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Contributor
Posts: 28
Registered: ‎05-18-2016

I got several of those calls a couple weeks ago...   at first I was angry, then I played along until I was told to report to Washington DC with my criminal attorney or pay $9000...  that is where I told them off and blocked their number...  .   these scam people need to be stopped... I feel bad for a person who believes them and is willing to give personal information..   I did a Google search and reported them to the Federal Trade Commission where there were numerous complaints............  

Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,515
Registered: ‎06-26-2011

I keep blocking numbers! But every now and then, I just can't resist...

 

"Sheriff's Department - do you have an emergency?"

 

"We don't even have a computer!"

 

"I'm sorry, but the person you're looking for has been dead for 5 years."

 

"Oh, I know right where you are -- let me come over and we'll talk in person!"

 

Valued Contributor
Posts: 560
Registered: ‎03-18-2012

My favorite, left on answering machine:  speaker told me in rudimentary English that I had won the Publisher's Clearing House jackpot.  I'm sure he was asking for account numbers but I couldn't hear because there was more than one dog barking in the background.  Really?

 

But it is more than an annoyance, especially since they target the vulnerable elderly.  The phone companies do nothing to fix this. 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 14,981
Registered: ‎03-16-2010

I'm the OP and the same number just called AGAIN!!!! That's 2 calls in 21/2 hours! They are relentless! March Of Dimes also calls my mother everyday, multiple times a day. My poor mother panicks every time the phone rings. Your home should be a safe haven, you shouldn't have to put up with all these intrusions. 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 21,064
Registered: ‎07-26-2014

@LonestarBabs wrote:

I keep blocking numbers! But every now and then, I just can't resist...

 

"Sheriff's Department - do you have an emergency?"

 

"We don't even have a computer!"

 

"I'm sorry, but the person you're looking for has been dead for 5 years."

 

"Oh, I know right where you are -- let me come over and we'll talk in person!"

 


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@LonestarBabs  I may have to steal borrow that one!

"Never argue with a fool. Onlookers may not be able to tell the difference."


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Honored Contributor
Posts: 16,584
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

@athenian Is there a way to block people from making those calls?    I could buy a burner phone and call and say I was the IRS, couldn't I?

 

Seems like so many of the scam calls I get come from a variety of numbers- even when the messages are the same.  If I do answer for some unthinking reason, I'm not too polite and hang up without comment.  I'm elderly, but I will say too many of my generation are too polite to those callers.  We need to practice rudeness - she says sarcastically. 

Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,680
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

My IRS calls are always a recorded message, never a live person. I received one about two weeks ago. Identical as the previous messages except for the guy's name: Steve Martin. Not with that accent and awkward sentence structure- Delete.  eta: I have had 3 recordings in an 8 hour period from the IRS. I've also received the once a week message. The ones that came in on the same day were the same recorded voice but not the others.

 

I've never answered the phone for the computer guy-he never leaves a message either. I look the number up later to find out what that particular phone number wanted. 

 

A good friend will often answer the phone with the full intention of playing them-He'll answer "Sheriff's Department, how may I direct your call?" Or say the caller has reached the courthouse, the post office, etc. They always hang up on him but that doesn't mean they won't call back. 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 23,835
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

I have got this call many times now.  It is always a recording, never a real person. Enough peopke must fall for it or they would not keep calling people.

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 6,407
Registered: ‎07-07-2010

It has been quite a while since I have had one of those calls.  The last time that I did, I just happened to pick up the phone.  I told the person that I welcomed a subpoena and a trial because we would be starting with all of the government employees, including IRS employees, who owed back taxes.  I have not heard back from them.

 

 

The next time that I hear salt and ice together, it better be in a margarita!
Regular Contributor
Posts: 231
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

We get these calls all the time. Most times it goes to answering maching but when we are bored my husband picks it up and messes with them.  He does really good accents so sometimes he is a hillbilly, other times he uses the same accent of the caller.  The callers on the other end will then ask him where was he born in India and all kinds of stuff. It is really funny. When we then get bored he changes over into his normal voice and lets them have it. That takes care of them for a month or 2 and then the calls start up again.