Community Chat

[mspatmac]

I'm in all kinds of trouble.

1- Grandson in jail and I have to wire bail money right away (NOT)

2 - SS# compromised

3 - Microsoft computer has terrible virus and they need access to my computer (have apple)

4 - Back brace I called about is ready and they need cc number (never called)

5 - Want to sell medicare program

6 - IRS is after me

and on and on.  All this on my cell phone as I no longer have a land line.  Unless you're in my contact list or I recognize your name I don't answer.  If the caller really wants to reach me they can leave a message.  No message = call blocked. I am so sick and tired of these calls.  

[jackthebear]

---

@Othereeeen wrote:

Hey don't feel bad!!!

I'm going to jail because my Social Security number has been used to purchase illegal drugs!!! ANd now it's been CANCELLED!!!!  I have to call the "involved officer" or I will be subject to a "no-bail" warrant for my arrest!!!

How do I know all this? I get these crazy pester calls almost daily, and I DON"T answer, but they leave these long detailed messages and a call back number. I am tempted to answer some time and string them along ("I'm an illegal alien and I don't have a SS number...can you get me one?!?!?!") but it's too much like work....

And I guess you never really know....if they have your phone number, maybe they have an address as well.....Just better off not rising to the bait....

Going back into hiding now before I get arrested!!!!

In all seriousness...I feel for those gullible people out there that fall for these schemes and there must be a lot of them or they'd stop pestering people.....

---

usually they don't leave a message once a machine picks up I guess you are important 

[Spurt]

Here's a good current article regarding robo calls.....

We've had it with robocalls, but most don't use available tools to stop them

---

by Connie Thompson | KOMO News 

Thursday, November 21st 2019

As you read this, thousands of robocalls will be made each second -- and most of those robocalls will be scams.

That's according to one robocall tracking company that says computers have been programmed to make 2,000 robocalls each second, and they're targeting consumer phones.

But aren't federal regulators and phone companies supposed to be doing something about this? The answer is, yes. But the solution is neither quick nor easy.

While many of the robocalls you get are launched from overseas, investigators say a lot of them are placed from phones in California and Florida.

Among the top robo-scams: bogus health insurance; bogus interest rate reduction; fake Social Security and IRS alerts; Chinese embassy impostors; and bogus student loan assistance.

Estimated losses to robocall and other phone scams hit $10.5 billion in 2018, according to spam call blocking company Truecaller.

Major carriers are under government pressure to adopt a digital system that verifies the number on your caller ID so you at least know that the caller isn't masking their real number with someone else's -- this is a common scammer trick known as "spoofing." The developing system, dubbed "STIR/SHAKEN" by the industry, will allow all the major carriers to identify spoofed calls that are being sent between carrier networks and override the spoof.

Phone companies say they're making good progress.

But based on the latest numbers, the overall robocall problem has gotten worse.

According to robocall blocking company YouMail's latest robocall index, robocalls dropped nationwide between March and June, then climbed steadily, spiking to 5.7 billion robocalls in October. That's more than 2,000 robocalls per second.

A lot of folks are doing stuff," explained YouMail CEO Alex Quilici. "Phone companies are trying to work on the problem, the FCC and the government's trying to work on the problem. Law enforcement's trying to work on the problem. The thing is -- it's a big problem."

Which puts the ball back in your court, because doing nothing is not your friend. Call your carrier, or go online and find out the latest free or low-cost robocall blocking services. The FCC says many phone customers are not aware of the available services that can reduce the annoyance.

You can also download a third- party robocall blocking app. Each carrier has different robocall-fighting tools and services so check with your carrier to see what they can offer to help stop these calls.........

[Spurt]

---

@mspatmac wrote:

I'm in all kinds of trouble.

1- Grandson in jail and I have to wire bail money right away (NOT)

2 - SS# compromised

3 - Microsoft computer has terrible virus and they need access to my computer (have apple)

4 - Back brace I called about is ready and they need cc number (never called)

5 - Want to sell medicare program

6 - IRS is after me

and on and on.  All this on my cell phone as I no longer have a land line.  Unless you're in my contact list or I recognize your name I don't answer.  If the caller really wants to reach me they can leave a message.  No message = call blocked. I am so sick and tired of these calls.  

---

@mspatmac 

You poor thing such a string of bad luck

[kaydee50]

I must be leading a charmed life because except for a couple of "Chinese" calls on my cellphone, I don't get anything like what is written about here.  And I have both a cellphone and VOIP phone line.  I have gotten popups on my computer from "Microsoft" saying my computer may have been compromised but on the advice of DH and my own common sense, I do not open these and just permanently delete them.

[handygal2]

I keep a “coach’s” type whistle near the phone. When l’m in a particularly feisty mood, if the Caller-ID identifies the call as “SPAM?” I’ll take the call. I let the scammer go through his song-and-dance, then blow the whistle into the phone as loudly as l can, and hang up. Lol. Maybe if enough people do this, these lowlifes will get a legitimate job!