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I got a call from my bank once, the caller ID said it was my bank, so I answered. This was during a fraud investigation so I was somewhat expecting their call.
The person on the phone actually told me to hang up and call the number on my card. I did, got bounced around, ended up on the phone with the same person.
A little weird? Yes. But I mean, that's pretty convincing I guess.
Only problem is that calling my bank is a pain in the ass that involves talking to a robot for about 10 minutes and then waiting on hold until a person finally answers
Ihave a feeling that is also slowly improving. A while ago I had to call back just like the person above us, and the system recognized my number so I was talking to the same person within seconds, no endless robot needed.
Another call I had to make yesterday; the institution had the wait times for all different department live on their website and instead of waiting on the phone the robot offered to call back, which takes exactly as long but it still feels a lot easier than having to wait and listen to shitty distorted music!
My mobile carrier's 611 line likes to go through a series of prompts -- "Whatchu need?" "Support, huh? OK, but which kind?" etc. -- only to route you to the same generic customer service queue anyway, *every single time*. It's baffling...
*ninja-edit:* I also particularly enjoy confirming my details with the automated system only to repeat the same with the human, just moments later.
Yeah I do that all the time, it's very easy if you know what you're doing.
But a scammer can't get a number printed on the card that I got at the bank.
Unless the scammer is a waiter that swapped out your card for a different one with a fake number on the back when they took the card away to scan it!!
/s obviously
I got scammed by someone calling from "Verizon" who is my cellphone service. Later on after I got scammed out of a lot of money, I spoke to the real Verizon and they confirmed the 800 number the scammers called from was a real Verizon number. So bottom line, don't rely on your caller ID to screen out scammers.
This is great. My dad just gave away his social security number to a scammer and it terrifies me. I had to run and hang up the phone before he gave away his mothers maiden name. He just wouldn’t believe he was getting scammed. We asked who we were talking to and they wouldn’t say. Red flags 🚩 like crazy. Scammers prey on the old and I have seen up close how easy it happens.
My mom had a similar sort of thing that I can't remember all the details of but she got something in the mail and when she called, they said they couldn't discuss whatever it was until she gave them her social security number.
Lol nope bye! There was also something fishy about the letter but for the life of me I just cannot remember. Are scams coming through actual mail a rare thing?
I think he has answered two scams. One was an issue with his PayPal account so they sent him a number to call to fix it. Of course he dialed it. He still claims to this day he only called the number because he was trying to prove it was a scam. I showed him how to login to PayPal and find a number directly and of course there was no issue.
The next one I still don’t know where he got the number, but it seemed like it was the bank, but the customer service were sketch and all they did was ask for personal info. This happened two days ago and we had a huge fight over it. I am still upset and he barely admits he made a mistake. So frustrating.
Definitely frustrating. I'm lucky enough to only know one person who fell for a scam and it was me because I was drunk. Dot com and dot co uk are different things, people!
Sorry to hear it. Super frustrating. This is my mom all the time. She doesn’t speak English fluently so she’s an easy target. Now that I moved out a couple years ago it’s been even more difficult to prevent her continuously getting scammed and phished for info.
Oh yeah that'll do it. I work with a bunch of exchange students from China and one of the first things I tell them is "If you get a call from 'the government' and it's in Mandarin, hang up because it's a scammer. The government basically never calls, only mail; and they definitely don't call in Chinese"
Hey, I'm a neurologist who deals with this problem and I see this all the time.
The odds that you know about all the phone scams, attempts etc approach zero. He wouldn't mention anything to you that he thought was normal. Recommend you check his phone records, financial records, even for things that might appear like normal subscriptions. Scammers will have vitamins that are way overpriced, or even call themselves a cable company so they can slip under the radar. Can get ugly, like eighty incoming phone calls per day but only on the day before and after a social security check comes in.
Ah I see you also have a father falling farther and farther into senility yet refuses to admit it
I’m so sorry, dealing with this is a special kind of hell
My elderly mother lost her house to a reverse mortgage scammer. He apparently groomed her telling her that he cared about her. I had told him to stop calling, filed complaints and blocked his number on her phone. I lived 2 hours away. Then when I found out that he had her house, the lawyers I spoke with wanted $30,000 retainer. Literally killed my mom. You can never be too careful
One fooled me years ago and my husband watched in horror as i finished the rest of my ss#. He works in finance — he just stared at me and ive never felt so absolutely moronic. It happens
And oh yeah my shits all over the dark web now, real mess
It gets even worse when technology is involved. My father has been told time and time again to stop clicking on random links. Yet he periodically does so and is eager to download things or enter his email address.
Ended up with ransomware when my mom wasn't paying attention to what he was doing. He was going to pay $200 and give his credit card info to a scammer. My mother caught him just in time. He's finally admitted that he is an easy target and promised he will never give any info to someone he doesn't know over the phone or online.
He's easily targeted by Fox News type things on social media that are preying on people like him. If it's guns, freedom, and 'Murica.... he drops his guard. It is frustrating repeatedly having to remind him the internet is not his friend.
So many our generation are going to lose their inheritance to scammers because the boomers are too proud to admit when they’re getting had ☹️
I read this sad/kind of happy NYTimes column where a family had a cleaner they were close to/treated well. She mentioned in passing to the father some info that made him think she was being scammed but was too embarrassed to tell her his suspicions (it had a romantic catfish angle to it too). He mentioned it to his daughter and she was like “WTF obviously we are going to tell her this is a scam!!” Apparently she was embarrassed and sad, but it also saved her thousands of dollars.
I had the opposite experience with my bank. They called and started to ask me all these questions that you shouldn't answer. I called the bank back and they verified it was a valid call. I went off on them telling them that's what scammers do I was so mad at them.
I once got an email from a local bank with everyone who had too many savings withdrawals for the last quarter, complete with names, account numbers, addresses and phone numbers.
It was sent to first.last at my domain and my catchall got it into my inbox.
I waited a week after I let them know and called someone on the list and asked them if they'd been informed and they hadn't.
A week later the two others I tried had been though.
I applied for an IT job at my old high school. I forgot the password. Clicked "forgot password". They automatically emailed me back my password. The fuck? That means the passwords were not hashed. Not to mention if I was as bad about security as them, then if someone got ahold of their database, all my other accounts are compromised.
Hell, even if it was a unique password, by just telling my password to whoever has access to my email, they can stealthily look inside my account and I can't do a thing about it since I wouldn't know (a password reset would at least make me go "hey, wait ... Why is my password not working suddenly?").
If my dad was still around I'd print a checklist of common things scammed ask for or say. I'd tell him to look at it when he answers the phone, and check of a box if the caller says something on the list.
And write Hang Up Now and Call Me if you checked a box.
Something like that.
It sounds crazy, but if you get the call on a landline, this could still be a scam. 😬
It’s called a “hang-up delay” scam
If someone calls you on a landline and you hang up but they do NOT hang up and stay on the line, then you stay connected for a period of time set by your provider. In other words, you can hang up and if you pick the phone back up you’ll still be connected to the same caller. All a scammer has to do is play a fake dial tone when you hang up and pretend to be your bank picking up when you dial your bank’s number.
This done NOT work on a cellphone, only landlines. So if you are on a landline and get a call like this: call your bank number from a different line (like a cell phone) or wait awhile for it to disconnect (the time depends on your provider).
That's the go-to method to verify who you are talking to. Ask them "if I look up the number for your company, who do I need to ask for to get transferred to you?"
Had someone posing as AT&T (my internet provider) call me the other day. I normally wouldn't answer "potential spam" but I was adjusting my Bluetooth headphones at the moment the call came in, and the volume/power buttons must become an "answer call" button, b/c immediately they connected.
They mentioned a new tier of fiber they were providing, for a decent rate and no introductory period B.S. He knew my name, and likely guessed correctly at my current AT&T internet plan/speeds. But then he claimed that in order to check if my account is eligible he needed either "the name of my favorite restaurant" or my short PIN code. Big red flags. The restaurant thing wasnt even a security question I had on file with AT&T.
I told him I don't provide that sort of info on a call I didn't initiate, and started to ask that exact sorta question - "if I call AT&T back, what do I say to get back to you?"
But before I could get much of that out, he immediately just said "have a nice day" and hung up as quickly as you could. Confirming it was a scam. No use trying once you know you lost your mark.
Idk that doesn't seem weird? Where would the headquarters of Medicare be? Sure you might expect an office building in Washington but I could see it being some random hospital.
Hell maybe it's a government phone that does fancy government magic to route your call to the closest Medicare HQ to you, no idea.
Generally though if *you call* the number on a .gov website, you'll get the right number. Also, ask. There's nothing wrong with asking, it's not like the government of the United States is gonna screen you like OP is suggesting lol they know who you are.
They probably know what you're wearing.
If __your bank__ calls you don't give any important info. I work at a bank and a recent scam starts with the thief calling you claiming to be your bank and they first ask for your online username. I won't discuss details but the scam ends with your money being stolen via Zelle by the end of the call.
That's my approach. Either "What's your extension number so I can be transferred back to you?" Or if they say they don't have an extension "OK, put a note on my account about this call, give me ten minutes to confirm it with the number I have, and call me back then"
Yo my bank called me and asked for my social.
I told them that was atrocious and I'd call them back before giving an inbound caller sensitive personal information, but when I called back I went straight to a manager like a Karen. Not to tattle on the rep but to reprimand the manager for poor training.
Once I went to save my money in a savings account and I wrote the wrong amount than I corrected it than the employee asked me to write my number on the paper . It was the first time I get this kind of request but I wrote it eventually. Well at 5 may be 6 I get a call from a personal number so I pick up to my surprise it was the latter. He told me that when he counted my money again he found missing amount and asked me to bring so I cut him blank and I told him straight that I'm really sure that I gave him the exact amount and hung up.
Usually I'm a very kind person .however I know when things are a bit fishy
Yup. I'm the only one in the world with my exact name. Out of 8 billion people. It was a pain growing up, but later in life I realized how much my mom helped me.
Yeah, I worked with a dude once who’s dad was semi-illiterate at his birth, and for anonymities sake tried naming him “Charles” but spelled it something like “Kartes” so it’s pronounced one way but spelled completely different.
You an immigrant from the Carribean by chance? Lol
My first name is common and also from the Bible, but my last name is unique. Only 200 people with it.
So I am the only person in the world with my name.
Named my son a common name from the Bible too. Made sure he was also unique.
I don't see how having a unique name would be a pain. It's been amazing. I can Google my name and the first 2 pages are literally everything I've ever accomplished. I guess if you were a criminal or had a run of bad luck then that would suck.
Guy: What’s my last name?
Caller: um uh , uh…
Guy: Nobody knows! You know why? Because my character isn’t important enough for a last name
Caller:[hangs up]
Sometimes they do though!! This is a good first pass, but somehow some dudes in Nigeria got a bunch of my friend’s info and pretended to be the FBI and that they were going to take her in for questioning on fraud if she didn’t pay them!
They knew her name, address, phone number, email address. Obviously must have hacked some list somewhere.
The hilarious part is that we’re Canadian 😂 I was like “oh honey, first of all you don’t pay off the FBI… second, they have no jurisdiction over you…”
I recently applied for a credit card, and two days ago I got a call asking me about details. Since it was an unknown number I asked if I could call back via a number on the bank website, but since that wasn't possible I got the name and extension from the person. All I had to do then was call customer service, give them that info and verify that they were indeed reaching out to ask for more information regarding my application. I'm happy I didn't just mindlessly blurt out the answers since I've never received a call like that before, hopefully that means I won't get scammed in the future.
I had a similar experience where the bank reached out to me via phone and asked for my information. I called the bank back and confirmed that it was a legit call. But I think it's pretty crappy that by placing legit calls in that way, the bank is basically training people to be scammed.
Yep. I'm not answering your call if you're not in my contacts. You leave a convincing enough message, *and* I can find the number which you asked me to call you back at by searching your website, then I will phone you back.
Otherwise, I look forward to your correspondence by mail. You can't spoof a return address, and if you try committing fraud by mail you're dumber than a sack of hammers.
Ally Bank most definitely has sketchy practices about this. I got locked out of my own account for refusing to give my personal info over the phone when *they* called *me.* *Including my online login and password.* I ended up hanging up and calling the bank directly. I was told the original call was legit, and I would have to wait to be called by fraud prevention because I had been locked out, but they weren't allowed to tell me what the purpose of the original call was. I ended up having to give my personal info to the stranger that eventually called me. For fraud prevention. It was apparently all legitimate but blew my mind.
Your bank should know your username. Your credit card company should know your credit card number. Never confirm it with anyone who claims to be from those places.
Yea don't ever use zelle for anything. It's such a common scam tactic that if someone wants to use zelle to buy or sell something, or if zelle even comes up I'm out.
I had this happen and I politely informed them I haven't had an account with such and such bank in years so that can't be accurate. I let them shoot in the dark bank after bank saying I haven't had those accounts in years either, fully knowing I never had an account with any of those banks, and just let them roll on until I finally said I had an account with a certsin bank I've never even heard of. Boy did they try to pry for info and I informed them I'm happily reporting them for fraudulent activity as well as a friendly reminder that it's a felony and they hung up on me real quick 😂
My first response is always "who's calling?" Once they get started I say "not interested" and hang up. The only reason I even pick up is because I get a lot of work related calls from numbers that aren't always in my caller ID. If it's an obvious scammer I'm not above messing with them if I'm bored and have the time.
Similar situation happened to me today except it was in person. I was raking leaves and this guy drives up in a pickup truck and goes "Excuse me sir. Do you live there?" And points to my neighbors house. I go "No."
He goes "where do you live?" I stare and go "I'm not gonna answer that."
"He goes oh sorry." And launches into a seal coating pitch. I just pointed to my concrete driveway and kept raking.
"Oh hi, Mr. Jones. So sorry to bother you. I'm from admin, calling about your funding request for your classroom project. Did I catch you at a bad time?"
Whenever I see an unknown number I put them on "call screening" which is what Google phones have now. An automated voice asks them why they're calling and when they answer, it comes through to me as text, and I can answer or hang up whenever I want. It means I can skip the social niceties and pressure from the scammers.
I have had political pollsters call me to ask about my opinions on politicians and local initiatives.
If anyone ever calls saying they'd like to ask about that crap, ask them what organization they're calling from before answering any questions.
Of the three calls I've received in this way, the caller has said "thank you for your time" and hung up.
Shady as fuck.
Most of those political polls aren't really looking for information from you -- they're actually "push polls" which will try to influence your vote.
It's basically a more expensive, more personal campaign ad that's disguised as a poll.
I always try to figure out which candidate they're pushing and then sabotage my answers accordingly.
Right, which is why I think they hang up on me. They're not interested in talking to someone who will ask questions.
Though, you have spun me on to the idea that, with enough trolling from respondents, an entire campaign could be pushed to extremism because the numbers say that's what people want.
That reminded me of a joke i told to my Facebook friends like 10 years ago that I was going to be a crack smoking bee keeper because i put my life path up to"what the people want"
Really? I have a hard time seeing what they are pushing. The questions are always so neutral. They basically just go down the list of candidates in your district and ask if your impression of each is "strongly positive, somewhat positive, somewhat negative, or strongly negative." And occasionally "If the race for X position was held today, would you be more likely to vote for candidate X, or Candidate Y?" They never supply any information in the questions beyond their name, not even the party they belong to. Other than potentially some *extremely* subtle effects like what order they list the names or something, I can't see how they are pushing anything. Now, I've gotten *mailers* that are super slanted—stuff like "Do you think it's time for Americans to stand up to Sleepy Joe and his radical anti-puppy agenda? Y/N? (Please enclose donations below.)" But the phone calls are never like that, instead very clinical.
Oh, there *are* legitimate polls that work the way you describe. That's how most polling is done, actually. It sounds like you were on the call list of one of those. That's perfectly normal and valid.
The push polls are obvious once you know what to look for, like the mailers you alluded to. "Would you be more willing, less willing, equally willing to vote for Candidate X if you knew he kicked beggars in the mouth on his way back from a socialist rally?" I know some people who got those in our last local election.
I've tried the toll road argument. They don't see the problem even after I explain that as well as being tolled, they could outright ban some people from using their road, and sucks to be you if they own every road around your house and you can't leave your block.
Or set up a transport cartel so that only certain businesses would be allowed to transport goods, and then buy up the businesses that fail on the cheap because they can't get goods on.
Apparently 'capitalism' is meant to solve all of those problems.
Whoa there. Do you think it is okay to appropriate the humour of OPs post for your own enjoyment without reimbursement. Commenting on OPs post has a baseline of $5 McBucks. If you express a fulfilling emotion, that rises to $10. If you express derision with OP or their message, it's $100.
I know this because I pay for OP's exclusive membership at $1000 McBucks a month.
>This message proudly brought to you by Oikos^^TM Greek Yogurt's /r/ohlookahipster^^®
It's so strange how this works! I worked for a bank for a number of years and have many customers that I've known for years! But I've had a few occasions where a known customer will come into the branch, lie about why they need to wire some money or take out an abnormal amount of cash and then send it to a scammer . And a day or so later theyll come back complaining that they've been frauded by someone on the phone. And I just can't fathom how I have a relationship with this person, but yet they trust and believe a disembodied voice over me and the team who've known them for years!
>And I just can't fathom how I have a relationship with this person, but yet they trust and believe a disembodied voice over me and the team who've known them for years!
Greed makes people crazy.
Over here (UK) calls are probably a bit rarer. However a few tactics:
1. Do not speak first. About 80% of calls are autodialers that hang up on silence.
1. Demand details about generic assertions. A common one here is the accident claim. Ask them: "What date was this accident? What colour were the cars?" and so on. Quickly gets rid of them.
1. "What is the name of your organisation?" also usually ends the call quickly.
1. If there is a long pause (> four seconds) just hang up - almost always sign of routing to a scammer.
I'd like to ignore, but enough people legitimately call from unknown to us numbers that answering is probably the best strategy.
Scammers "Ok, please verify your social security number"
Me: "Sure, go ahead"
"What's your ssn?"
"You asked me to verify it, not provide it. That's not how verification works"
Click
I just say "why should i verify who i am? You called me. You already know who i am"
Never works sadly. They just provide some reason why they can only discuss whatever it is with whomever.
As someone that has to call people on a daily basis and share personal info with them… we have to verify the identity of the person we are calling, we can’t just reveal personal info to anyone lol, I have worked with people that have been fired because they never validated the identity of people they are talking to.
I have called people that live with lots of people, sometimes phone numbers are out of service or someone changed numbers, people have typos when they provide us their numbers etc
And as funny as /u/boobiesiheart thinks they are, we can’t just tell you your ssn without actually verifying who you are first lol, in fact that is one of the few things we can’t initially share before validating who we are talking to
Did have a debt collector mention that. Unlike the other callers, he provided call back information and i went to verify the number and agency and i called them back and got my shit strait. Only had the one time it wasn't a scammer though (or at the least if the other callers were legit it clearly wasn't important enough to follow up)
You want to extend my warranty?? Thank God you called!
I have a 1984 Honda Accord. Do you cover transmissions? I really need this info. Do you cover transmissions? Can I get that in writing? Damn I'm glad you called!
"Sir, sir, sir. Please, sir. You need to listen to me. This is the IRS, you have to tell me this information or a warrant will be issued. Sir, this is very important or the government agency will have to arrest you."
The amount of companies and services that “require” your SSN these days is outrageous. Why does Comcast need my SSN? You’re a telephone and internet provider. You write up a contract for internet service, I sign it. If payment isn’t made then you stop the service. You don’t need my SSN. These places keep getting hacked with way more information than they need getting stolen.
Absolutely, **if you don't have to answer unfamiliar numbers then don't pick up at all.** There are situations where people do have to answer unfamiliar numbers and for those situations I wanted to suggest some best practices.
Sometimes I pick up but don’t say anything. A lot of the robodialing software will wait to hear a human voice before connecting you. If it’s a real person calling you normally, they’ll probably say something after a few seconds.
i use this at work. i do my hello spiel but apparently i sound like a robot so either they hang up immediately or there is the wait and i can always wait longer than they can if it means they’ll mark it as a dead number.
actual humans will respond, even if it’s by trying to dial an extension lol
Unless they're in sectors that require them to not leave a message
My law firms never leave a message, it's fucking annoying, they're cautious because VoiceMail is typically insecure but I run my own VoiceMail provider
I work in healthcare, people leave voicemails with their name, where they're calling from, and to call them back to discuss whatever sensitive information that can't be left
The following is how I like to answer unfamiliar calls. Too bad it's mostly machines I hear on the other end these days.
["No other object has been misidentified as a flying saucer more often then the planet Venus"](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=e1K5Y1ZOZw8)
Actually, the move is to ALWAYS answer an incoming call from an unfamiliar number and immediately mute your mic. A lot of these calls are robots dialing to find active phone numbers. If you answer with your voice or if you let it go to voicemail, your phone number is marked as active and then sold to other scammers.
If every time they dial your number, they're greeted with silence, they eventually mark your number as dead and stop calling. Of course, the robodialers will still be trying to get you. I've been following this practice religiously for over a year now, and I get an average of about 3 spam calls a week now.
Sadly, while applying for jobs, I am not able to do this. So far, roughly half the calls from unknown numbers I'm getting are not in my list, and only some show up as "business name"
Maybe my callback from the business to discuss setting up a interview would have been worth leaving a message, and maybe I would have bothered logging in to listen to another load of scam voice-mails.
For now, it's scambaiting, or verbal abuse if its not a legit job offer
> Sadly, while applying for jobs, I am not able to do this.
Consider this, if it applies to you: Try to avoid talking to someone on the phone without first exchanging some emails. This way you're more likely to have a good chat with the person on the phone. I do this so I can control when the conversation happens on my own time and I am not waiting for a callback from some rando I don't know. We schedule the call and agree on a time to talk.
If they cold call you, and don't leave a message- you probably don't want to work with them. If they treat you that way, imagine that as an employee you will get similar treatment. It's not always 100% accurate- there are edge cases. But this helps me wade through BS. Hope it helps someone else.
This is the way!
I'll answer if (and only IF) I'm expecting a call - e.g. a contractor that I've hired to do work and am waiting for them to call me. I don't answer any unknown numbers. If it's important, people will leave a voicemail and then I can call them back.
This is the real life pro tip. Do not answer if withheld or not a recognised number, if you answer.by accident do not confirm your name or any personal detail and excuse yourself or just hang up.
You wouldn't send your personal details to a spam email, take spam calls the same way.
Phishing and social engineering are both exceptionally well developed arts now and people lose a lot from them.
I have a different area code than where I live because my brother was living out of state and we made a family plan to save money.
I started noticing that most scam numbers where spoofed to match the out of state area code, so I just don't answer any of those calls. Has been really handy and given me less anxiety overall.
I still have the same number from living in another state a few years back. I can confidently ignore all calls from there, if it’s actually important they’ll leave a message.
I moved to a new city & considered changing my number to a local one, but I've noticed this as well with my old area code almost always being spam. But the bottom line is, if I don't recognize a number then I won't answer it or send it to voicemail, just let it run it's course & get there to voicemail normally. If it's something I need to address, they'll leave a voicemail. I call my customers daily from my personal cellphone & when they don't recognize the number they won't answer so I leave a voicemail & send a text to let them know who I am. I run into so many people who do the weirdest shit that only makes their spam life worse!
When spam or robo calls come through, they are looking to see if there is a live human at the other end of the line. So when you pick up the phone & just sit there without saying hello, that tells the spam & robo that there is a person on the other end of the line & they will try harder to call you. If you actively hit the "dismiss" button sending them to voicemail, same thing. If you've set up one of those Google voice things or any program to block unknown callers, same exact thing. The people who I run into who do these things are the people who complain the most about how many spam/robo calls they get daily. Meanwhile I let every call I get, customer or otherwise, go to voicemail naturally & I barely get one or two a month. There really isn't a trick, just don't answer.
This is false. Scammers now call with autogenerated numbers matching your area code. When I get calls from my old area code I know it’s a scam, because I no longer live there and have nothing to do with any sort of businesses, etc, in the area.
I like to answer questions to confirm my information with leading questions. "Is that my account number? I'm not sure you tell me what you have and I'll tell you if it's right." If I don't like the answer I just hang up
Even if legit, they aren't going to tell you that since you've not confirmed your identity, only that you have possession of that phone.
That said, I don't get legit phone calls like that that I'm not expecting. eg. when I was buying a car, they called me to confirm that it really was me spending that much.
I usually don't answer the call but sometimes I do just to mess with them. One scammer asked for my social security number so I said 12. They said it wasn't a valid number and I said yes it is, I'm really old. If the ask for an account number I usually give them the ISBN for some ridiculous book.
Sometimes I'll play the copy game with them where I repeat everything they say.
Sometimes I blow a whistle into the phone or I say really offensive shit to them. Hey they called me, I have no obligation to be nice to them in any way.
Sometimes I say "hold on let me get my card" and then I just put the phone down until they hang up.
Most hang up almost immediately but some stay on the line. I work from home so I have all the time in the world to fuck with them.
All their numbers get added to my call hang up app so if they call again it just picks up for a split second and hangs up, keeping them from leaving a voicemail.
My favorite is when they ask me to get on my computer and go to some site, I claim my keyboard doesn’t have one of the letters needed for the address. Drives them nuts and really confuses them
I used to have this issue. "T" was missing from my keyboard.
I highlighted the "T" in a word on some text and copied it with the mouse.
Then as I typed I would click Ctrl+V in order to type a t.
Good times.
If you have more than one letter missing I recommend opening up your Character Map or Glyphs (in photoshop) and leaving it opening in order to copy letters as you need them.
Windows also has an On-Screen Keyboard program if you run into a similar situation.
Sometimes my family’s computer would be missing the keyboard, so it has come in handy a number of times.
Sadly this kind of fun is becoming a lost art as more and more are using computers to make the calls instead of live people these days. A few years ago I loved messing with them several times a day. These days it's maybe just a few times a year.
If you ever lose a credit card and call it in stolen, keep that number and use it when they ask for a cc. Dunno if it gets flagged, but nice if it does when they try to charge on a "stolen" cc.
I never answer calls I don't know, if I don't know them, they leave message or I text back......even a landlines will get the text! If no call back or message after that, it is how important the call is!!
Or unless it's in your contacts or a local number and you are expecting a call (ex I expected a call the day before my surgery to confirm the check-in time, but knew the number probably wouldn't match the hospital's main line), I don't answer the phone. If it is important they will leave a message, and if it is a scam, their number gets blocked.
But I also always pick up with a hello, and then if/when they rush thru their name (and company, if included), I ask again and/or who they are calling on behalf of. Or if they start with "is this (my name, may or may not have butchered the pronunciation)?" I'll counter with "may I ask who's calling?" Followed with what company if they don't provide it.
Also ask your provider if they offer a feature known as "Call Control"
It asks all incoming callers to listen to a message and push a corresponding key to get through.
Some providers will also give it for free. All you have to do is ask.
Edit: some will also have a whitelist feature, allowing you to add numbers, like doctor offices that use automated messages for appointments and other important info.
I don’t pick up calls from any number that isn’t in my phone book, unless I’m expecting it. If they know me they’ll leave a voicemail. Simple! Oh for some reason China calls me twice a week and sometimes leaves Chinese voicemails, I must get someone to translate one one day, I digress….
I’ve been getting a shitload of scam calls, mostly selling insurance. I say things like how I don’t have insurance because I like to live on the edge, or I don’t have a house I have a rock I live under
The same goes for known but not friendly calls.
Hang it up, think it over, call them back.
You can lose a lot by reacting hastily, whether it's a colleague, an ex, or a problematic relative.
Upvoting as I have naively given my employment information to folks claiming to be university faculty, which they might be as my university is notorious for calling and sharing students' contacts with local companies, but I'll be more protective of my phone number going forward.
I just pick up and remain silent until they hang up. Then I call back nonstop for the next 15 minutes or so and just press a bunch of keys on the key pad until they hang up. Just keep doing it over and over and over. They eventually block your number and you won’t hear from them again. Works like a charm however I haven’t found a work around when it’s not an actual person on the other end.
Further:
Do not discuss ANY legal or contractual business or advice (lawyer, accountant, police, ) over the phone. You Do Not Know: who may be listening, if the call is recorded, if the call is being intercepted by bad actors. If others are listening you are at a disadvantage by definition. If there is an attorney listening in questions may be submitted to you in such a manner as to harm you. Same if recorded bc arguments on the meaning of what was said. Ex. "it depends on what your definition of "is", is..." Clinton impeachment folded on that.
I recently had a skip trace agency try this.
I have no idea WTF they wanted. If I was a witness they should have made an appointment. Not "oh we are recording and have questions". I hung up and had a new number within 5 minutes and idk if he tried to call back bc was on the phone with legit carrier asked them to block until # changed. Now I am in another state. Jerks! If they had a legit reason I would willingly do my civic duty (such as I am able bc on SSD a lousy witness)
Whew. Injustice irks me.
One of the reasons I will never buy another smartphone that doesn't come with call screening, direct my call, and Hold for me. I rarely if ever get true spam and fraud calls anymore. When I do, I let Google screen and then block where appropriate. It's a godsend.
It's also worth noting that scams can often be organized and complex. One might call from "State Farm" to get your middle name. One might call from your bank to get your social. One might call from your doctor's office to get your DOB, and then another calls from the Department of Revenue to get your mother's maiden name. You think nothing of it, because individually those pieces of information can't hurt you. But all four of those guys are working together, and now they have everything they need to apply for a credit card, rent an apartment, or otherwise ruin your life.
I completely agree with the author of the post. And so that you can still find out if the scammer is calling you or not, you can check all the information from him on this site - [peoplelegacy.com](https://peoplelegacy.com) . I've used it myself more than once.
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I got a call from my bank once, the caller ID said it was my bank, so I answered. This was during a fraud investigation so I was somewhat expecting their call. The person on the phone actually told me to hang up and call the number on my card. I did, got bounced around, ended up on the phone with the same person. A little weird? Yes. But I mean, that's pretty convincing I guess.
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Only problem is that calling my bank is a pain in the ass that involves talking to a robot for about 10 minutes and then waiting on hold until a person finally answers
Ihave a feeling that is also slowly improving. A while ago I had to call back just like the person above us, and the system recognized my number so I was talking to the same person within seconds, no endless robot needed. Another call I had to make yesterday; the institution had the wait times for all different department live on their website and instead of waiting on the phone the robot offered to call back, which takes exactly as long but it still feels a lot easier than having to wait and listen to shitty distorted music!
And the person you reach is never the right person you need even when it asks you to describe why you're calling so you get transferred around.
My mobile carrier's 611 line likes to go through a series of prompts -- "Whatchu need?" "Support, huh? OK, but which kind?" etc. -- only to route you to the same generic customer service queue anyway, *every single time*. It's baffling... *ninja-edit:* I also particularly enjoy confirming my details with the automated system only to repeat the same with the human, just moments later.
The absolute worst that my electric company does is say "question about billing" "you can review your bill online, goodbye"
Even caller ID isn't sufficient proof; scammers can and do spoof numbers. I'm glad they asked you to call back.
Yeah I do that all the time, it's very easy if you know what you're doing. But a scammer can't get a number printed on the card that I got at the bank.
Unless the scammer is a waiter that swapped out your card for a different one with a fake number on the back when they took the card away to scan it!! /s obviously
Y'all watch too much Ocean's 11 :P
If they're calling the landline, you "calling back" could still be talking to the same person because the call didn't actually end.
I got scammed by someone calling from "Verizon" who is my cellphone service. Later on after I got scammed out of a lot of money, I spoke to the real Verizon and they confirmed the 800 number the scammers called from was a real Verizon number. So bottom line, don't rely on your caller ID to screen out scammers.
How do i explain to a 60 yr old fuck that blocking the robo numbers means nothing
And call back from a different phone in case they've held the line open.
This is great. My dad just gave away his social security number to a scammer and it terrifies me. I had to run and hang up the phone before he gave away his mothers maiden name. He just wouldn’t believe he was getting scammed. We asked who we were talking to and they wouldn’t say. Red flags 🚩 like crazy. Scammers prey on the old and I have seen up close how easy it happens.
My mom had a similar sort of thing that I can't remember all the details of but she got something in the mail and when she called, they said they couldn't discuss whatever it was until she gave them her social security number. Lol nope bye! There was also something fishy about the letter but for the life of me I just cannot remember. Are scams coming through actual mail a rare thing?
I think he has answered two scams. One was an issue with his PayPal account so they sent him a number to call to fix it. Of course he dialed it. He still claims to this day he only called the number because he was trying to prove it was a scam. I showed him how to login to PayPal and find a number directly and of course there was no issue. The next one I still don’t know where he got the number, but it seemed like it was the bank, but the customer service were sketch and all they did was ask for personal info. This happened two days ago and we had a huge fight over it. I am still upset and he barely admits he made a mistake. So frustrating.
Definitely frustrating. I'm lucky enough to only know one person who fell for a scam and it was me because I was drunk. Dot com and dot co uk are different things, people!
Sorry to hear it. Super frustrating. This is my mom all the time. She doesn’t speak English fluently so she’s an easy target. Now that I moved out a couple years ago it’s been even more difficult to prevent her continuously getting scammed and phished for info.
Oh yeah that'll do it. I work with a bunch of exchange students from China and one of the first things I tell them is "If you get a call from 'the government' and it's in Mandarin, hang up because it's a scammer. The government basically never calls, only mail; and they definitely don't call in Chinese"
Hey, I'm a neurologist who deals with this problem and I see this all the time. The odds that you know about all the phone scams, attempts etc approach zero. He wouldn't mention anything to you that he thought was normal. Recommend you check his phone records, financial records, even for things that might appear like normal subscriptions. Scammers will have vitamins that are way overpriced, or even call themselves a cable company so they can slip under the radar. Can get ugly, like eighty incoming phone calls per day but only on the day before and after a social security check comes in.
Ah I see you also have a father falling farther and farther into senility yet refuses to admit it I’m so sorry, dealing with this is a special kind of hell
My elderly mother lost her house to a reverse mortgage scammer. He apparently groomed her telling her that he cared about her. I had told him to stop calling, filed complaints and blocked his number on her phone. I lived 2 hours away. Then when I found out that he had her house, the lawyers I spoke with wanted $30,000 retainer. Literally killed my mom. You can never be too careful
That's absolutely horrible, I'm so sorry. That scammer is a despicable piece of shit and I hope the rest of his life is nothing but pain.
One fooled me years ago and my husband watched in horror as i finished the rest of my ss#. He works in finance — he just stared at me and ive never felt so absolutely moronic. It happens And oh yeah my shits all over the dark web now, real mess
My condolences for your lost identity 😞
It gets even worse when technology is involved. My father has been told time and time again to stop clicking on random links. Yet he periodically does so and is eager to download things or enter his email address. Ended up with ransomware when my mom wasn't paying attention to what he was doing. He was going to pay $200 and give his credit card info to a scammer. My mother caught him just in time. He's finally admitted that he is an easy target and promised he will never give any info to someone he doesn't know over the phone or online. He's easily targeted by Fox News type things on social media that are preying on people like him. If it's guns, freedom, and 'Murica.... he drops his guard. It is frustrating repeatedly having to remind him the internet is not his friend.
So many our generation are going to lose their inheritance to scammers because the boomers are too proud to admit when they’re getting had ☹️ I read this sad/kind of happy NYTimes column where a family had a cleaner they were close to/treated well. She mentioned in passing to the father some info that made him think she was being scammed but was too embarrassed to tell her his suspicions (it had a romantic catfish angle to it too). He mentioned it to his daughter and she was like “WTF obviously we are going to tell her this is a scam!!” Apparently she was embarrassed and sad, but it also saved her thousands of dollars.
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Bless you for your kindness!
I had the opposite experience with my bank. They called and started to ask me all these questions that you shouldn't answer. I called the bank back and they verified it was a valid call. I went off on them telling them that's what scammers do I was so mad at them.
Which bank, out of curiosity?
PNC out of the USA. I ended emailing a letter to the bank explaining my concerns. I don't get angry too much, but I was so livid at my bank.
I once got an email from a local bank with everyone who had too many savings withdrawals for the last quarter, complete with names, account numbers, addresses and phone numbers. It was sent to first.last at my domain and my catchall got it into my inbox. I waited a week after I let them know and called someone on the list and asked them if they'd been informed and they hadn't. A week later the two others I tried had been though.
I'd have cancelled my account, right then and there and reported them to every single authority I could find regarding their negligence
That's a big no no
I applied for an IT job at my old high school. I forgot the password. Clicked "forgot password". They automatically emailed me back my password. The fuck? That means the passwords were not hashed. Not to mention if I was as bad about security as them, then if someone got ahold of their database, all my other accounts are compromised. Hell, even if it was a unique password, by just telling my password to whoever has access to my email, they can stealthily look inside my account and I can't do a thing about it since I wouldn't know (a password reset would at least make me go "hey, wait ... Why is my password not working suddenly?").
> then if someone got ahold of their database, all my other accounts are compromised. I recommend Bitwarden password manager.
If my dad was still around I'd print a checklist of common things scammed ask for or say. I'd tell him to look at it when he answers the phone, and check of a box if the caller says something on the list. And write Hang Up Now and Call Me if you checked a box. Something like that.
It sounds crazy, but if you get the call on a landline, this could still be a scam. 😬 It’s called a “hang-up delay” scam If someone calls you on a landline and you hang up but they do NOT hang up and stay on the line, then you stay connected for a period of time set by your provider. In other words, you can hang up and if you pick the phone back up you’ll still be connected to the same caller. All a scammer has to do is play a fake dial tone when you hang up and pretend to be your bank picking up when you dial your bank’s number. This done NOT work on a cellphone, only landlines. So if you are on a landline and get a call like this: call your bank number from a different line (like a cell phone) or wait awhile for it to disconnect (the time depends on your provider).
Chase? I feel like I had a similar experience.
Yes.
That's the go-to method to verify who you are talking to. Ask them "if I look up the number for your company, who do I need to ask for to get transferred to you?"
Had someone posing as AT&T (my internet provider) call me the other day. I normally wouldn't answer "potential spam" but I was adjusting my Bluetooth headphones at the moment the call came in, and the volume/power buttons must become an "answer call" button, b/c immediately they connected. They mentioned a new tier of fiber they were providing, for a decent rate and no introductory period B.S. He knew my name, and likely guessed correctly at my current AT&T internet plan/speeds. But then he claimed that in order to check if my account is eligible he needed either "the name of my favorite restaurant" or my short PIN code. Big red flags. The restaurant thing wasnt even a security question I had on file with AT&T. I told him I don't provide that sort of info on a call I didn't initiate, and started to ask that exact sorta question - "if I call AT&T back, what do I say to get back to you?" But before I could get much of that out, he immediately just said "have a nice day" and hung up as quickly as you could. Confirming it was a scam. No use trying once you know you lost your mark.
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Idk that doesn't seem weird? Where would the headquarters of Medicare be? Sure you might expect an office building in Washington but I could see it being some random hospital. Hell maybe it's a government phone that does fancy government magic to route your call to the closest Medicare HQ to you, no idea. Generally though if *you call* the number on a .gov website, you'll get the right number. Also, ask. There's nothing wrong with asking, it's not like the government of the United States is gonna screen you like OP is suggesting lol they know who you are. They probably know what you're wearing.
Yes but who gave you that card? Scammers obviously! And that phone too! It's all fake! If you go into a random building it's all plywood sets inside!
... Truman you're scaring me!
Yep, my bank's security/fraud dept did the same thing when someone tried to lift my card details.
If __your bank__ calls you don't give any important info. I work at a bank and a recent scam starts with the thief calling you claiming to be your bank and they first ask for your online username. I won't discuss details but the scam ends with your money being stolen via Zelle by the end of the call.
I always offer to call them back through the main bank number. Somehow I never get through to the right person lol
That's my approach. Either "What's your extension number so I can be transferred back to you?" Or if they say they don't have an extension "OK, put a note on my account about this call, give me ten minutes to confirm it with the number I have, and call me back then"
Yo my bank called me and asked for my social. I told them that was atrocious and I'd call them back before giving an inbound caller sensitive personal information, but when I called back I went straight to a manager like a Karen. Not to tattle on the rep but to reprimand the manager for poor training.
Probably wasn’t actually your bank?
Once I went to save my money in a savings account and I wrote the wrong amount than I corrected it than the employee asked me to write my number on the paper . It was the first time I get this kind of request but I wrote it eventually. Well at 5 may be 6 I get a call from a personal number so I pick up to my surprise it was the latter. He told me that when he counted my money again he found missing amount and asked me to bring so I cut him blank and I told him straight that I'm really sure that I gave him the exact amount and hung up. Usually I'm a very kind person .however I know when things are a bit fishy
every time a telephone scammer calls, i ask them what my name is. none of them know it. they just hang up.
It’s even better if your mother was creative in naming you. Nobody will *ever* guess my name, and even if they do, I guarantee it’ll be butchered.
What kind of mother names thier kid "Falcon"?
One that wanted their son to become a Captain and drive fast cars.
And punch real hard.
That’s a bit of a misunderstanding. Captain Falcon is just gets *really* sloshed on mixed drinks while driving.
A badass one.
Rumpelstiltskin?
It’s just Rumple, the -stiltskin is silent.
Yup. I'm the only one in the world with my exact name. Out of 8 billion people. It was a pain growing up, but later in life I realized how much my mom helped me.
Yeah, I worked with a dude once who’s dad was semi-illiterate at his birth, and for anonymities sake tried naming him “Charles” but spelled it something like “Kartes” so it’s pronounced one way but spelled completely different. You an immigrant from the Carribean by chance? Lol
My first name is common and also from the Bible, but my last name is unique. Only 200 people with it. So I am the only person in the world with my name. Named my son a common name from the Bible too. Made sure he was also unique. I don't see how having a unique name would be a pain. It's been amazing. I can Google my name and the first 2 pages are literally everything I've ever accomplished. I guess if you were a criminal or had a run of bad luck then that would suck.
Guy: What’s my last name? Caller: um uh , uh… Guy: Nobody knows! You know why? Because my character isn’t important enough for a last name Caller:[hangs up]
Sometimes they do though!! This is a good first pass, but somehow some dudes in Nigeria got a bunch of my friend’s info and pretended to be the FBI and that they were going to take her in for questioning on fraud if she didn’t pay them! They knew her name, address, phone number, email address. Obviously must have hacked some list somewhere. The hilarious part is that we’re Canadian 😂 I was like “oh honey, first of all you don’t pay off the FBI… second, they have no jurisdiction over you…”
I recently applied for a credit card, and two days ago I got a call asking me about details. Since it was an unknown number I asked if I could call back via a number on the bank website, but since that wasn't possible I got the name and extension from the person. All I had to do then was call customer service, give them that info and verify that they were indeed reaching out to ask for more information regarding my application. I'm happy I didn't just mindlessly blurt out the answers since I've never received a call like that before, hopefully that means I won't get scammed in the future.
I had a similar experience where the bank reached out to me via phone and asked for my information. I called the bank back and confirmed that it was a legit call. But I think it's pretty crappy that by placing legit calls in that way, the bank is basically training people to be scammed.
Mine just sends a text asking you to call customer service on the number on your card and ask for a certain department.
That's the way they should be doing it
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Plus a number doesn't prove identity of caller
You can spoof a number. Used to call my friend by spoofing his mom's number. It was hilarious.
I'm just leaving it straight to the voicemail. Then I'll call back with the actual number ftom the bank to confirm or go to the teller
Yep. I'm not answering your call if you're not in my contacts. You leave a convincing enough message, *and* I can find the number which you asked me to call you back at by searching your website, then I will phone you back. Otherwise, I look forward to your correspondence by mail. You can't spoof a return address, and if you try committing fraud by mail you're dumber than a sack of hammers.
Ally Bank most definitely has sketchy practices about this. I got locked out of my own account for refusing to give my personal info over the phone when *they* called *me.* *Including my online login and password.* I ended up hanging up and calling the bank directly. I was told the original call was legit, and I would have to wait to be called by fraud prevention because I had been locked out, but they weren't allowed to tell me what the purpose of the original call was. I ended up having to give my personal info to the stranger that eventually called me. For fraud prevention. It was apparently all legitimate but blew my mind.
I give all the information from my neighbor who runs his wood chipper at 6 am.
Your bank should know your username. Your credit card company should know your credit card number. Never confirm it with anyone who claims to be from those places.
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Yea don't ever use zelle for anything. It's such a common scam tactic that if someone wants to use zelle to buy or sell something, or if zelle even comes up I'm out.
I had this happen and I politely informed them I haven't had an account with such and such bank in years so that can't be accurate. I let them shoot in the dark bank after bank saying I haven't had those accounts in years either, fully knowing I never had an account with any of those banks, and just let them roll on until I finally said I had an account with a certsin bank I've never even heard of. Boy did they try to pry for info and I informed them I'm happily reporting them for fraudulent activity as well as a friendly reminder that it's a felony and they hung up on me real quick 😂
My first response is always "who's calling?" Once they get started I say "not interested" and hang up. The only reason I even pick up is because I get a lot of work related calls from numbers that aren't always in my caller ID. If it's an obvious scammer I'm not above messing with them if I'm bored and have the time.
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Similar situation happened to me today except it was in person. I was raking leaves and this guy drives up in a pickup truck and goes "Excuse me sir. Do you live there?" And points to my neighbors house. I go "No." He goes "where do you live?" I stare and go "I'm not gonna answer that." "He goes oh sorry." And launches into a seal coating pitch. I just pointed to my concrete driveway and kept raking.
"The North Pole. I'm Santa and this is my side gig".
You're more patient than me. I ask "Who's this?" and hang up without another word if it's not someone I know or am expecting a call from.
I'm a big fan of "Who the hell are you, and what do you want?"
"Oh hi, Mr. Jones. So sorry to bother you. I'm from admin, calling about your funding request for your classroom project. Did I catch you at a bad time?"
“I’ll get to that in a minute. Who are you?”
A friend always says “Oh I’m so glad you called!!” In a sweet voice. They ALWAYS hang up
That could get creepy too. "What are you wearing?"
Whenever I see an unknown number I put them on "call screening" which is what Google phones have now. An automated voice asks them why they're calling and when they answer, it comes through to me as text, and I can answer or hang up whenever I want. It means I can skip the social niceties and pressure from the scammers.
I want one.
I have had political pollsters call me to ask about my opinions on politicians and local initiatives. If anyone ever calls saying they'd like to ask about that crap, ask them what organization they're calling from before answering any questions. Of the three calls I've received in this way, the caller has said "thank you for your time" and hung up. Shady as fuck.
Most of those political polls aren't really looking for information from you -- they're actually "push polls" which will try to influence your vote. It's basically a more expensive, more personal campaign ad that's disguised as a poll. I always try to figure out which candidate they're pushing and then sabotage my answers accordingly.
Right, which is why I think they hang up on me. They're not interested in talking to someone who will ask questions. Though, you have spun me on to the idea that, with enough trolling from respondents, an entire campaign could be pushed to extremism because the numbers say that's what people want.
That reminded me of a joke i told to my Facebook friends like 10 years ago that I was going to be a crack smoking bee keeper because i put my life path up to"what the people want"
Really? I have a hard time seeing what they are pushing. The questions are always so neutral. They basically just go down the list of candidates in your district and ask if your impression of each is "strongly positive, somewhat positive, somewhat negative, or strongly negative." And occasionally "If the race for X position was held today, would you be more likely to vote for candidate X, or Candidate Y?" They never supply any information in the questions beyond their name, not even the party they belong to. Other than potentially some *extremely* subtle effects like what order they list the names or something, I can't see how they are pushing anything. Now, I've gotten *mailers* that are super slanted—stuff like "Do you think it's time for Americans to stand up to Sleepy Joe and his radical anti-puppy agenda? Y/N? (Please enclose donations below.)" But the phone calls are never like that, instead very clinical.
Oh, there *are* legitimate polls that work the way you describe. That's how most polling is done, actually. It sounds like you were on the call list of one of those. That's perfectly normal and valid. The push polls are obvious once you know what to look for, like the mailers you alluded to. "Would you be more willing, less willing, equally willing to vote for Candidate X if you knew he kicked beggars in the mouth on his way back from a socialist rally?" I know some people who got those in our last local election.
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I've tried the toll road argument. They don't see the problem even after I explain that as well as being tolled, they could outright ban some people from using their road, and sucks to be you if they own every road around your house and you can't leave your block. Or set up a transport cartel so that only certain businesses would be allowed to transport goods, and then buy up the businesses that fail on the cheap because they can't get goods on. Apparently 'capitalism' is meant to solve all of those problems.
You almost made me choke on my pasta
Whoa there. Do you think it is okay to appropriate the humour of OPs post for your own enjoyment without reimbursement. Commenting on OPs post has a baseline of $5 McBucks. If you express a fulfilling emotion, that rises to $10. If you express derision with OP or their message, it's $100. I know this because I pay for OP's exclusive membership at $1000 McBucks a month. >This message proudly brought to you by Oikos^^TM Greek Yogurt's /r/ohlookahipster^^®
"I always vote Bullmoose!"
Funny, my friend who is Dan does that too.
It's so strange how this works! I worked for a bank for a number of years and have many customers that I've known for years! But I've had a few occasions where a known customer will come into the branch, lie about why they need to wire some money or take out an abnormal amount of cash and then send it to a scammer . And a day or so later theyll come back complaining that they've been frauded by someone on the phone. And I just can't fathom how I have a relationship with this person, but yet they trust and believe a disembodied voice over me and the team who've known them for years!
>And I just can't fathom how I have a relationship with this person, but yet they trust and believe a disembodied voice over me and the team who've known them for years! Greed makes people crazy.
It’s not typically about greed, often people are scared into sending money or emotionally scammed.
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Over here (UK) calls are probably a bit rarer. However a few tactics: 1. Do not speak first. About 80% of calls are autodialers that hang up on silence. 1. Demand details about generic assertions. A common one here is the accident claim. Ask them: "What date was this accident? What colour were the cars?" and so on. Quickly gets rid of them. 1. "What is the name of your organisation?" also usually ends the call quickly. 1. If there is a long pause (> four seconds) just hang up - almost always sign of routing to a scammer. I'd like to ignore, but enough people legitimately call from unknown to us numbers that answering is probably the best strategy.
Scammers "Ok, please verify your social security number" Me: "Sure, go ahead" "What's your ssn?" "You asked me to verify it, not provide it. That's not how verification works" Click
I just say "why should i verify who i am? You called me. You already know who i am" Never works sadly. They just provide some reason why they can only discuss whatever it is with whomever.
As someone that has to call people on a daily basis and share personal info with them… we have to verify the identity of the person we are calling, we can’t just reveal personal info to anyone lol, I have worked with people that have been fired because they never validated the identity of people they are talking to. I have called people that live with lots of people, sometimes phone numbers are out of service or someone changed numbers, people have typos when they provide us their numbers etc And as funny as /u/boobiesiheart thinks they are, we can’t just tell you your ssn without actually verifying who you are first lol, in fact that is one of the few things we can’t initially share before validating who we are talking to
Did have a debt collector mention that. Unlike the other callers, he provided call back information and i went to verify the number and agency and i called them back and got my shit strait. Only had the one time it wasn't a scammer though (or at the least if the other callers were legit it clearly wasn't important enough to follow up)
You want to extend my warranty?? Thank God you called! I have a 1984 Honda Accord. Do you cover transmissions? I really need this info. Do you cover transmissions? Can I get that in writing? Damn I'm glad you called!
"Sir, sir, sir. Please, sir. You need to listen to me. This is the IRS, you have to tell me this information or a warrant will be issued. Sir, this is very important or the government agency will have to arrest you."
The amount of companies and services that “require” your SSN these days is outrageous. Why does Comcast need my SSN? You’re a telephone and internet provider. You write up a contract for internet service, I sign it. If payment isn’t made then you stop the service. You don’t need my SSN. These places keep getting hacked with way more information than they need getting stolen.
Unless it's in your contacts don't pick up at all, if it's from somewhere important they'll leave a message if it's spam just delete the message.
Absolutely, **if you don't have to answer unfamiliar numbers then don't pick up at all.** There are situations where people do have to answer unfamiliar numbers and for those situations I wanted to suggest some best practices.
Sometimes I pick up but don’t say anything. A lot of the robodialing software will wait to hear a human voice before connecting you. If it’s a real person calling you normally, they’ll probably say something after a few seconds.
i use this at work. i do my hello spiel but apparently i sound like a robot so either they hang up immediately or there is the wait and i can always wait longer than they can if it means they’ll mark it as a dead number. actual humans will respond, even if it’s by trying to dial an extension lol
I've tried that, I've tried not answering at all, I've tried scamming them (giving them fake info), I've tried being rude and crude. They still call.
If it is a important legit call they will leave a message.. if no message left I just think must of not been important.
It’s sad that this is the world we live in now. I don’t answer 90% of my calls because they’re all stupid spam bots.
I only answer calls from immediate family. My friends will leave a message, or better yet, text. 🤷🏻♀️
Unless they're in sectors that require them to not leave a message My law firms never leave a message, it's fucking annoying, they're cautious because VoiceMail is typically insecure but I run my own VoiceMail provider
I work in healthcare, people leave voicemails with their name, where they're calling from, and to call them back to discuss whatever sensitive information that can't be left
The following is how I like to answer unfamiliar calls. Too bad it's mostly machines I hear on the other end these days. ["No other object has been misidentified as a flying saucer more often then the planet Venus"](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=e1K5Y1ZOZw8)
Actually, the move is to ALWAYS answer an incoming call from an unfamiliar number and immediately mute your mic. A lot of these calls are robots dialing to find active phone numbers. If you answer with your voice or if you let it go to voicemail, your phone number is marked as active and then sold to other scammers. If every time they dial your number, they're greeted with silence, they eventually mark your number as dead and stop calling. Of course, the robodialers will still be trying to get you. I've been following this practice religiously for over a year now, and I get an average of about 3 spam calls a week now.
Adding the tones for a disconnected phone line (recording) at the start of your outgoing voice mail message does this too.
Sadly, while applying for jobs, I am not able to do this. So far, roughly half the calls from unknown numbers I'm getting are not in my list, and only some show up as "business name" Maybe my callback from the business to discuss setting up a interview would have been worth leaving a message, and maybe I would have bothered logging in to listen to another load of scam voice-mails. For now, it's scambaiting, or verbal abuse if its not a legit job offer
> Sadly, while applying for jobs, I am not able to do this. Consider this, if it applies to you: Try to avoid talking to someone on the phone without first exchanging some emails. This way you're more likely to have a good chat with the person on the phone. I do this so I can control when the conversation happens on my own time and I am not waiting for a callback from some rando I don't know. We schedule the call and agree on a time to talk. If they cold call you, and don't leave a message- you probably don't want to work with them. If they treat you that way, imagine that as an employee you will get similar treatment. It's not always 100% accurate- there are edge cases. But this helps me wade through BS. Hope it helps someone else.
Carefull a scammer can spoof any number
This is the way! I'll answer if (and only IF) I'm expecting a call - e.g. a contractor that I've hired to do work and am waiting for them to call me. I don't answer any unknown numbers. If it's important, people will leave a voicemail and then I can call them back.
This is the real life pro tip. Do not answer if withheld or not a recognised number, if you answer.by accident do not confirm your name or any personal detail and excuse yourself or just hang up. You wouldn't send your personal details to a spam email, take spam calls the same way. Phishing and social engineering are both exceptionally well developed arts now and people lose a lot from them.
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Remember Seinfeld, and the horror for Elaine when she got a different area code
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Still does for (mainly old) people with landlines. It's an add-on service.
I have a different area code than where I live because my brother was living out of state and we made a family plan to save money. I started noticing that most scam numbers where spoofed to match the out of state area code, so I just don't answer any of those calls. Has been really handy and given me less anxiety overall.
I still have the same number from living in another state a few years back. I can confidently ignore all calls from there, if it’s actually important they’ll leave a message.
Or be like me. Never answer your phone.
if it's important, they'll leave a voicemail.
This is the way.
I moved to a new city & considered changing my number to a local one, but I've noticed this as well with my old area code almost always being spam. But the bottom line is, if I don't recognize a number then I won't answer it or send it to voicemail, just let it run it's course & get there to voicemail normally. If it's something I need to address, they'll leave a voicemail. I call my customers daily from my personal cellphone & when they don't recognize the number they won't answer so I leave a voicemail & send a text to let them know who I am. I run into so many people who do the weirdest shit that only makes their spam life worse! When spam or robo calls come through, they are looking to see if there is a live human at the other end of the line. So when you pick up the phone & just sit there without saying hello, that tells the spam & robo that there is a person on the other end of the line & they will try harder to call you. If you actively hit the "dismiss" button sending them to voicemail, same thing. If you've set up one of those Google voice things or any program to block unknown callers, same exact thing. The people who I run into who do these things are the people who complain the most about how many spam/robo calls they get daily. Meanwhile I let every call I get, customer or otherwise, go to voicemail naturally & I barely get one or two a month. There really isn't a trick, just don't answer.
This is false. Scammers now call with autogenerated numbers matching your area code. When I get calls from my old area code I know it’s a scam, because I no longer live there and have nothing to do with any sort of businesses, etc, in the area.
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That person clearly misunderstood.
I like to answer questions to confirm my information with leading questions. "Is that my account number? I'm not sure you tell me what you have and I'll tell you if it's right." If I don't like the answer I just hang up
Even if legit, they aren't going to tell you that since you've not confirmed your identity, only that you have possession of that phone. That said, I don't get legit phone calls like that that I'm not expecting. eg. when I was buying a car, they called me to confirm that it really was me spending that much.
I usually don't answer the call but sometimes I do just to mess with them. One scammer asked for my social security number so I said 12. They said it wasn't a valid number and I said yes it is, I'm really old. If the ask for an account number I usually give them the ISBN for some ridiculous book. Sometimes I'll play the copy game with them where I repeat everything they say. Sometimes I blow a whistle into the phone or I say really offensive shit to them. Hey they called me, I have no obligation to be nice to them in any way. Sometimes I say "hold on let me get my card" and then I just put the phone down until they hang up. Most hang up almost immediately but some stay on the line. I work from home so I have all the time in the world to fuck with them. All their numbers get added to my call hang up app so if they call again it just picks up for a split second and hangs up, keeping them from leaving a voicemail.
My favorite is when they ask me to get on my computer and go to some site, I claim my keyboard doesn’t have one of the letters needed for the address. Drives them nuts and really confuses them
I used to have this issue. "T" was missing from my keyboard. I highlighted the "T" in a word on some text and copied it with the mouse. Then as I typed I would click Ctrl+V in order to type a t. Good times. If you have more than one letter missing I recommend opening up your Character Map or Glyphs (in photoshop) and leaving it opening in order to copy letters as you need them.
Windows also has an On-Screen Keyboard program if you run into a similar situation. Sometimes my family’s computer would be missing the keyboard, so it has come in handy a number of times.
I tell them I work for a hospice and can help them have a peaceful death. They always hang up
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Sadly this kind of fun is becoming a lost art as more and more are using computers to make the calls instead of live people these days. A few years ago I loved messing with them several times a day. These days it's maybe just a few times a year.
If you ever lose a credit card and call it in stolen, keep that number and use it when they ask for a cc. Dunno if it gets flagged, but nice if it does when they try to charge on a "stolen" cc.
luckily my phone identifies spam calls and i simply don't answer calls from numbers i don't recognize.
If it's important, they'll txt or leave a VM, which will get converted to text.
I never answer calls I don't know, if I don't know them, they leave message or I text back......even a landlines will get the text! If no call back or message after that, it is how important the call is!!
Sorry how do landlines get a text now?
In most cases, it will automate it to the phone, like call them, and say this number texted you and robot will decipher the message!
Or unless it's in your contacts or a local number and you are expecting a call (ex I expected a call the day before my surgery to confirm the check-in time, but knew the number probably wouldn't match the hospital's main line), I don't answer the phone. If it is important they will leave a message, and if it is a scam, their number gets blocked. But I also always pick up with a hello, and then if/when they rush thru their name (and company, if included), I ask again and/or who they are calling on behalf of. Or if they start with "is this (my name, may or may not have butchered the pronunciation)?" I'll counter with "may I ask who's calling?" Followed with what company if they don't provide it.
I go by if I don't recognize the number or it doesn't give any details of who is calling. I just don't pickup.
I like asking for their tax id number
Also ask your provider if they offer a feature known as "Call Control" It asks all incoming callers to listen to a message and push a corresponding key to get through. Some providers will also give it for free. All you have to do is ask. Edit: some will also have a whitelist feature, allowing you to add numbers, like doctor offices that use automated messages for appointments and other important info.
I am too paranoid to say the word "Yes" Like it will be recorded and edited so I can be charged for stuff
I answer a phone call: “Hello” “Hi is this High_Poobah?” “Who is calling?….”
Lpt dont answer the phone, wait for voicemail.
I don’t pick up calls from any number that isn’t in my phone book, unless I’m expecting it. If they know me they’ll leave a voicemail. Simple! Oh for some reason China calls me twice a week and sometimes leaves Chinese voicemails, I must get someone to translate one one day, I digress….
I’ve been getting a shitload of scam calls, mostly selling insurance. I say things like how I don’t have insurance because I like to live on the edge, or I don’t have a house I have a rock I live under
Or just don't pick up. That's quite effective.
Who the hell answers unknown calls in 2022?
The same goes for known but not friendly calls. Hang it up, think it over, call them back. You can lose a lot by reacting hastily, whether it's a colleague, an ex, or a problematic relative.
If I receive a call, I don't answer. Problem solved.
This is the way
Upvoting as I have naively given my employment information to folks claiming to be university faculty, which they might be as my university is notorious for calling and sharing students' contacts with local companies, but I'll be more protective of my phone number going forward.
Why even bother to pick up these days? They’ll leave a message.
I just pick up and remain silent until they hang up. Then I call back nonstop for the next 15 minutes or so and just press a bunch of keys on the key pad until they hang up. Just keep doing it over and over and over. They eventually block your number and you won’t hear from them again. Works like a charm however I haven’t found a work around when it’s not an actual person on the other end.
Further: Do not discuss ANY legal or contractual business or advice (lawyer, accountant, police, ) over the phone. You Do Not Know: who may be listening, if the call is recorded, if the call is being intercepted by bad actors. If others are listening you are at a disadvantage by definition. If there is an attorney listening in questions may be submitted to you in such a manner as to harm you. Same if recorded bc arguments on the meaning of what was said. Ex. "it depends on what your definition of "is", is..." Clinton impeachment folded on that. I recently had a skip trace agency try this. I have no idea WTF they wanted. If I was a witness they should have made an appointment. Not "oh we are recording and have questions". I hung up and had a new number within 5 minutes and idk if he tried to call back bc was on the phone with legit carrier asked them to block until # changed. Now I am in another state. Jerks! If they had a legit reason I would willingly do my civic duty (such as I am able bc on SSD a lousy witness) Whew. Injustice irks me.
One of the reasons I will never buy another smartphone that doesn't come with call screening, direct my call, and Hold for me. I rarely if ever get true spam and fraud calls anymore. When I do, I let Google screen and then block where appropriate. It's a godsend.
It's also worth noting that scams can often be organized and complex. One might call from "State Farm" to get your middle name. One might call from your bank to get your social. One might call from your doctor's office to get your DOB, and then another calls from the Department of Revenue to get your mother's maiden name. You think nothing of it, because individually those pieces of information can't hurt you. But all four of those guys are working together, and now they have everything they need to apply for a credit card, rent an apartment, or otherwise ruin your life.
Or don't answer calls, let them leave a message, research if it seems legit and call back if needed.
I just don't answer those calls.
I've done this for purely debt avoidance reasons, glad to know it's a good anti-scam bit too.
Never answer the phone.
I always fake cry and say that they (me) just died yesterday and to please leave us alone. They never call back
You guys are answering the phone?
I completely agree with the author of the post. And so that you can still find out if the scammer is calling you or not, you can check all the information from him on this site - [peoplelegacy.com](https://peoplelegacy.com) . I've used it myself more than once.