[Boomer]

It has been suggested before here on TOTV to have your credit cards set up to send you a text when a charge is made. (In fact, TOTV is where I first read about doing that.)

It works well:

One evening Mr. Boomer asked me, “Did you join something called Tinder?”

“EEK!” said I — and explained to him what “Tinder” is.

Anyway, we made an immediate call to to the credit card co. and quickly ruined a good time for whoever it was. (I guess we ruined a bunch of good times because that joining fee — or hook-up fee — was for a long time.)

Boomer

[Boomer]

Originally Posted by davem4616

we get these too...annoying

sometimes I wonder if we were just as annoying as kids when we would make prank phone calls asking people if their refrigerator was running and when they said yes, we'd say, well ya better go catch it

Or called the drugstore — “Do you have Prince Albert in a can?”

“Yes, we do.”

“Well, ya better let him out!”

(Those were the days when kids were so easily amused. . .uh, oh, davem4616, I think we might have just given a huge clue to how old we are.)

Boomer

[Quixote]

I once had a more unique experience. I was calling Amazon with a routine question and Googled their phone number, which I called. They answered, asked me to verify my account, which I did for two reasons: (1) I called THEM, that is, THEY did NOT call me; and (2) thus, I identified myself by my account number (about which I was calling). Anyway, the story gets much longer—and that will be a different thread that I'll start about the completely different responses by two banks with local branches, both of which we've had decades of relationships with. One supported me; the other blamed me, for exactly the same thing! Stay tuned....

This is one aspect of scamming that I would NEVER have thought of—a fake website with a fake phone number that not only looks like the real thing but comes up on the first page near the top of my Google search window! If these criminals are paying for advertising to get it to come up so close to the top, what they're doing must REALLY be profitable. Yes, given the technology and the expertise, they can do far more than we can even imagine. Thank you OBB and matandch for the best summary of suggestions I've seen on dealing with this growing and truly annoying issue.

The only suggestion that won't work for us is the one about hanging up on foreign accents. In my family I'm practically the DP; the rest of them are scattered all over the world--each with a unique accent!

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

Every time you talk to them, you confirm that you are someone who is willing to engage with them. And every time you do that, your name, phone number, and sometimes even a recording of your voice is sold to thousands of other scammers via lists.

If it makes you feel better to know you are intentionally setting yourself up as a target for more nefarious scams than the ones you engage with, well - I guess whatever floats your boat.

For me, when a call comes in from a phone number I don't recognize, I answer (because sometimes it's someone I'm actually expecting to hear from and just don't know their number) "who dis?" I don't say hello. I don't say yes, I don't engage in conversation.

If I hear a click or a tone (as though a machine is connecting me to a voice on the other end) I disconnect and block the number.

If I hear a foreign accent, I disconnect and block the number. If I hear a machine I block the number.

Originally Posted by matandch

Never call phone numbers or follow links that come up unsolicited on your computer. Go separately to the the official website of the business claiming to need to contact you and only use links or phone numbers you find there.

[PugMom]

i got 1 too, some guy saying there's an unauthorized charge/unusual activity on my acct. the only thing is i was on my acct when the call came in, & no such charge seen. too funny

[Westie Man]

and even threatened to kill her. Since he was a retired bigwig the feds took a special interest in the case and lured the criminal to the USA where he was arrested

[Blueblaze]

We just moved to the Villages, and one of the surprise benefits is that, since we didn't change our phone numbers, we can now instantly identify a scam call -- any unknown number from our old Texas area code!

Since the scammers have no way to know we moved, any local call from the 352 area code is almost certainly legit!

[CaVillager]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

Every time you talk to them, you confirm that you are someone who is willing to engage with them. And every time you do that, your name, phone number, and sometimes even a recording of your voice is sold to thousands of other scammers via lists.

If it makes you feel better to know you are intentionally setting yourself up as a target for more nefarious scams than the ones you engage with, well - I guess whatever floats your boat.

For me, when a call comes in from a phone number I don't recognize, I answer (because sometimes it's someone I'm actually expecting to hear from and just don't know their number) "who dis?" I don't say hello. I don't say yes, I don't engage in conversation.

If I hear a click or a tone (as though a machine is connecting me to a voice on the other end) I disconnect and block the number.

If I hear a foreign accent, I disconnect and block the number. If I hear a machine I block the number.

I've even gotten calls from my own number!

[brines]

i need it was a scam when at the end of the message they wanted to talk to me about an extended car warrenty

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by phansen2246

Got the same call on landline saying $399.00 were charged to my amazon account. I don't even have an Amazon account!

I got that call yesterday, it was a warbly-sounding recording, all I could really understand was "Amazon," "Account," and "Three...nine." I hung up and blocked the number. It was supposedly from a 501 area code (which is California somewhere), but I'm assuming it was spoofed.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by Quixote

I once had a more unique experience. I was calling Amazon with a routine question and Googled their phone number, which I called. They answered, asked me to verify my account, which I did for two reasons: (1) I called THEM, that is, THEY did NOT call me; and (2) thus, I identified myself by my account number (about which I was calling). Anyway, the story gets much longer—and that will be a different thread that I'll start about the completely different responses by two banks with local branches, both of which we've had decades of relationships with. One supported me; the other blamed me, for exactly the same thing! Stay tuned....

This is one aspect of scamming that I would NEVER have thought of—a fake website with a fake phone number that not only looks like the real thing but comes up on the first page near the top of my Google search window! If these criminals are paying for advertising to get it to come up so close to the top, what they're doing must REALLY be profitable. Yes, given the technology and the expertise, they can do far more than we can even imagine. Thank you OBB and matandch for the best summary of suggestions I've seen on dealing with this growing and truly annoying issue.

The only suggestion that won't work for us is the one about hanging up on foreign accents. In my family I'm practically the DP; the rest of them are scattered all over the world--each with a unique accent!

The only people with foreign accents I ever would accept, is from a phone number I already recognize. My doctor is from India, my periodontist I believe is from Pakistan, I have a couple of Mexican friends and a friend from Israel and one who lives in Malaysia, my parents' closest friends are Jamaican, and my old boss is Puerto Rican.

They all have heavy accents, but they all show up with their names on my caller ID.