyes:
 
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We need to come up with a way to yank their chains so that their scams bounce back on them so hard that they just never recover. Until that happy day, however, I just don't answer a call I do not recognize. United Government for the States of America, eh?
 
Not necessarily a scam but my technique for robo-calls is to listen for a couple of seconds after picking up the receiver. If I hear background noise (think of a call center) the call gets disconnected immediately. Same if someone asks for me by name without first identifying themselves. And the same if it remains silent. I figure if it is important they will call back. We are inundated with political calls, calls from charities and people with which we do not do business trying to do business. The Do Not Call registry helped for a little while but is being largely ignored today.
 
It depends on if I have time but sometimes I take the call and play along, recording the whole time. If it's good, I post them online. About half the time when they hear the "this call is being recorded" notice, they hang up right then. Then I add them to my lengthening block list.
 
anotherguy said:
The Do Not Call list means nothing to these clowns. They know they're breaking the law but don't care. They can post a fake number to the caller ID that has a valid area code or even a totally valid number, so they're harder to trace. :mad:


I've had problems with calls that start with recorded messages with scams to consolidate your bills or sell security systems. Most of the time if you call it back you'll get a message that the phone number is no longer in service. I've also had some scam calls that have my own area code (731) and when I called it back it went to the voice mail for some valid phone number that didn't belong to the scammers.

I like the idea that someone had on another forum, which was to press 1 to speak to a person, and then blast them with an air horn!!! I tried that with a car horn, but I found out that all it does is make them call you more, apparently because pressing 1 makes them think you're actually interested, and they get worse about calling you.

I've found out the best response is to hang up on them immediately and don't press 1 even to retaliate. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

It's called Caller ID Spoofing. How many of you have had this happen to you? The person listed on the caller ID calling you is listed as your name and number? I live with my Mom Tina and a few times we've gotten calls on the caller ID that say Tina B 860-xxx-xxxx. (I'm not posting our real phone number on a public forum). Of course we don't answer it.
 
It may be because of the difference in the model of the phone, but the scam calls I got usually didn't have a name on the caller ID. Most of the calls were on my work phone, which was a Blackberry until a couple of months back when I got a Samsung Galaxy S4. (Talk about a MAJOR improvement!!! :cool:) Since then the scam calls have gone down, and I never received as many on my personal or home phones for some reason.
 
anotherguy said:
I like the idea that someone had on another forum, which was to press 1 to speak to a person, and then blast them with an air horn!!!
Click to expand...

I suspect with the volume limiting circuits in the phones and telephone network, an air horn would have a louder level at your ears than at the ears of the person at the distant end.
 
Just got another call. Different number (646) 475-2216.
I didn't answer the phone. When I looked up the number online (I just entered the number into Google Search) .... same scam.
 
Almost all I get are automated...so anything you do, yelling, screaming, air horns, etc, all are wasted.

Just don't answer.
 
I agree. I answered the first call. That was a mistake. Now I'm on their 'sucker' list.
I'll check with Verizon wireless (It's a cell phone) and find out if there is a way to block these numbers.
Perhaps I can assign them a 'silent' ringtone on my phone.
 
frankberry said:
I'll check with Verizon wireless (It's a cell phone) and find out if there is a way to block these numbers.
Click to expand...

I asked AT&T and they told me no. They aren't in the business of limiting phone calls.

There are free apps you can download that will automatically block certain numbers.
 
Verizon does allow you to block up to 5 numbers for 90 days. Another problem though is that these scammers will also switch the number they're spoofing. I agree with Big A that not answering or hanging up immediately is the best way to stop them. Since I started that I'm getting fewer scam calls.
 
Here is something else that might work - Google Voice. It is a phone number you can get free of charge and use as your primary number. Any calls to it can be answered live, through voice mail or forwarded to any other cell or landline phone. It also has a block capability. You can also use it to make outgoing calls from phone or computer and long distance calls to USA or Canada numbers are free. A small charge exists to call other international numbers.

I give out my real cell number only to people I can trust. Everyone else gets the Google Voice number. If it turns out I don't want them calling me any longer I just block them and because the Google Voice number is apparently not listed as used I get very few unsolicited calls on it. Maybe 2-3 per month and they are easily ignored.
 
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