Yesterday I received a phone call from a different area code and I didn't answer the phone. Didn't think too much of it, but it was a strange area code, to me. Today, while I didn't have my phone, I got another call from this same number. When I checked my phone and saw the call, I hit redial. A woman answered and I explained that I was returning her call. She said she hadn't called and wanted to know where my area code was. I told her, asked where I was calling, and it turned out to be Georgia. The lady was real nice about the whole thing. I apologized for bothering her, wished her a happy new year, and hung up. About an hour later, I got another call from the same number, so I answered it. Turned out it was a scam call, where they tell you they want to see if they can lower your CC interest rates. I played along, gave them a made up name and address, told them I had a CC that I dont have, but hung up on them when they asked for my CC number.

Got to thinking about it and called the lady I had spoken to before. Told her that this scam company was somehow using her phone number and suggested she call her phone company.

This is the first time I've heard of scammers being able to use a private persons phone number. Makes me wonder if this person will occur any extra phone charges?

Nope. There are phone number generators that "spoof" a real number into Caller ID instead of the real number they are calling from. Illegal as hell, but then, so are the scams.

Ed

Thanks Ed
PS. Hope yall are doing well and happy new one.

Now I wonder if all the calls made by the scammers, show the same phone number. Can you imagine a 1000 calls a day, being made with your phone number being 'spoofed'. If only 5% returned the call, that would be 50 calls/day.

We've been getting calls like that for a good while. With ours though most of the calls show on caller I.D. as local numbers. I never answer these calls directly but have called the numbers shown on caller I.D. back several times and every time I got a recording stating that the number i was calling was not an active number.

https://www.trapcall.com/blog/caller-id-spoofing/

http://www.businessinsider.com/phone-number-spoofing-2016-2

The capability to spoof caller I.D. is available to anybody via apps. A quick Google shows lots of websites offer the apps.

http://calleridfaker.com/

https://www.spoofmyphone.com/

https://www.spoofcard.com/apps

https://www.spooftel.com/freecall/

https://fakecallerid.io/

http://bluffmycall.com/

Those folks need to be doin' time!

Wife had a call a few days ago that was her number with a different area code.
She didn't answer, neither of us answer unless we know you.
Just leave a message, and maybe we'll call back.
Yes, they are bypassing or faking the return numbers.

I get so many I don't answer my phone unless I recognize the number calling. The last few months they have been spoofing numbers from the same office code as my cell phone. most of my calls are supposedly tied to selling additional warranty. I've written my congressmen about the spoofing and abuse of telemarketers and wish others would do the same. My phone has almost become useless to me except for text messages.

Randy, this may be a serious opportunity. I will have a friend check it out for you. Just PM me with your card brand and number, your name as it appears, and that little three digit thing on the back.

Paul, I realize you know me as Randy, but that is actually an anonym, assigned to me by the government, when I retired. Any other information would likely put one or both of us in dire jeopardy, so I hope you realize it is a kindly gesture that I refuse to divulge the requested information.

Tell Mrs. Maddie I said 'Howdy'.

Yep - see it here all the time... The Do Not Call registry is about as worthless as a submarine with a screen door..

I've given into a few of these calls - 100% for the sport of it.
And each time I get passed the pre-recorded message and inform the live-human that I wish for them to quit calling me, I get a gibberish, foreign-language rant that's actually quite entertaining.

I will vote for anyone that will make unsolicited phone calls a criminal offense, and will eliminate red light cameras, and defund NASA until all the Frizzin' potholes are fixed.

I have a few more .

I get a few of those calls. If i am bored and decide to answer i tell them to kiss me where the sun don't shine and hang up.

My favorite is the guys from the Microsoft repair department. I can have those guys cussing me in no time. However if I ever get my hands on Heather or Lisa from credit card services, I will probably make the nightly news, and it won't be pretty.

I once got a call like that from my home phone number. Who isn't going to answer that call?

It's called caller ID spoofing..

That's become my habit, too, i.e., the phone ringing means little to me, unless I see a recognized number or caller on the ID. If I don't see that, it goes through to the message system, where most callers I get nowadays don't bother leaving a message, indicating to me that most are scam calls. Remember the good old days when you could just answer the phone when it rang?

I quit answer calls i dont know. Especially now, since you rarely get a live person to talk to. Used to be fun with live people. I always said just two words. Repeading myself when needed.

"I'm NEKKID!"

Wifey would just laugh.

Just now got another call from a 'spoofed' local number.
Caller ID showed same area code and exchange prefix numbers as mine. Again, I didn't answer the call but I did call it back after waiting a couple of minutes. Verizon Wireless recording answered with, 'the number you are calling has either been changed, disconnected and/or is no longer in service.'.

There is an app called Truecaller that blocks known spam numbers. Additionally, it will flag as spam any number you designate as spam. I've got it on my Android phone, and it's cut back my spam calls by 90%.

It also blocks messaging in a similar way.


In regards to Microsoft Support calls, I love them. I've been in the biz since punchcards and paper tape, and spent the last 25 years in end user support. I get these calls (less with Truecaller) and I cook up all kinds of scenarios for those little bastids that make their heads explode. It's much more fun than watching Netflix.

My last bout with them ended after I told them I was getting a message "Hard Disk (0) not available. Hit any key to continue." I kept asking them what to do. The guy finally hung up on me.

I know an old widow lady that bought $5000 worth of prepaid cards and turned the numbers over to those hyenas, thinking that was the only way she was going to get her family pictures back.

I was walking thru walmart and got a call.
talked to them like I was really interested for 5 minutes.
Then, said I was getting a call from my wife and could they hold.
I put the phone in my pocket and walked around.
5 minutes later, I came back on and asked are you still there?
they were.
talked a couple of minutes and asked them to hold.
Came back 5 minutes later and asked if they were still there? I won't be much longer.
Tied them up for 15 minutes before they hung up.

A couple such calls came in to a relative's home while we visited during Christmas week. I had answered the phone the first time and told the caller that we were in the process of burglarizing the home - that he was interrupting our progress - please call back later. He called later - someone handed me the phone and I told the guy that we were just carrying out the TV and the last of the jewelry - what do you want? No effect - he started the same old spiel. "Click"

Paul!

Im surprised sherriff hasnt showed here. I hear wifey telling someone trying to sell her "free" Solar panels NOT to send a sales rep out because I wpuld beat her again!!! Then I heard her say, " oh yes everytime someone shows up here he beats me afterward!!!"

She said they sounded like a Paki so they prolly wouldn't call it in!!

Geez! Life on the edge!!!!

I used to get up to 6 of these calls per day. Now I'm down to an occasional call, usually less than one per day. From what I can tell, most of these calls are coming from related outfits, so when I do get one of the calls I answer as a "gentleman" from da hood. I give them the usual rouse that I need da money to get new wheels, or I need to get some blow so I can get a ho. I would appear that these callers don't really like dealing with da black man. Racists.

They are ALWAYS foreigners when I get those calls... around here its some bimbo with a voice mail to call Sherry,
about the warranty extension offer they sent you is about to expire....

I can tell you to never take a call from the 876 area code...

That is not the USA, its Jamaica...

if you answer it, they will try to keep you on the line as long as possible...
or if you return their call...

then they send something to your cell phone or land line company to tack on $900.00 a minute
surcharge to your phone bill, to send to them when and if it is paid...

like if you have allowed the phone company to autopay from your bank account..

I caught this and sure enough 5 minutes after the call, my carrier told me that they had an $1800.00
charge from a phone company in Jamaica..... they immediately reversed the charges...

but evidently they legally get away with this in Jamaica...

even when I had pointed out on the phone with these clowns there area code was Jamaica..
they tried to pass it off as Jamaica NY....


sad that naive people fall for this crap.....constantly....

Since my wife has been in hospital, we get calls from nurses etc. using cell phones. So we feel we need to answer anyway. I have won several trips because of being a loyal customer, need to check my credit card, and am in trouble with both the IRS and FBI.

That Lisa or Kelly or whoever she is sounds like a cute blonde; any bets?

The phone company wants another $7 for the "dial 1 of you are a friend" message. I think they should have to offer some way to screen. That figures right in with the other thread on the wonderful service from cable/satellite.

These predators should be severely beaten about the head and neck until they cease and desist with their evil thieving ways.

If you want to have it become super entertaining, just start talking back to the dude in gibberish.

L.W.

Last year there was a scam making the rounds where the Asian caller who spoke indistinctly would ask "can you hear me now?", and keep repeating it trying to get you to say "yes" so they could record your voice and use your voice to access something or other to get money. I got one of those calls last year from an 800 number.

A few days ago I got a call from a local area code from a mumbling Asian who said he was with some clinic and asked if I had knee or back problems. How many senior citizens would answer "yes" to that? Sounds like a new twist on the old yes scam with caller ID spoof devices added. If not that then surely some other sort of scam.

My cell provider lists these as "Scam Likely" in the caller ID.

So far they are 100% in identifying these types of calls and not mis-identifying my genuine callers.

Truecaller is an app for cell phones but is there something like that for land lines?

Edit: Yes there is! It is called Nomorobo.

I tell them I charge for my time talking on the phone and ask them for a credit card number. If they continue I keep asking for a credit card number telling them I will talk to them as soon as I have a billable account. Was riding on a cross-country trip one day and answered a call out of boredom and demanded a credit card number to listen to his spiel my buddy driving was laughing so hard he almost wrecked the Jeep.

Think they called me. Something or other about knee or ankle braces, best i could tell in broken English.