Strange Text Message

[cndlou3]

Just received a text from "Drew"
Hi this is Drew, I want to buy the property you have at and gave the Address. Would you sell that one? Sorry to bother you if not. The number is 407-337-8418 that received the text from.
#1 How did this person get a cell phone number.
#2 Anyone else have something like this happen.
I googled the number it is from the Orlando area and has been reported for being a scam. Is someone watching homes in The Villages or what the heck is going on?
Just curious if this is common.

[Aloha1]

It's a scam.

[cndlou3]

I know that is a scam, but how are people getting cell phone numbers that are not listed??

[bagboy]

Scammers likely have a variety of ways to obtain numbers, even computer generated robo calls. Don't take this personal, odds are high you are one of thousands that day who received this text.

[retiredguy123]

I know that is a scam, but how are people getting cell phone numbers that are not listed??
Your question cannot be answered because there are hundreds or thousands of different databases where your cell number could be connected to your address. Every time you fill out a data screen, you are are connecting your cell number to your address, so your number is most likely "listed" in many databases.

[New Englander]

Your question cannot be answered because there are hundreds or thousands of different databases where your cell number could be connected to your address. Every time you fill out a data screen, you are are connecting your cell number to your address, so your number is most likely "listed" in many databases.

Right, and some scammers bribe office personnel for phone numbers. They use all kinds of tricks to get phone numbers.

[Topspinmo]

I know that is a scam, but how are people getting cell phone numbers that are not listed??

Did you buy something and they asked for you’re number? Did you answers phone whe telemarking called? BINGO! Private phone numbers are brought and sold. Once you get on computer call list it never ends.

[dewilson58]

You may not even have the actual phone number. People are using numbers to bounce off of.


How are they getting your number???........random number generators or someone sold their database. Send out 10,000 texts hoping to get one idiot.

[Kenswing]

What I hate is when you get a call and it shows that it's coming from the phone you're holding.. :eek:

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

It's not a "random" number if they know your address as well as your cell phone number. At some point, you signed up for SOMETHING with your cell phone, or gave someone your cell phone number when you signed up on your computer, and that something sold your information to a list service. That list service then sold your information (along with thousands of other peoples' information) to marketing companies. Some of them are legit. Some are scams.

If you've ever used a game app on facebook, and if your phone number is linked to Messenger, then that is one way your information gets out.

[rochellepfaff]

I used to get phone calls like that. He claimed to have a buyer for my house. It is a total scam. Don't even respond becasue then he knows he contacted a working #. He'll sell your # and you'll start getting more scam calls and texts.

[cndlou3]

I always give my home number out because of this, because I know if the home phone rings it is a bs call, because anyone who really wants to get ahold of my has my cell#. Just was curious if anyone else had this happen. Just wish our government would do something about robo calls and texts because they are ridiculous. I know most of them are computer generated and roll over until they get someone to take the bait. If my cell gets a call and I don't know the number I just let it go to vm and if it's important they will leave a message but lately the robocalls have been leaving messages too. I just block the number anymore. Thanks for your input didn't know if it was something to be concerned about.

[KSSunshine]

We get them from Oklahoma where we lived earlier. They want to "buy" a house that we sold almost a year ago. SCAM!

[ColdNoMore]

While it's a bit of a pain to stay up with, I have made the effort to save every number that I know is legitimate to my 'Contacts' list so that if it rings and it's not showing one of my contacts...I don't bother to answer.

Maybe 1 in a 100 leave a message and it turns out that it's legit, but the vast majority...are just scam/junk calls. :mad:

[retiredguy123]

I usually talk to everyone who calls me, even with telemarketers. If it is a computer voice, I push the button to get to a live person. But, I don't return calls from numbers that I don't know. And, I never press the do not call number button they offer. I never give out personal information. If a charity calls, I tell them that I never give to a charity that calls on the phone because I know that most of the money goes to the telemarketer, not to the charity. I actually talked to one young woman in Texas who told me that only 20 percent of the charity money she collected went to the charity. I know this is not what most people do, but I think that, if more people took these calls, they may get tired of wasting their time. I have more free time than they do, so I don't mind wasting their time because they are not operating an honest business. Sometimes, I tell them that they should consider getting a real job.

[Fred2016]

Don’t fall for this scam.

[J1ceasar]

Actually the government is doing things about this. They just shut down two very large phone center companies in America that are taking 800 million calls from India a year so next time you complain don't

[BFISHER54]

Florida voter registration records (public info) contain everything you provided when you registered (e.g., name, address, party affiliation, email, contact phone number).

[crypto835]

Scam!!!!

[theruizs]

I always give my home number out because of this, because I know if the home phone rings it is a bs call, because anyone who really wants to get ahold of my has my cell#. Just was curious if anyone else had this happen. Just wish our government would do something about robo calls and texts because they are ridiculous. I know most of them are computer generated and roll over until they get someone to take the bait. If my cell gets a call and I don't know the number I just let it go to vm and if it's important they will leave a message but lately the robocalls have been leaving messages too. I just block the number anymore. Thanks for your input didn't know if it was something to be concerned about.
We do the same thing. We don’t even have a phone on that number, we just get a notification when it gets a call. Even then we still get the occasional robo call on our cells. If you ever read the terms of service that you agree to when ordering on-line or downloading an app that requires you to creat an account, you will likely be shocked at what you are agreeing to.

[Gigi3000]

I had my retirement account drained a couple of days ago. Luckily, it was caught. My broker said was prolly related to the Eqifax data breach. Be careful. Get your free credit monitoring through Eqifax, freeze your credit. All our info is out there.

[greenflash245]

scam. don't answer the phone

[jblum315]

I got spammed last year. I no longer pick up the phone unless it displays a number that I recognize

[Kenswing]

One nice thing about iPhones is you can set it so your phone won't even ring if the number calling isn't in your contact list. It will go straight to voicemail. It will still notify you that you missed a call and notify you of a voicemail if they leave one, but the phone won't ring.

Another thing I do is have a contact named "Spammer". I have that contact blocked. Every time I get a number that I can verify is a scammer I add it to that contact. I have well over 100 numbers on that list.