Q Talk

[geegerbee]

They tell you your car warranty has expired so you will buy a non-existent one from them. That's why.

[culebra]

The IRS send certified letters.  They never call.  Those calls are scams.

[Desertdi]

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@febe1 wrote:

I actually had a call once from a supposed health center, and he actually asked me for my bank account number. When you get these calls, it helps to call your state Attorney General to alert them of the scams.

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I got one similar to that.   Man with East Indian accent said he was with the Social Security Administration, and needed my checking account number so they could "send me money they owed me"......................

[Q4u]

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@curlywhitedog wrote:

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@depglass wrote:

They want your money and they want it now, via your credit card, or there will be dire consequenses.  What is happening to our older population, of which I am one, do our brains start leaking out when we hit 65 or what?  You wouldn't have fallen for this 20 years ago, don't fall for it now.

depglass...

Times have changed, this wouldn't have happened 20 years ago but I get your point.  I'm pretty astute, takes a lot to get anything past me but sure enough, the scammers are upping their game, that's for sure.  I really feel bad for those who are already elderly, they never had an opportunity to learn about these things and steer clear of them.  Would my mother or father, if they were still alive, know about this scam? No, they surely would not.

IRS scandal not withstanding, telemarketers are now using a "one ring and hang up" scam, trying to get people to call them back and then routing the call through companies that not only charge for routing the call but whose mission it is to keep you hanging on as long as possible while charges rack up on your bill faster than a New York minute. 

By the time you think you have things figured out the scammers are already sharpening their teeth on something new.  There's no way to get ahead of them, we're not as duplicitious as they are, but if we can stay in lock step then I consider us lucky.

Maria

 

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I sincerely think that a lot of older adults are naive (not a bad word, just someone inexperienced, and in this case inexperienced in deceit) and I think people who haven't been exposed to scams and dishonest people tend to believe what they hear because they've got no reason not to.

We moved to this little town in the midwest.  People leave their cars running when they go into a store.  They leave their purses at the table in a restaurant with no one else there while they go to the restroom....  It's like it was in the 60's.... and my DH and I came from a large, often dangerous metropolitan area where you never (ever) leave your car running anywhere.  As a matter of fact, you don't drive without locking all your doors and hiding your purse (from smash and grabs)....as an example.  Along with that comes with a great skepticism about what you hear and from whom....  you doubt first and ask questions .... and this attitude comes with experience.

We are constantly amazed by the innocence of this town (and we love it).... but I can see where the public can often be naive to the kind of deceit and scamming that's out there....  just by simply not having experienced it (or hearing about it on the news).

[SunValley]

I had a call from the "US Dept. of Grants" clearly from someone in India or from there. I had a bit of fun with that one before I hung up. The longer I kept him occupied was one less person to be duped or annoyed. My mother also got the distress phone call from the grandson in a Mexican jail needing bail money. My mom was fairly deaf and I think the scammers finally gave up in frustration. She called me at work trying to make sense of the story, and I was crying laughing as she recounted very seriously how upset the scammer was getting with her, and she was just peppering her "grandson" relentlessly with all kinds of questions and scolding. So funny.

[Kachina624]

Our local TV stations have even run public service announcements describing how the IRS calls are an attempted scam.  I never answer my phone unless I recognize the number.

[hondagirl]

I do have fun with the scams if I could and tell them they called a pizza place and could I take your order... One person fell for it and ordered a pizza and how long would it take... One girl I told that she was so nice on the phone that I would give her two pizzas for free and she was freaking out not to send them....  I know I seem crazy doing this but the calls get annoying...

[Group 5 minus 1]

As I have said before years and years ago we did get a call from the IRS. I would tell them nothing and called our accountant. He made a call and it was the IRS but it was an unsuccessful plan and they soon stopped it.

[MaggieMack]

The IRS scam has apparently gotten really bad in my Midwest state. Just yesterday I heard a PSA announcement on the radio by our Attorney General warning people against this particular phone scam.

[Buffalogal47]

That's only partially true.  The IRS will call you if you ignore the 4 or 5 notices they send you. Their procedures are very different from the scammers.  They identify themselves giving name and ID number, and if you wish to speak to a supervisor, they will transfer you without question.  If you still don't believe that the call is genuine, they will giver you the phone number so that you can call back and verify.  And, if you owe a lot of money, they will send a  Revenue Officer to your home or business. They will never use fear or intimidation.  IRS Collection employees, whether they are office or field employees have no power to arrest anyone. If you are contacted by a real IRS employee, you probably already know that you owe taxes.  The scammers call randomly and don't know you from a hole in the wall. They just want your money. When you get one of these calls, either don't answer the phone if you don't recognize the number, or simply hang up.