SCAM! Imposters posing as AT&T - Page 2

kivah · ‎03-11-2010

@reviewer from sc wrote:
I happened to be at my mother's house the other day, and she received a phone call. She has caller id, and the group that popped up was "Telecomm Group". Unfortunately, she answers every call (I wish she wouldn't do that). Anyway, a lady was on the line, and she claimed to be from the AT&T rewards dept. She was going to reduce her landline phone bill by $20. She just needed my mother's cell phone number (to text) or her e-mail address to send the confirmation papers. Fortunately, my mother doesn't text, and she doesn't own a computer. Her cell phone is one of those old flip phones. My mother didn't know what to do. So then I got on the line to inquire. To play along, I said that I would give my e-mail. She then said that she had to transfer me to the manager. A man then got on the line, and ask me my name and address. I told him that he didn't need to know that because I'm not on her account. He insisted that he needed MY information. I told him no. He smarted off to me that I can just have my mother pay the higher price on the phone bill and hung up. I knew for sure that it was a scam. My mother still wasn't convinced. So, I called up AT&T directly. The lady at AT&T confirmed that it was a scam, and that they had lots of others who fell for that particular scam. What happens is that this new company disconnects you from AT&T and you now have signed up for this new company. Two months later, your phones aren't working, and you call AT&T to find out why. Turns out, you're disconnected. You've been sending your money to this new company, thinking it's still AT&T. So, just be careful out there. Maybe these scam companies could be posing as T-mobile or Verizon. It's unfortunate about these scams.

Companies Will Never Call You --- just hang up. Teach that to ur family/friends.

Duckncover · ‎07-16-2021

These scam calls are such a nuisance. I don't answer but they are still annoying. To add insult to injury, some of them are even leaving voicemails! Maybe I am a senior, but I am not as trusting as I once was....if anything, I am overly cautious about being taken advantage of...I despise being looked at as an easy mark simply because of my age.

Desertdi · ‎03-13-2010

I recently got an email from my "bank"...asking for the name, address, age, and SSN# of the PERSON who GAVE ME the money in my account. Yeah sure....only money that goes directly to that bank is my social security...and I'm sure they can recognize a Treasury check.

♥Surface of the Sun♥

hckynut · ‎03-10-2010

@kaydee50 wrote:
It's unfortunate that these companies get older people who are more trusting than they should be. We never answer the phone unless we recognize the caller or number. Otherwise, we immediately do a call block. Assume your mother has an answering machine??? A very useful piece of equipment. These scammers never leave messages.

@kaydee50

But? Older people should also know better. More years of life experiences sure helped me learn more about people, trust or no trust. Unless an "older person" never handled the full load of what it takes to live an independent life, in my opinion, age should be an asset for them.

hckynut

hckynut(john)

riley1 · ‎03-10-2010

If you have an iphone, you can activate it to silence calls that are not in your contact list. When you check you recent calls it will tell you if it is spam, scam, fraud, etc.

Some days, I get maybe 10 or more of these scam calls. Now, my phone rings a lot less.

silkyk · ‎03-03-2011

Imposters (crooks) pose as lots of different things. I got a call that said it was from my health care org. but it only had the first name of the co. show on the phone (the only reason I even answered) and then the lady started to ask me account numbers. I said "You already have all this info" and she started some blah blah bull about verification and I laughed and hung up. Scammers can make the phone say they are ANYBODY (your Dr.s office, your power co., your telephone co, etc.I even got a call once that said it was from me!) so NEVER give them ANY info if they called you. Let them talk to your machine then call the real co. back at their verified real number on their website if you are curious and want to check if a real problem.

RespectLife · ‎02-27-2012

I generally think of scams as you pay and get nothing. Or your identity is stolen and your credit cards are used to purchase merchandise.

These calls are more dangerous because you ARE getting something.

They trick you into believing you are speaking to your REAL provider...phone, gas, electric.....any of them.

They are more so trying to steal your BUSINESS....they promise better rates, more perks, you name it.

They lie and claim you agreed to a change of provider.

I get AT&T texts...congrats Michael...you have a reward coming....um...NO Michael here.

Many times, as we age, we lose the ability to discern what is fraudulent and what is not. My mother always answered these calls. Yes, she USED to know better.

She had lost her ability to see through the lies, but she was still able to take care of herself in her apartment. At that point....

No matter how many times I told her not to pick up (caller ID), she did anyways.

Lipstickdiva · ‎03-10-2010

A realtive of mine just got a text from AT&T claiming that she is due a refund for overpaid premiums. They wanted her back account information so they could direct deposit her refund. LOL

SunValley · ‎04-19-2010

@Bri369 wrote:
The scammers would stop if people didn't answer the phone. Once you answer that scam call, it invites more. Engaging with them just makes it worse.

I wish this were the case for me. I don't answer and can still get up to 8 a day. I use my iPhone feature that silences unknown numbers and can see how many were blocked on my "recents" log of activity. It comes in waves, with 40 or 50 a week sometimes and then only a few.