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Scam Warnings!!!!

bowlman

bowlman

Joined
Apr 27, 2004
Messages
117
Likes
4
Location
Indianapolis, IN
Website
www.dickgerard.com
1.) Received a call today ... caller ID said "Medicare verification".. Speaker, with thick Indian accent, informed me that all US Medicare recipients were going to get new Medicare cards. Purpose of the call was verification. Asked if my address was ... I said yes. Then he asked me to verify my bank name, routing number and account number along with the last 4 digits of my SS Number.

I informed him I NEVER give out that info over the phone.

Click followed by dial tone!


2). received a call, purportedly from Microsoft. Man with thick Indian accent (again). Said my computer was infected with a virus and that it was sending numerous "error reprts". When Iinformed him that I was an experienced IT professional and that my home network was protected by firewalls, both hardware and software, and that scans are done at least 2x/day, the respone was ...

Click followed by dial tone!

Please beware of these scams.
 
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What is amazing is that there are people who do not hear alarm bells going off in their heads within about two seconds of answering the phone when getting a cll like that.

Was there something related the calls that made you suspect that it has a connection to woodturners such as possibly names, phone numbers, addresses, etc of other turners that you know? Something like that could led one to suspect that somebody might be lax about safeguarding private information of other people. Reason that I ask is that some fellow club members would like the club to put a directory of our members online complete with the information that I just mentioned along with spouse and kids information.
 
The first time I got one of those "your computer is infected" calls, I thought it was a scam but I'd never heard of it, so I asked who my ISP was. The caller was unable to tell me my ISP, so I asked what my IP address was. He couldn't come up with that either. So I asked how he knew it was me if he couldn't identify the location of my computer. *click*
 
John Lawson said:
The first time I got one of those "your computer is infected" calls, I thought it was a scam but I'd never heard of it, so I asked who my ISP was. The caller was unable to tell me my ISP, so I asked what my IP address was. He couldn't come up with that either. So I asked how he knew it was me if he couldn't identify the location of my computer. *click*
Click to expand...

Or the "we're currently in your neighborhood" type call.
I just say, "thanks for the warning".
 
Had a similar call, but decided to have some fun.

Asked him if there was something wrong with my old card and why I needed a new one and whether the number would change, because I really liked the number I had as it was very easy to remember. When he replied that the number wouldn't change, I replied "great, 'cause the similar call I got last month said it might." Pause . . . When he assured me otherwise, I made up several numbers but slurred/mumbled the last three. Dude got very earnest in asking me to repeat it so I did, slurring the last 3 again. Says still couldn't get the last 3 numbers. I said they're letters, "alpha mike foxtrot". "Huh?" he says. So I translate "Adios Mother . . . ."

"click" 😀
 
Yes, that sort of thing has been happening for years now.

No bank, credit card company, service provider, or company will EVER ask for personal financial information over the phone or online without YOU initiating the submission. NEVER, EVER!!!!!

Don't be fooled or foolish. If in doubt, just say no. If it is legit, saying no will never cause an issue, since it wasn't the real company calling to begin with.

Glad you didn't fall for this.
 
Mark Mandell said:
Had a similar call, but decided to have some fun.

Asked him if there was something wrong with my old card and why I needed a new one and whether the number would change, because I really liked the number I had as it was very easy to remember. When he replied that the number wouldn't change, I replied "great, 'cause the similar call I got last month said it might." Pause . . . When he assured me otherwise, I made up several numbers but slurred/mumbled the last three. Dude got very earnest in asking me to repeat it so I did, slurring the last 3 again. Says still couldn't get the last 3 numbers. I said they're letters, "alpha mike foxtrot". "Huh?" he says. So I translate "Adios Mother . . . ."

"click" 😀
Click to expand...

I love the way you guys in Jersey tell it like it is.:cool2:
 
They're on an email rampage right now too. I have 10 million dollars waiting in an account that will be transferred as soon as I send them $650.00 bucks. I replied with very specific instructions as to how they can shove it. 😱

Here's how you handle the phone solicitor. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7OgWcwgB50
 
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Bill Wyko said:
They're on an email rampage right now too. I have 10 million dollars waiting in an account that will be transferred as soon as I send them $650.00 bucks. I replied with very specific instructions as to how they can shove it. 😱

Here's how you handle the phone solicitor. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7OgWcwgB50
Click to expand...

I hope that you are kidding about replying.
 
Differn't Strokes :

We use a different tactic for actual telemarketers; we don't answer the phone. If the caller ID is "blocked" or comes through as other than somebody we know, the call goes to the answering machine after 3 rings. We can always return a legit call. The beggers and hucksters never leave a message. Done.

The call I got came to my office number which has to be answered. They usually get a "no thanks, you've called a law office - drop the number" and we don't hear from them again.

Of course, if I ask for it, then I have to deal with it. I put a set of lightly used snow tires on Craig's List. Didn't take long for a couple of Nigerian Princes to contact me with their check scam. Again had some fun as I got them into a bidding war. Took me about two weeks to slowly get the price of the tires up to $36,000.

The capper was when I gave each the "name" of the other. I got an email back from each warning me that the other guy was a known criminal.

While I had these bozoes on the hook, I actually tried to contact the FBI's Internet Fraud Unit, but found out that they were so buried in cases that they stopped answering the phones!
 
really painful scam

I owned a type of business that could be anything from a backyard business to a tens of millions a year operation so I got regular calls from the scammers large and small. This was before the internet boom so information was not so readily available.

Someone called wanting to sell me the waste piles from old boom days gold mines, guaranteed to yield at least $200 of refined gold a ton using modern methods of extraction. I think they were selling it for $80 a ton. I immediately realized that the cost of processing would almost certainly be more than the yield but it turned out there was a far bigger catch. This stuff they were selling was actually hazardous waste so not only are you scammed out of the purchase price you are now the proud owner of tons and tons of hazardous waste that you are required to clean up!

Hu
 
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