Lady Diana

Recently, I called back a scammer who has been harassing my 97 year old Mom, his number was registered to a woman. I asked for her.....the guy tried to disguise is voice and answered in a high pitched tone....you need to pay this bill, so I need your credit card. I said you are a fraud and a criminal. I told him the number he called was my number at the County, where I work in the Sheriff's office. They will be contacting you on Monday. He said, what is your badge number? I said 911. He had my name...also. the only account my name is on is my Mom's Bank of America accounts. Once again, I told him he would be hearing from the authorities. He said, I know where you live and I am going to ! I said what? I said I'm going to .
So I reported him and his phone number to the police department. The detective that called me said that they were using the phone number that he answered that day to speak to him....and they were sure we would not be bothered by him anymore.
So far, so good.....BTW I called Bank of America and gave them a piece of my mind. They said they don't use third party vendors to call about accounts or services. I told them the only way this guy would have know my name was from their information and I was holding them responsible for further harassment and threats. . was calling my Mom every day. They are the Scum of the earth.

ptquilts

I am so proud of you all for fighting back against the scammers! I get very few phone calls, but have been getting texts about my property in FL (I don't have one). They want to buy it or refinance it. Finally I texted back that the house had just been destroyed by a falling meteorite and they sent back an "unsubscribed" message!

Needles

ptquilts, that was really quick thinking. We get the warranty calls, I always hit one and when the guy answers, I tell him I want the extended warranty on our 57 Cheverolet. That takes care of those calls for a year or so. I have answered calls, Sheriff's Dept, how can I direct your call, or sometimes, Fraud Division, how may I help you. One woman had my name and said I could get in trouble for misrepresenting myself. I told her, I didn't do the scam calling. She said this is not a scam, so I asked her who she was and what she wanted. She told me and I said, well, I am going to report you for calling a number that's been on the do not call list since it came OUT. She slammed down the receiver.

I also got the 'grandma' scam call twice. This one hit close to home since a friend fell for it, to the tune of $4,000. I took them to the end and when they told me their child died, I told them that was sad but maybe a good thing since they were going to prison for trying to scam elderly people. So you won't be around to even raise that child.Your momma must be so proud of you, I'm sure she raised you MUCH better than that. Both were met with silence at the end, then a bit before dial tone. I want to think I made them rethink what they were doing. Maybe not. I have no grands but my friend had many and just happened to give her a correct name. :-(

grannie cheechee

Heard on the radio where the scammers are using young kids in the foreign countries to do the scams. The young kids need the money to help their families. The man that was being interviewed about this said people should feel sorry for these young kids having to do this to support their families. The interviewer didn't follow up by asking him about all the people who lost their hard earned money.

Feather3

I've gotten 2 e-mails saying my Amazon account is frozen & I need to click the link & reopen it. It's a scam.

Motley

Called Discover And the Federal Trade Commission to report this FTC number is 202-362-2222. Also be aware there is one going around about Social Security For this you call the FTC number and they will give the number for the OIG--Office of the Inspector General. SSA Will Never call you. You must always Call SSA.

FTC will give you more information and enter your information into their system. You will be given a reference number tha you should keep for future reference.

Motley

Doing the press 1 to be removed Does Not Remove Your Number -- It Adds your number to the list and you will have more problems. Unfortunately I've fallen for this as well. It was an FTC agent that told me about this problem.

I know I did not say in my intro but I worked with the Glendale AZ Police Community Relations Department as a volunteer. I heard many things that was happening then and are still going on today. I had an Officer that would listen to All My Complaints and she would tell me what to do to handle these types of problems so I will give you her answers here and You can decide what ones are good for your situation.

Please understand I don't mean to sound harsh or Know it all but this type of thing really gets under my skin. I have a friend of a friend that falls for the "cash this check--You keep $1,000 and send us the other $2,000" and has done so many times. I told my friend this Judge is going to get tired of his excuses and he will be facing jail time. He doesn't have a real job as my friend put it. Problem is I have met this dumb-bell person and he is a really sweet person Just Stupid about this scam or maybe just wanting the money without working for it. Either way he will be facing jail time if he keeps it up.

Step 1--Register Immediately on The National Do Not Call Registry this gives you a choice about whether to receive telemarketing calls. You can register your home or mobile phone for free. After you register, other types of organizations may still call you, such as charities, political groups, debt collectors and surveys. To learn more, read FTC FAQs.
If you received an unwanted call after your number was on the National Registry for 31 days, report it to the FTC. At the number above. This one is a direct quote off the FTC.gov web site.

Step 2: Block every scam number that comes through to your phone.

Step 3: (All Uppercase Here) Never answer calls that say Unknown, Withheld, Private or any other such message as 99.99 percent are scammers.

Step 4: (Again All Caps) Never answer calls that you Do Not Know. Let them leave a message. Proper businesses/family that have changed a phone number will leave you a message. Also tell individuals you know that you are not answering numbers you do not recognize and tell them please leave a message and you will return their call as soon as you get their message so they don't worry something is wrong at your end.

Step 5: Report any threats to the police Immediately and Fill Out a Police Report with Your Local Department At Your House so you can show the Officer/Deputy the phone number and the number of times the individual has called. Ask for an officer to come to your house to check your property if you are frightened in any way. They will send an Officer. That's what our Hero's do -- protect their patrol zones.

I have called for Officers to come to my home and have told the responding Officer that I was sorry to call them on maybe something that seems trivial to them. I have always had the same answer from the Officer that came..."I get paid whether I sit in my car bored to death or I am answering a call for you. I'd much rather answer calls so I feel like I am earning my check and know I am keeping you safe."

Step 6: Record the call by turning on the speaker and record on your phone Or Computer. This will help in the prosecution of the individual(s) when arrested.

Step 7: Love All Your Tricks to get them off the phone but Please consider Not answering the calls. You can then block the numbers that leave no messages. Scammers will not leave a message as they know their voice can be traced back to them and be used in a court of law to help convict them.

Information for the FTC from their website:
Federal Trade Commission
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20580
Telephone: (202) 326-2222
website: FTC.gov

no1jan

I have had many of the above scams The one on Social Security is a great one. I called our local SS office and she told me that they NEVER call only mail. She also told me that somehow they manage to use their phone number.

I have also been lucky not to be scammed on Craidslist. They want you to send them the item and they will send you a check for the item plus shipping. Although, the check is NO good!

no1jan

Another major scam to be aware of is saying "yes" to answer a question. Such as "Is this Ed?" They record you and can use it to scam you out a lot of money. This was reported on our local news station.

I have had people call me and I say "mmm" They will say "we need more than an mmm" I say "I am not saying anything else" and they hang up.
"

Motley

Dear Valued Customer,
On February 11, 2019, Trans....co purchased substantially all of the Sears Holdings assets*. As part of that sale, Trans....co acquired Sears Holdings’ customer information, including personally identifiable information.

Beware of this email....I called Sear's cust. service number that I could find on the internet. The person said he knows nothing about this company purchasing anything from Sear's. He gave me another number but it is Friday and they will not be opened until Monday. Tip-off--I Do Not order from Sears.com and have No Account at Sear's.com Or Sears store. I pay at the store but haven't even been to Sear's for over 2 years.
I'm Supposed to click the Link--Fat Chance at least until I know this is Real from Sear's themself. I'm keeping the email until I can find out and call my "friends" at FTC.

I Love calling in scams. Maybe in this way I can help save someone else from being scammed.