Latest scam, got a call from my electric company (Entergy), disconnect in 30 minutes. Get online while I have them on the phone, check cleared a few days ago. Spidey senses on alert now. Lady give me some BS and pass me off to supervisor. Supervisor James, “we have no record of payment past four months. Supervisor James instructed, must go to a Dollar General to make payment could not do it over phone. That’s when the radar goes off the chart.

Tell James, this is a scam the line goes dead. Called Entergy, my account is indeed paid up and in good standing. Entergy, tells me they are aware of the scam, gave them the requested phone numbers scammer called me from.

This scam will get some people I am sure.
Beware there is no end to these BS scammers.

Too many scammers lately. Best one "I need you to log on you computer you have a problem" No , I have no problem. goodbye calls back twice still not doing it Eventually I get a F U from him, return the favor and hangup

Okay. Please explain how getting you to go to Dollar General is going to generate any money for the scammer?

Money transfer: Send & Receive Money at Dollar General | Western Union US

Money transfers, gift cards, etc. are all red flags for phone scams.

The only reason we still have a land line is for back up if the cell tower goes down... We have just stopped answering it... all spam all the time.

you know there is a govt site where they put you on a no call list. took out 99% for me. google it and sign up

the phone isn't answered if i don't recognize the named/number. and you can mute the ringer.

We have no land line anymore

Thank you, Beoceorl

Will edit post.

We, normally do not answer if not on contact list. We were expecting a contractor to call not on contact list and answered the phone.

Okay. That makes sense, though no mention was made in the post about a money transfer. Used to be able to pay utility bills at many places, especially banks, but that ship sailed long ago. I pay pretty much everything at my bank’s online site. No checks, no stamps, no giving bank account numbers to other companies, and the status of payments is easy to check. Takes about 10 minutes to pay them all.

Had one call the other day looking for my daughter-in-law. Was using a gypped number. When I asked why he first acted dumb, then came up with a BS explanation. Knew he was lying when he said my number was used as a contact number by my DIL, who absolutely wouldn’t do that. Anyone can find out a ton about people just by using Spokeo or similar services, often for free, so just because a spammer seems to know a lot about you, don’t assume they’re legit.

I have to answer all phone calls.

I’m kind of a big deal.

Money transfer is irreversible, once it's done the money's gone. If you give them your credit card number then you can contest the charge when you figure out it's a scam and get your money back.

I have an older friend that was at my house a couple of months ago with her (also older) boyfriend when she got a voicemail directing her to call a number to avoid getting her bank account locked. It was obvious it was a scam, both I and her boyfriend told her so and said absolutely do not call them back. She agreed but you could see the worry on her face and about 30 minutes later she said "I think I'd better call them". Her boyfriend and I both jumped up and basically had to yell at her to keep her from going to the phone and calling the crooks. Older folks are particularly gullible to scams like this, they tend to believe anything.

I generally don't answer calls from numbers I don't recognize or already have in my contact list but I do call that number back in the rare occurrence it could be from someone I do need to answer. The vast majority of such calls when I call back I get a Verizon recording stating that the number I'm calling is not a valid in service number and instruct me to hang up and confirm the number I'm trying to call.

Occasionally though it is a legit call from a number I do need to answer. Just the other day I got a call from a MO exchange I did not recognize which turned out to be from the receptionist's personal cell phone at my eye doctors office confirming my upcoming appointment. She was new there and still had her Missouri cell number.

I got one today. A robotic voice tells me that she's with the SS administration and that there is a problem with my SS info/account blah, blah, blah. Click!

Wow.
A scammer with a supervisor.
Is that racketeering?
Or just democrats?

Getting one about a $299.00 pending charge. Sometimes they say they are Amazon prime.... also got a VM about the same pending charge for a maintenance company.... decided to call back on a drop phone.... got the guy on the line and asked what they wanted.... he says, “you called me”, then he says it’s Amazon prime..... I say wow your VM said something about a maintenance company.... I say if you Amazon prime, what was my last order....l I tell him I’m with a fraud task force and now I ha e him located and thanks for the time.... he hangs instantly.... good laugh....

Always keep a Trak phone around....

That is a waste of time.They keep spoofing different numbers.

Exactly.

It helps but is far from stopping the calls.

Another way is to not set up or have a voice mail box.
Having a voice mail box shows an active phone number.

Business folks are screwed in that regard. They have to answer the calls.

TRUE!

100%,

I tell folks that my I-phone is for my convenience, not theirs!

ya!

GWB

But to be fair that is only because perpetrators are not summarily executed when identified.

Why answer calls from unknown numbers? Fugg that.

This.

A couple of days ago I get a call on the land line that I just got as a package deal. I don't have the number memorized nor have I given it out to anyone. The person with a heavy foreign accent says that he is with Microsoft. He says that there is a problem with my computer and they need to fix it. I hang up thinking Microsoft is a tech company and not calling on the phone. He calls me back and asked me why I hanged up on him.. I told him he was not with Microsoft and hang up again. The phone rings a third time. I just pick up the phone and hang up. About 45 minutes later I get a call on my cell phone. This time it is a recording saying that it is Apple and there is a security risk with one of my devices. I wish this was a person instead of a recording. If I had a person claiming to be with Apple I would have asked them which device? the Samsung telephone or the Dell computer and why would that concern Apple?

I told them I only have cash and I'm disabled and can't leave the property. So I give my business adress and tell them to pick it up there. They never showed up

Same EXACT scam call yesterday afternoon!!!

Calling E today and give them THAT #

"I never pickup if I don't know the number."

You never get calls from people you know, on numbers you don't?


I hate telemarketers.
Scammers even more.
Most today are closer to scammers, at the least.


However, is it really that bad.

Sometimes I just hang up.

If I'm feeling froggy, i play.

Have been known to just say "F' U" and hang up.

And you whizz bang trend chasers.
"I, don't have a landliners".


Really?
I get more scam calls on my cell than the land line.
And it's a working/convience cell. Only in my pocket if I need it.

Stop complaining......it's reparations.

Got one the other day claiming to be ATF or DEA, I don’t remember. Anyhow, apparently my personal information was used to pay for a rental car that was found along the border full of drugs, blood, and illegal guns. The only way to clear up the problem was to buy Target gift cards and read them the numbers over the phone. I was driving home from Illinois so I played along for over an hour. I talked to four different people who were supposedly from different federal agencies, one of which was supposedly a supervisor. All gave callback numbers, and the one I tried worked. I’m not sure how anyone would believe that the Feds are taking target gift cards as payment, but they obviously do. I checked it out online and it is one of the most successful scams currently being run. Obviously the elderly make up the bulk of their victims.

https://thehustle.co/blood-drugs-and-an-abandoned-car-how-my-dad-got-scammed/

There is a special place in hell for these [bleep].

Covering all those scams is part of the reason that CC interest charges are 25%. If you can't afford to pay it off every month, you can't afford to have a card.
I have a card scam that I protested a few days ago. It's for AVG anti-virus, $90. I didn't buy it and don't use it. I don't know how they got my CC number but it's been cancelled.

I've gotten that call a few times and I have fun with it. I tell him that I know what it is about. That a Mexican tried to rob me when I was in Texas and I shot him. That gets the scammer off script but he still tries to keep going. I then tell him we need to hold a conference call with the sheriff and he gets insistent that I must do as he says or a warrant will issue for my arrest. I tell him to hold the line while I get the sheriff on the line and he hangs up.

Dollar General down here is somehow tied in with FedEx and therefore assumed tied in with some type of payment system.

I LIKE THAT!

NICE WORK...

Any man that will start a conversation with a lie deserves absolutely no truth from you ever.

... and that is about as kind as I get on the topic.

I played with one of those guys a few years ago. We cussed back and forth some but he would not go away.

30 minutes later he ended the call with a thank you very much for teaching me cuss American.

Pretty damn funny.

A lot of times these scammers display rotating phone numbers that are pirated from legitimate sources.

I got the electric company scam last year. It went straight through to recording and gave me 30 minutes to call back a specified number before my utility was supposed to be cut off. I knew it was a scam and called the utility to tell them it was going on.
The gal at the utility company told me not to give them any info...well DuH... I asked her if there would be any issue if I called the number back and give them a boat load of schit? She laughed and said no. That was all it took.

It went like this......

I called the number and gave them a random set of CC numbers for my card, they said it was no good and hung up. I called the number again, same guy (broken english). He hung up on me about 5 or 6 more times. He made a comment about a little dick and to quit calling. Of course I called again, We ended up in and argument about who had the biggest dick! He told me he had a 10" dick, LOL... I told him the only way he would have a 10" dick was if my balls were bouncing off of his chin! ... click, hung up again...
Called back again, got a foreign speaking gal this time, big mistake... we went directly in to panties questions at that point! I think she was enjoying it before she finally hung up!
Then they quite answering the phone... go figure

Dollar General is hooked up with Western Union. They help poor folks and illegal immigrants send money to others. You put down the cash plus the fee and they transfer it to where ever. Walmart also has a system like that.

My best was playing along with the Indian trying to refund money from my
gas and electric bill. Our address is the local town, which uses Penelec, we have
Rural Electric, and no gas service.

So, I played along and he ask for an address.

Told him my dad is Vietnamese and my name is tough. "I'll spell it".

P-H-U-K

He screamed. "Yeah, and your last name is you. Well F--k You too."

I laughed. "You must know me. Have a nice day."

I like that, next one to call me I'm going to be Phuq Hu

Off subject a bit but that is exactly why I tell my college brain-washed grandkids that the election polls are a fraud....NOBODY answers unknown phone numbers anymore....this is proof to me that there really is a SILENT MAJORITY....

Years ago, my grandmother called me at work one day. Highly unusual for her. She asked me if I was okay. I answered that I was, and asked why. She said a guy that sounded a lot like me called her, told her I
(he) was in Germany, had been in a wreck and was in serious trouble. I supposedly needed her to wire me 2500 dollars to get home.

I told her it wasn’t me, and she ought to know that, because if I was leaving the US, she would know, and I would never call her asking for money. She agreed that she had considered all of this, and hung up on the guy, but had to call me just to make sure. He sure had her flustered, and my grandma was not someone easily flustered. Wish I could have got hold of the azzwhole and let her have what was left of him when I got done.

For the last month I have been receiving one to four texts per day on my cell phone. Fill out this customer satisfaction survey and you have two minutes to send us your bank info to transfer $1 for S&H, then we will send you a new I phone, or Apple table, or.........

Or it is an apology from Amazon and they want to send me $400 credit, just give us your bank info.
Or any number of other back stories. But they all ask for a bank transfer of $1.

Each time the I block the number on my cell phone. But their random number generator has billions of options, some of them actually belonging to my neighbors.

Last week I got one about my SS account is going to be locked. I played along until a live person came on the phone. "This is John at Social Security. What can we do for you today?"

I answered, "You tell me, you called ME."...........All I heard was a click.

My personal best was the guy telling me he needed me to turn on my computer so he could fix my Win Op System. I was on the hiway on my way home from work. I managed to keep him on the phone for over twenty minutes as "I am almost there, I will get the computer turned on in just a minute." The guy finally figured out he was being played and cursed at me then hung up.

Someone tried that same scam with some close friends. They didn’t fall for it, but it did cause them some worries until they contacted their family members.
I’ve had the Social Security Office threaten to shut down my SSN due to some kind of suspicious activity four or five times in the past 6 months! Funny how nobody there really speaks English very well and has a thick Indian accent! You think they’d hire Americans first!
7mm

I get calls from a computer with a woman's voice speaking chinese.

I get calls from a computer with a woman's voice speaking English.

I get calls where I answer, say, "Hello." there is a delay and then someone gets on who cannot pronounce my name.

Then there is some guy in India who wants to help me fix my computer. He says he represents Microsoft.

I had a relative call up to wish me happy birthday, but had been drinking, cussed me out and hung up.

I get calls from my grandkids when they swipe their parent's phone. They want me to make them some toys.

Had a call........... 'We'll be in your neighborhood, and would like to show you how you can save 30% on your auto insurance'

ME: OK, Come on over.

Them: 'Great, can I have your address'

ME: 'If you don't know my address how do you know that you will be in my neighborhood?????'

Them: ' We're everywhere'

ME: 'Tell me, how much do I pay now for my insurance?'

Them: 'That's on your statement'

ME: 'I know, AND I know how much I pay............ If YOU don't know how much I pay, how do you know you can save me %30?????'

Them: SILENCE

ME: 'You've lied to me twice so goodby................

They can be bold, once he realized I was dicken with him, had one threaten to come to my house with an AK, he also knew my name and city........ kept him on for a few minutes and every so often he would just say BOOM........... probably 'cause I kept insisting that he speak to me in real English not that 'Pakistani - Farsi' crap.................

Reported this one to the FEDs............. they never called me back.

Scammers are scum of the earth. Pretty easy to flush them out

NEVER call any number they give you. One of the scams uses numbers that automatically charge hundreds of dollars when called. And the phone company will not take those charges off your bill because you did actually make that call.

You can no longer rely on "known" numbers because they spoof the number they're calling from. I once got a call from my OWN number.

On our land line, I installed a CPR Call Blocker V5000 device. It comes with a preloaded list of 10,000 known scam numbers, and allows me to instantly block 5,000 more with the click of a button. I'm up to 316 now. Calls from truly odd area codes I block without answering. Ones that just might be legit I answer, and if it turns out to be bogus, I just press that big red BLOCK NOW button. Once blocked, if that number ever calls again, the device simulates a dead number on my end after the first ring.

(If I accidentally block the number of a friend - which I have done - I can go back and unblock.)

I was sitting at my desk in the office on time when the "electric company" called to tell me they were at my house to turn of the electricity.

Hmmm, peek out the window. Nothing.

"I've always wanted to know, what is it like to be a liar and a thief?"

Why would you say that, I'm from the electric company

"no, you're not. You're a crook. What do you tell you children when you go home at night? Daddy was such a GREAT cheat and crook today, you should be proud?"

(feebly) Sir, we are going to cut of your electricity......

"no, you're not. I wonder, when you go to your Grandmother's house for her birthday, what do you tell her? "Grandma, I'm such a great thief and a liar, I am everything you've ever dreamed I would be..?"


I kept this up for a good 10 minutes, until he finally hung up on me. If just one of these loser call center creeps walks out on the job because of me messing with him,, it'll maybe slow them down just a wee bit.

You really want to chap a scammers butt, tell him Jesus loves him and mean it.

Call from a guy who says my computer is causing problems in Florida. I know it’s a scam, but play along in order to waste his time. Says that he can fix it, but I have to log onto my computer and go to special web address. That’s were I refuse because I know that web pages can load viruses onto your computer.

IF you do happen to answer a call and it turns out to be from a live telemarketer or scam caller, your only response, if any, should be that this number is on the "Do Not Call List", therefore you obviously have no regard for obeying laws, so what ever your purpose for calling me is, you aren't to be trusted, and then hang up.

Yeah, that'll show them all right.

The current scam going around in my parts is a non-official number calling you up to say your Social Security is locked up due to fraud, and prosecution is about to commence. However, if you call the number listed, they will generously expedite your case.

If my SS were compromised...my Identity fraud protection would have notified my post haste.

Be tempted to tell that one "Great, I ain't been in a good gun fight in over a week!"

The ones I like ask me if I have my computer on. In my best shaky old man voice (which is getting far to easy!), I tell them "No, I'm out in the yard. Can you hold while I go in an turn it on?" That is good for at least 5 minutes. Then when then tell me to hit the "Windows key", I have to look for another few to find that, asking them "Is that the one with four colors that looks kinda like a flag? (very old Windows symbol.)" More time looking. Then tell them "Oh! I remember! That was on my old computer. This one's a Mac."

Success is when they cuss you.

Comcast mobile phone has a new feature that filters out scam calls.

You should check out this website:

https://www.419eater.com

Welcome to the world of Scambaiting!

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Does somebody want to transfer millions of dollars into your account?
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Met a new friend/penpal on a friendship/dating site who's asking you for money?
Has a dying person contacted you wanting your help to give his money to charity?
Have you sold an item and are asked to accept a payment larger than the item amount?

IT'S A SCAM!

Don't fall for common scams like this - fight them!


So what is scambaiting? Well, put simply, you enter into a dialogue with scammers, simply to waste their time and resources. Whilst you are doing this, you will be helping to keep the scammers away from real potential victims and screwing around with the minds of deserving thieves.

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