[mydavid]

I must get 20 calls a day luckily I have caller ID that flash's on my TV, if I don't know the number or person I don't pick-up. It works for me.

[Stu from NYC]

The scariest one is living in Va a few years ago get a call from supposedly Appalachian power that they are on the way over to shut off our electricity for non payment.

Sounded very real so looked at our last bill which we had paid weeks early and to ease our mind called power company.

They said it was an ongoing scam. Asked if they want the number so they could investigate and they had no interest.

[kaseydog]

Sorry to say. I let my stepson use my computer. He stole all my personal information. 2 days before my husband pasted away my husband's boss called to tell me stepson called him pretending to be my husband & trying to steal his IRA. So far stepson has stolen $80,000.
Terrible betrayal at lowest time of my life.

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by kaseydog

Sorry to say. I let my stepson use my computer. He stole all my personal information. 2 days before my husband pasted away my husband's boss called to tell me stepson called him pretending to be my husband & trying to steal his IRA. So far stepson has stolen $80,000.
Terrible betrayal at lowest time of my life.

Wow talk about betrayal. Hope you turned the matter over to the police.

[OhioBuckeye]

Originally Posted by amexsbow

I ran across this video on Youtube the other day, it is a great explanation of how the scams work and why people fall for them. Besides being educational and informative it is entertaining to watch the thieves get caught.

[URL="https://youtu.be/VrKW58MS12g"]

https://youtu.be/VrKW58MS12g

Forewarned is forearmed.

Everyone should educate friends and family about these scammmers.

NEVER GIVE ACCESS TO YOUR COMPUTER TO SOMEONE YOU DON'T KNOW....

Never answer a call that you don’t recognize. If you answer & even if you don’t say a word, they’ll know the number has a real person connected to this number. All the scammer will do a few times is use another number, so if you don’t recognize it again, don’t answer. If it’s important enough they’ll leave a voice mail!

[golfing eagles]

The best one I had was a scammer impersonating a US Marshal claiming I didn't show for federal jury duty in Ocala so the judge issued a bench warrant that he was going to execute, unless I met him in Ocala in 3 hours with $4,000 in "vouchers". If I didn't show he was going to have local law enforcement arrest me and I should have my lawyer at the house waiting for them. Took about 30 seconds to figure this out, but.....

"voucher" is the African term for bank check
I didn't think a federal fine could be paid directly to an individual marshal
And why would a federal agent charged with executing a warrant pass it off on "local law enforcement?

So I invited him to come and arrest me himself, and I would have my lawyer waiting for him---from the law firm of Smith, Wesson, Colt, Remington and Glock. I also suggested that impersonating a federal agent is likely a felony. Much to my surprise, he didn't show up.

Since I dumped my landline, I have not received any scam calls

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by OhioBuckeye

Never answer a call that you don’t recognize. If you answer & even if you don’t say a word, they’ll know the number has a real person connected to this number. All the scammer will do a few times is use another number, so if you don’t recognize it again, don’t answer. If it’s important enough they’ll leave a voice mail!

The problem is very often it is a DR office or a call would want to take. Easier to take it and block it.

[Taltarzac725]

My new friend likes to answer these calls and get them going and then ends it with "SCAMMER. Get a job!"

I do not even pick up the phone anymore. Mostly just let the answering machine get stuff.

[Villages Kahuna]

You have to answer the phone for scams to work. If caller ID isn’t someone we know we pick up on the first ring and immediately hang up.
Eliminates any chance of being scammed.

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by Villages Kahuna

You have to answer the phone for scams to work. If caller ID isn’t someone we know we pick up on the first ring and immediately hang up.
Eliminates any chance of being scammed.

That sounds like a good idea.

[lindaelane]

Well, since they found the name of the mule (Crystal, last name not given on video) then I assume they were able to arrest her. Then, as long as she does not live in New York City or a large West Coast city.

A scam I almost fell for: I tried to sell my golf cart on The Villages Classified Ads at this site. Someone said he might want to buy it, emailed, gave me his number. I called, he asked questions. Then he said he would buy it without inspecting it. I should have said Good-bey then, but I did not. He wanted a service to pick it up for him. He was going to send a cashier's check for the price of the golf cart, plus the price of the pickup service. I was supposed to deposit the cashier's check, then send money to the pickup service before they came to pick it up. Can't believe I deposited the check before having second thoughts, but I deposited with the idea that if this was fake it would bounce and I would not send money to anyone or write against it until it was definitely clear - I thought since it was a cashier's check it would clear right away, but I called My bank, USAA, was so angry that a fraudulent check had been deposited that they suspended my ability to transfer money online to anyone - even to pay my bills or to other bank accounts I have - for six months. Needless to say I no longer bank with them.

A week later someone else tried the same thing, but I told them to get lost. Be careful selling things - if someone wants to buy a large ticket item sight unseen it is probably a scam.

[joelfmi]

This is a huge problem. which is organized crime which is stealing money from mostly seniors citizen and is not being taken serious by our political leaders which must be addressed now.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

It's twice as hard to choose to "not" pick up a phone number you don't recognized, now that a lot of companies have their employees work from home on cell phones given to them by the companies to use.

I "blocked" myself out of a Census-taker job because of that. It turned out to be a legitimate call asking me for my availability to attend an initial group learning session to find out the details of the job (how it works, what areas you might need to work in, etc. etc.)

I lost out on several job interviews last year because of it (I was looking for part-time sit-down jobs because of my bursitis). And then there was the customer service call-back from Florida Blue about my health care, and another call-back about a website problem on another business I was trying to get help from.

So I stopped rejecting calls that I didn't recognize. I now answer the phone "diga-me' which is a common Spanish phone greeting, it means "talk to me." Since most scammers are expecting to talk to English-speaking victims, they usually hang up before I have to.

[Taltarzac725]

BBB Scam Tracker℠ | Find and Report a Scam | Better Business Bureau

This is a good resource.

[Westie Man]

and use add ons such as Ghostery