Older People Beware Scamers Are On The Prowl !! - Page 5

JustJazzmom · ‎03-09-2010

On 11/22/2014 Plaid Pants said:
Just the other day, when I was over at my dad's house, the phone rang. The phone number of who is calling pops up on the tv screen, so that you can see who is calling. The name that came up on the telly, was Cash Now.

I answered the phone.

"Is Mr. Pants there?"

Me: "Who's calling?"

"Is Mr. Pants there?"

Me: "Who's calling?"

"This is Money Now"

Me: "What is this call regarding?"

Click.

They hung up on me when I kept asking who was calling (and they wouldn't tell me), and when I asked what their business was.

They saw that they weren't going to get to their target, and hung up.

That's why dad is going to get a simple answering machine for Christmas, so that he can screen his calls.

See if his particular phone service provider is compatible with nomorobo a free service that screens the calls without them going through.

https://www.nomorobo.com/

☼The best place to seek God is in a garden. You can dig for him there. GBShaw☼

kdgn · ‎03-09-2010

Plaid Pants, unfortunately with my mom it was all done over the phone. At that time I did have POA but I would have had to go to court to have her declared incompetent. The doctor was willing but quite honestly, she was wiped out in less than two weeks.

Western Union is quite aware of these particular scams. They called mom while I was there but I couldn't get to the phone fast enough. They point blank asked her if this was a sweepstakes win and she had been well prompted by the man she had been in contact with. She told them no, it was her son.

I consulted a lawyer who was of no use-and she was my mom's lawyer! She basically told me that it was my mom's money and she could do what she wanted with it. If I didn't like it, go to court. No cooperation. No cooperation from the sheriff's department back then either.

Caller ID? Those of who are advocating that a senior not answer the phone if they don't recognize the number. Not all seniors have that feature. Not all seniors remember to look at the number if they do have caller ID.

I never did find out how they got her phone number. They pumped her for a lot of personal information and she willingly gave it. These people know how to work seniors-they have been well trained.

september · ‎03-09-2010

I understand everything you're saying, kdgn. I got involved with my local branch of the Alzheimer's Society about 3 months ago. The more meetings I go to....the more of these stories I hear. It's really sad, and the scammers get away with it because their victims can't fight back. Most of these people are struggling to get through the day...feed themselves, take their meds, get to their medical appointments, and then they get these calls from people who act as if they're going to do wonderful things for them!

ivey · ‎03-10-2010

My friend's mom fell for a scam that involved her going to the bank (in a taxi) and withdrawing a sizable amount of money. I don't remember if it was the bank or Western Union that stopped it--thank goodness.

But the guy on the phone said her grandson--and he called him buy name--had been arrested and needed the bail money. Then he provided her with information of where to send it. Now she was a sweet, sweet lady--but she didn't call his parents to confirm or the daughter who lived close to her before starting out to the bank. And of course, she was embarrassed when the truth came out.

pattypeep · ‎06-06-2011

On 11/22/2014 Burnsite said:
I like the emails that tell me I have won money, but have to send a few hundred today in order to claim my "prize." My goodness.

Who would fall for that?

My mother did. Only it was a phone call. It was a very publicized scam taking place in Nevada, if I remember correctly. Apparently mom sent them $5,000, God rest her soul.

Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea-Robert A. Heinlein

apple1964 · ‎08-07-2013

Just do not answer your phone ... let the voice mail get it. They will get tired of that and stop calling you.

Financialgrl · ‎03-13-2010

I've referenced this call before on every scam thread - at least 4 times a week I get the call that one of my medical professionals had recommended me to receive a medical pendant (help I've fallen and can't get up type) and its FREE because Medicare picks up the cost. All I have to do is call a number they leave to begin the process.

WELL, even if you got a medical pendant, for them to be of any use, you have to sign up for a service to monitor it and that's not free.

Second - none of my medical professionals would recommend such because:

Lastly, I"M NOT OLD ENOUGH FOR MEDICARE - I have another 6 years till I'm eligible.

Financialgrl · ‎03-13-2010

On 11/23/2014 Matty6 said:
${#emotions_dlg.w00t}$ Just do not answer your phone ... let the voice mail get it. They will get tired of that and stop calling you.

Wish that were true - cuz the ones I get these days are recorded robocalls. I'm guessing those are on a rotating basis cuz like clockwork, they are on my answering machine ALL the time.

Financialgrl · ‎03-13-2010

One last thing - I'd love to get the grandson call - cuz I'm not a grandmother! That'd make for an interesting call.

akaburtonfan · ‎12-08-2013

My mother almost lost $4500 because of a "hi grandma it's your granddaughter" call. It was because she didn't have time to think, she was just reacting. When she called me to say she needed to go to town immediately to send $$ to her "granddaughter" I didn't think scam right away either because the scenario the caller gave was plausible.

Thankfully I took a few minutes to think about it and then I contacted my niece and found out it wasn't true. It was just a good thing my mother has to rely on me for transportation or she would have lost $4500. I called the police to report the scam and was told there's nothing they can do about that kind of thing since it's usually being done from another country and until it's an amount over $20,000 (I think that's what he said -- it's been awhile) the feds won't get involved. (As a side note it did point out that when said granddaughter hasn't called her grandmother in almost 4yrs, it's hard to remember what her voice sounds like but that's a whole other story.)

It's not only the elderly that get caught because my son almost got it with the "Microsoft" call. Thankfully he doesn't like talking on the phone so handed it off to me and I hung up on the guy. I've since gotten two more calls to which I've told one "I don't have windows" which left the caller confused and to the other I said "I don't own a computer".

I've now had discussions with both my mother and my son (who are both very intelligent but not phone scam savvy) about phone scams so I think we're safe now.