topic Re: Scam Call From U.S. Treasury in Community Chat

Scam Call From U.S. Treasury

NickNack — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 15:03:36 GMT

I just got a recorded call from someone saying they were from the U.S. Treasury. They said I needed to call them back in order to avoid legal action. It wasn't those exact words but something like that. I knew it was a scam, but I Googled the number and confirmed it. Just wanted to warn people that this was going around. I hadn't heard about this one before.

Re: Scam Call From U.S. Treasury

millieshops — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 15:07:37 GMT

TY for that post. The IRS, Treasury, etc. will never call you, but it's always good to be reminded. I can't even imagine why I'd even want to call the Treasury; the IRS, yes, but not the Treasury.

Re: Scam Call From U.S. Treasury

hoosieroriginal — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 15:08:47 GMT

I hear so many people fall into this trap and hand over their money - sad, especially for the older folks who don't have the money to begin with. I think many of them are calling from foreign countries. An accent is the first tip off.

Re: Scam Call From U.S. Treasury

Topaz Gem — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 15:12:13 GMT

Good grief, what will they think of next?

I love it when posters report that when they get these scam calls, they love to mess with the heads of the callers, LOL. I've never gotten one and hope I never do, but if I should one day, I'll certainly be ready. That guy will SO regret that he dialed my number! :-)

Re: Scam Call From U.S. Treasury

brii — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 15:45:59 GMT

I just got one too.

I didn't answer. The number was 202 174-2493

Re: Scam Call From U.S. Treasury

deepwaterdotter — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 15:48:24 GMT

Thank you for posting this information.

Re: Scam Call From U.S. Treasury

fthunt — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 16:29:17 GMT

I've been getting a flood of calls daily, about 3 per day - morning and evening and often one more during the day. Caller ID shows all caller info as...: Unavilable and sometimes numbers show every state name in the USA coast to coast. I let the calls go to the answering machine but none have left a message. I have no clue what is going on - probably some are Rachel with her 'congratulations' message. Tired of it tho.

Re: Scam Call From U.S. Treasury

Zita — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 16:54:09 GMT

I've been getting them, too. Usually screen through caller ID, but I did open the message they left, and it was IRS scamming. Deleted it.

I also am getting calls with my daughter's name (mispronounced) but don't answer them. However, the next time, I will and tell them to stop harrassing me since we have a very aggressive AG and they can be fined $10,000 if they keep calling. I did google their number and it IS a scam/fraud. They are trying to collect on years-old credit cards, which are usually paid off, etc.

Annoying! I'm one of the older people on these boards, but I'm too savvy to fall for this kind of scam. Feel bad about others who panic and send money.

Re: Scam Call From U.S. Treasury

DoneTryin — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 16:56:18 GMT

I think we should start calling these "Scum" calls. These jerks prey on the naive & weak, of any age. I wish there was a way to send them into another galaxy, but there isn't.

Re: Scam Call From U.S. Treasury

Puzzle Piece — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 17:05:13 GMT

Thanks for the info. All those 'official' calls should always be considered suspect.

Re: Scam Call From U.S. Treasury

Suziepeach — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 17:09:43 GMT

HOW HOW HOW HOW HOW does this continue on without anything happening to stop it? So much for the do not call list!!! I'm getting telemarketing calls on my cellphone now. It's just awful all these calls and sad that people actually for these scams.

Re: Scam Call From U.S. Treasury

jackthebear — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 17:13:47 GMT

Why would anybody think the Treasury Dept would be calling them?

As the risk of repeating my self

Get an answering machine and only answer a call when you know who is calling.

Rinse and repeat

Re: Scam Call From U.S. Treasury

Puzzle Piece — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 17:17:20 GMT

@NickNack @jackthebear I have an answering machine, I'm on the Do Not Call List, and I bought the call blocking device from the other shopping channel. Still get calls. We don't answer but the callers try several times over the course of a week.

Re: Scam Call From U.S. Treasury

beadaholic — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 17:19:20 GMT

I'm getting phone calls from someone asking if this is my "phone #" and if it is I have money coming to me!!! I told them I'm not interested & don't call back. WELL they are calling me 3-4 times a day now. The # is unavailable & unknown, & now I'm just getting goodby call. Our phone system can't block so I have to listen to the phone ring & can't do anything about it. Grrrr

Re: Scam Call From U.S. Treasury

NickNack — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 17:20:15 GMT

@Puzzle Piece wrote:
@NickNack @jackthebear I have an answering machine, I'm on the Do Not Call List, and I bought the call blocking device from the other shopping channel. Still get calls. We don't answer but the callers try several times over the course of a week.

@Puzzle Piece I'm the same as you. I have Call Blocking on my telephone, and I always let the machine get it. I'm also on the Do Not Call list, but I don't think it works very well. They usually just hang up, but this morning they left this message about calling back the U.S. Treasury. I seem to get scam calls (usually hang-ups) all thetime.

Re: Scam Call From U.S. Treasury

NickNack — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 17:26:55 GMT

@orangegarnet wrote:
HOW HOW HOW HOW HOW does this continue on without anything happening to stop it? So much for the do not call list!!! I'm getting telemarketing calls on my cellphone now. It's just awful all these calls and sad that people actually for these scams.

I've been getting calls on my cell phone, too. That is so annoying.

Re: Scam Call From U.S. Treasury

lulu2 — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 17:29:30 GMT

I've had this happen to me a few times. The first time, despite the fact I knew it was a scam, the guy really rattled me. I hung up and he kept calling back before I could block the number. I reported him to the proper authority.

When it happened again, I was ready. This time it was a female and I told her what I thought about her and her scam. When there was no response and her message continued, I realized it was a recording.

It happened again last week with the femail recording.

Re: Scam Call From U.S. Treasury

Suziepeach — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 17:42:01 GMT

@Nicknack wrote:
@orangegarnet wrote:
HOW HOW HOW HOW HOW does this continue on without anything happening to stop it? So much for the do not call list!!! I'm getting telemarketing calls on my cellphone now. It's just awful all these calls and sad that people actually for these scams.

I've been getting calls on my cell phone, too. That is so annoying.

********

I know, what's up with that, landlines aren't enough? I really take advantage of the auto reject on my cellphone and the call blocking that came included with our new Panasonic phones. You'd think someone could come up with something better than the do not all list.. what a waste!

Re: Scam Call From U.S. Treasury

2blonde — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 17:59:16 GMT

If you can get Nomorobo through your landline carrier (I have At&T U-Verse), please do it! It stops all robo calls from coming through on my phone (it rings once, then is cut off). Go to the Nomorobo website, and they will show you how to set it up (not tricky at all). In addition to that, I NEVER answer my phone unless I recognize the caller ID (pops up on my TV screen, which is really convenient!). Once you answer it, they know they have a "live" number, and will not only harass you, but give your number to other harassers!

Re: Scam Call From U.S. Treasury

dooBdoo — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 18:35:32 GMT

I agree these calls are annoying, at the least, and criminal, at the worst.

What people forget is that the Do Not Call Registry only protects us from reputable companies and reputable people and also there are exemptions.

Here's the info from their website*:

"The Do-Not-Call registry does not prevent all unwanted calls. It does not cover the following:

calls from organizations with which you have established a business relationship;
calls for which you have given prior written permission;
calls which are not commercial or do not include unsolicited advertisements;
calls by or on behalf of tax-exempt non-profit organizations."*

Regarding "establishing a business relationship," often there's fine print when we register on a website, participate in a contest, etc., which authorizes the company to call us and/or to share/sell our phone number.

So, sometimes we actually agreed to this but didn't realize it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

These days many of the calls are "robocalls."

This means an electronic device is mindlessly scrolling through random numbers, just simple numeric order, and waiting for a "hit."

Keep in mind, these random numbers might be landlines and might be cell phones.

If someone answers, that's a "hit."

By answering, you just informed them that yours is a live, valid phone number.

Then, the scammer takes your number and makes more calls to you and most of the time shares or sells your number to other criminals.

That's why answering is not a good idea (unless you want to guarantee you'll get more calls).

It's also the reason the Do Not Call Registry doesn't pertain to this type of call, since the electronic device doesn't "know" your number.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

(*source: https://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/do-not-call-list)

hth!