Community Chat

[Mindy D]

I’ve been getting many calls from legitimate agents during this open enrollment period. I have nothing against these people but there is a big problem. There are callers pretending to be agents calling people right now. They will pretend to enroll you to get your personal information including your SS number. It might not be possible for a person to tell whether a caller is legitimate or not so never enroll directly from one of these calls. To enroll, you can call the insurance company’s number or  Medicare’s number.

If you like the person you spoke with, and you would like them to be your agent, you can check if they are legitimate. Do not directly give them any information during their cold call to you. You can ask their name and number. That is still a bit risky but you can check them out. Agents are registered within the state and they must provide the state with a current phone number and address. You can check with your state’s insurance commissioner’s website or states listing of licensed agents , and then verify a match between the agent’s phone number and address and the person that called you. You can then contact them once you have completely verified who they are. 

[Annabellethecat66]

Well, this is kinda different but similar.

So, today I was talking on my cell phone to my friend about meeting her for lunch.

I could hear her home phone ringing.  I said, "Do you need to get this?"  She said, "Yes, It's Martin Smith from down the street.  I wonder what he wants".

I heard her say, "Hello".  Then she came back on the cell phone and said, "It was a telemarketer from VISA".  She said her caller ID said it was Martin Smith".

Now Martin Smith is our friend from many years that lives down the street.  

So, get this.  Somehow they (the telemarketers) got his name and knew she knew him and would answer her phone!

I've had my caller ID say that I was calling myself (my name and number).  This has happened to her and other people I know.

But, good grief.  How would a telemarketer know that we knew Martin Smith at his phone number and would answer the phone?

That's really scary if you think about it.  It's the ultimate in invasion of privacy?!!!!

I can't figure out how they'd figured out the connection.  His address is on several streets over from us!

I'm pretty wigged out by that.  I've often felt there were some words when spoken on our cell phones alerted someone ....(what)?

So,, I've talked to a family member and just had my phone sitting on the table.  

You guys have had me tell you about a conversation with my granddaughter telling me she stayed home because she was having cramps.  My phone was in my purse on the table.

That night I got a few emails from companies talking about endometriosis and how to cure cramps.

Now I didn't text, email or talk to anyone else about this.  Yet I got these emails?

I'm 73 years old soon.  Why would I be getting these?  It wasn't random?

I just asked Alexa how to spell endometriosis and she did and then she said, "By the way....it's black friday, just ask me what some of my deals are!

But my daughter doesn't have Alexa at her house, so Alexa wasn't listening then.

[Sheila P-Burg]

You said he lived down the street. Sounds like the telemarketer got a listing of all your neighbor's numbers and is randomly calling. 

[FLGranny]

I’m over 65 and I’m determined NOT to become a victim. I monitor all my phone calls. If I don’t know who’s calling, I let the answering machine get it. 99.99% of the time the caller just hangs up. Even if I recognize the callers name, I still wait for them to start leaving a message then I answer if it’s who the phone says it is. It’s a pain but I won’t be put in a position where I could accidentally give out info.

[Annabellethecat66]

Well, but the caller ID showed the friend's phone number and name that was calling.

It would be difficult though to look that up because he even has a different zip code from us.

She can't get text messages on her cell phone so I wouldn't have texted about him or she wouldn't have received a text his name.

He's more my friend but he's done a few things FOR her but then that was at least 2 or more years ago.

Yet, the telemarketer knew she'd answer because she did know him.

[Annabellethecat66]

This is totally different.   But I was just thinking about the difference in how people measure places.

So, I always say, down the road or down the street.  City people usually think that means a block or two away.

But I live kinda in the country.  So when I say that, I'm actually talking about farther than a block or two.

[Meowingkitty]

That would be interesting if that happened to me as I don't really know my neighbors names much less give them my phone number. I've lived here for 33 years and other than my neighbor next door I don't know anyone else name so if the name popped up on my phone I wouldn't even answer it. 

[Mindy D]

---

@Annabellethecat66 wrote:

Well, this is kinda different but similar.

So, today I was talking on my cell phone to my friend about meeting her for lunch.

I could hear her home phone ringing.  I said, "Do you need to get this?"  She said, "Yes, It's Martin Smith from down the street.  I wonder what he wants".

I heard her say, "Hello".  Then she came back on the cell phone and said, "It was a telemarketer from VISA".  She said her caller ID said it was Martin Smith".

Now Martin Smith is our friend from many years that lives down the street.  

So, get this.  Somehow they (the telemarketers) got his name and knew she knew him and would answer her phone!

I've had my caller ID say that I was calling myself (my name and number).  This has happened to her and other people I know.

But, good grief.  How would a telemarketer know that we knew Martin Smith at his phone number and would answer the phone?

That's really scary if you think about it.  It's the ultimate in invasion of privacy?!!!!

I can't figure out how they'd figured out the connection.  His address is on several streets over from us!

I'm pretty wigged out by that.  I've often felt there were some words when spoken on our cell phones alerted someone ....(what)?

So,, I've talked to a family member and just had my phone sitting on the table.  

You guys have had me tell you about a conversation with my granddaughter telling me she stayed home because she was having cramps.  My phone was in my purse on the table.

That night I got a few emails from companies talking about endometriosis and how to cure cramps.

Now I didn't text, email or talk to anyone else about this.  Yet I got these emails?

I'm 73 years old soon.  Why would I be getting these?  It wasn't random?

I just asked Alexa how to spell endometriosis and she did and then she said, "By the way....it's black friday, just ask me what some of my deals are!

But my daughter doesn't have Alexa at her house, so Alexa wasn't listening then.

---

This is wild. The telemarketer just could be using phone lists from your neighborhood, but it’s uncanny that the telemarketer could just guess that  you know this neighbor. Did you ever use his name as a contact at a hospital or doctor’s office? Could your friend’s phone contact list have been hacked? Was anyone of you used as a reference on a job application, resume, emergency contact, reference? 

However the con artist got the numbers and names ; I’d let your REAL FRIEND, MARTIN SMITH, know about this. His phone contact list could have been hacked. 

I’m fairly certain the telemarketer does not work for VISA, either. 

The amount of ways the scamners are going after people people just keeps expanding. 

[Mindy D]

---

@Annabellethecat66 wrote:

Well, but the caller ID showed the friend's phone number and name that was calling.

It would be difficult though to look that up because he even has a different zip code from us.

She can't get text messages on her cell phone so I wouldn't have texted about him or she wouldn't have received a text his name.

He's more my friend but he's done a few things FOR her but then that was at least 2 or more years ago.

Yet, the telemarketer knew she'd answer because she did know him.

---

@Annabellethecat66 They probably used a trick to display the number. This is called SPOOFING. Quote from the FCC:

“What Is Spoofing?

Spoofing is when a caller deliberately falsifies the information transmitted to your caller ID display to disguise their identity. Scammers often use neighbor spoofing so it appears that an incoming call is coming from a local number, or spoof a number from a company or a government agency that you may already know and trust. If you answer, they use scam scripts to try to steal your money or valuable personal information, which can be used in fraudulent activity.

Watch the video and click through the tabs to learn more about spoofing and how to avoid being scammed.

If you think you've been the victim of a spoofing scam, you can file a complaint with the FCC.”

[Mindy D]

• How to Avoid Spoofing
• Spoofing Scams
• Q&A's

Tip Card

You may not be able to tell right away if an incoming call is spoofed. Be extremely careful about responding to any request for personal identifying information.

• Don't answer calls from unknown numbers. If you answer such a call, hang up immediately.
• If you answer the phone and the caller - or a recording - asks you to hit a button to stop getting the calls, you should just hang up. Scammers often use this trick to identify potential targets.
• Do not respond to any questions, especially those that can be answered with "Yes" or "No."
• Never give out personal information such as account numbers, Social Security numbers, mother's maiden names, passwords or other identifying information in response to unexpected calls or if you are at all suspicious.
• If you get an inquiry from someone who says they represent a company or a government agency, hang up and call the phone number on your account statement, in the phone book, or on the company's or government agency's website to verify the authenticity of the request. You will usually get a written statement in the mail before you get a phone call from a legitimate source, particularly if the caller is asking for a payment.
• Use caution if you are being pressured for information immediately.
• If you have a voice mail account with your phone service, be sure to set a password for it. Some voicemail services are preset to allow access if you call in from your own phone number. A hacker could spoof your home phone number and gain access to your voice mail if you do not set a password.
• Talk to your phone company about call blocking tools and check into apps that you can download to your mobile device. The FCC allows phone companies to block robocalls by default based on reasonable analytics. More information about robocall blocking is available at fcc.gov/robocalls.

Remember to check your voicemail periodically to make sure you aren't missing important calls and to clear out any spam calls that might fill your voicemail box to capacity

FROM THE FCC WEBSITE