Talk of The Villages Florida - View Single Post - New insidious arrest threat phone scam
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Old 07-30-2018, 07:53 AM
OhioBuckeye OhioBuckeye is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jazuela View Post
I wouldn't call them back - sometimes these scams are coming from a masked phone number that pretends to be a different phone number. I've had calls to my house, with the caller ID saying they're - actually my own phone number. I've had calls from people who live in my town, and when I call the number back, they have no idea who I am, why I'm calling, and they never called me. It's called spoofing.

Best way to handle these calls is to hang up as SOON as you realize it's another fraud. Don't respond, don't acknowledge that you're the person they're looking for, don't negotiate, don't harrass, don't do anything. Just hang up.

"Hello, Jazuela?"
Me: "Who's calling?" (note I don't say "yes that's me.")
Them: "Oh there you are! Trying to catch up with you is like trying to catch an outfielder catching a baseball, hah hah!"
Me: HANG UP


Again, caller ID isn't helpful if it's a spoofed phone number, and you have no way of knowing for sure unless it's a phone number you recognize.
Also watch out for people that call you from some other country or a foreigner that sounds a little suspicious. They're good at saying, "Let me connect you to our agent & they can answer that for you". Guess what it'll be in India or somewhere like that & guess what on your next phone bill you'll be billed for 100, 150 or even $200. Don't ever answer a number you don't recognize, if it's important they'll leave you a voice mail. Yes, you're right, they'll call you from another phone #.