-Rurik
Tuesday, February 09, 2021
Who's Making All Those Scam Calls?
One afternoon in December 2019, Kathleen Langer, an elderly grandmother who lives by herself in Crossville, Tenn., got a phone call from a person who said he worked in the refund department of her computer manufacturer. The reason for the call, he explained, was to process a refund the company owed Langer for antivirus and anti-hacking protection that had been sold to her and was now being discontinued. Langer, who has a warm and kind voice, couldn’t remember purchasing the plan in question, but at her age, she didn’t quite trust her memory. She had no reason to doubt the caller, who spoke with an Indian accent and said his name was Roger.
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The answer is boiler-room scam-scum based in India. Some Indian telcos are even issuing area codes that reflect USA and UK codes so it looks like a genuine call.
ReplyDeleteNotice the NYT was careful to have an obviously Indian writer for this story about Indian scammers. Otherwise it’d be racist. Noticing patterns in crime (and-legal-but-unethical predatory behavior) is racist.
ReplyDeleteDon’t worry about Indian phone scammers or financial vampires. The former is incredibly rare and the latter a completely mythical slur born of mindless prejudice (hedge funders are quite simply the best of humanity, smarter and harder working than you, period). You must educate yourself: white supremacists are The Real Danger.
I just wanna catch 1 of those fukkers in a dark alley to return and tell his asshole buddies the consequences. Telephone numbers can be spoofed on VOIP voice over internet phone calls. You can't block them either.
ReplyDelete"spoke with an Indian accent and said his name was Roger". Isn't VP Kamala-toe 1/2 dot? Roger must be her 1/2 cousin.
ReplyDeleteI've gotten calls that originated in Jamaica as well as from India and Nigeria.
ReplyDeleteAs a landlord I got contacted by scammers regularly. Those guys have contacts on the ground in the states who send fake checks via FedEx. Had a pretty good stack of bogus checks they sent me via overnight delivery.
When I get them I immediately contact the business whose account the check was drawn on and let them know they have been hacked.
Now they send certified checks. One problem, cert checks are drawn on the bank not an individual account.
I never bothered to get as in depth as L. At the same time, I hate scammers with a passion.
My fav is when they call from "Windows support" and tell me my computer has a virus and they need remote control to remove it.
ReplyDeleteI always respond, "That's interesting....don't know how that could happen, because I only have a Mac!"
Jamaica, India, and oddly enough, Israel seem to be the epicenter of a lot of the phone scams. There has been some actually decent reporting on the various scams and how they're done.
ReplyDeleteKitboga on youtube scambates scammers tons of videos watch if you want a good laugh.
ReplyDelete"She had no reason to doubt the caller, who spoke with an Indian accent and said his name was Roger." ...... bwaaaaah!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised that no one here has heard of this guy...
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBNG0osIBAprVcZZ3ic84vw
His take downs of scammers is epic!
I'm surprised that no one here has heard of this guy...
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBNG0osIBAprVcZZ3ic84vw
His take downs of scammers is epic!
The year Mrs. and I turned 65, the phone rang off the hook with Medicare scammers. I found if you have a little time on your hands, you can eventually learn their story tree and screw with them for a while before they figure out they've been had. My record was almost 20 minutes. That one got all pissed off and demanded to know why I wasted his time like that. I said, well, you started it. Another got mad and threatened to come to my house and whip my ass and then screw my wife. I said, come on ahead, just make sure you don't get confused about what you're gonna do when you get here. I had to explain that to him....Anyway, great fun, if you have the time, and I did.
ReplyDeleteYa know - not everyone who calls you about Medicare supplements are scammers. I work in the insurance industry as a telemarketer. While I do not offer Medicare supplements, there is a division in my group who does. My niche is burial insurance. All of us in our group are hard-working honest professionals dedicated to providing the best for our clients. I personally know the manager of the MedSup group. He is as knowledgeable and helpful AND as decent as they come.
DeleteOur group employs "fronters" who have the unpleasant task of finding people to call. These work from call centers in places like the Philippines. Why? Because US workers are far too expensive. AS it is, telemarketing leads cost anywhere from $10-$20 EACH. While we are, as a group, passionate about overcoming the natural resistance and skepticism from people like you, none of us want to talk to uninterested people. There's no point. If you do not want or need what we offer - so be it. We are also willing to waste over 50% of the money we spend on leads to get to those we can help. And yes, we DO actually help our clients!
These are the real facts: our group is an national organization. We know the industry and our respective niches. We know what companies are good, what companies are marginal, as well as what companies to avoid. We work hard to find our clients the very best deals available. While it is certainly possible to find something marginally better, price-wise, value is not always found in the lowest price. Our group is also highly respected by the insurance carriers - some even seek US out to help them enter the telesales market. We are the ONLY group authorized to offer some products via telesales.
H, I will not berate you for your "game". We all run across people like you. Sometimes you get to us, like in the case above. I've never heard of anyone going off the deep end like that in this business, though I have been on the receiving end of similar rants serving call-in customers in another industry. Chances are the guy you ticked off is new and struggling and at the end of his rope. I can understand why you would be proud of yourself. Maybe some of you reading this will understand why the guy got upset. Typically, we shrug off the jerks and move on. It is as much a part of this business as the ones we've all seen in retail stores.
For the record, I will not post my name here due to security reasons. I will email Ken so he will know who I am. We've been acquainted for years via this blog, though not in this respect.
H2
It would be nice if the telemarketers used and respected the do not call list.
DeleteTelemarketers need to abide by the law and reference the do not call list before making a call.
DeleteI agree. I cannot speak for all telemarketers but our group is relentless compliant on all the rules and regulations. We do not call anyone on a DNC list. The call lists are "scrubbed" before they reach the fronters.
DeleteI hate to say it but lumping us all together is like the controllers wanting to ban all guns because some idiot shoots up some place.
H2
It would be nice if some type of EMP could target telemarketers. Sorry H2 but the majority of us do not want their time wasted or interrupted. Most people are smart enough to know where to go for something they need if not they just need to go. The few benefits of a cell phone, and I mean few was getting rid of the house phone. Now they have invaded that also or do you need a new home warranty.
DeleteI understand where you are coming from BC, however judging from the sheer volume of business done via telesales, I'll contend we are providing a valuable service. Let's leave the Medical Supplement niche out for the moment.
DeleteIn the final expense market MOST of the market is vastly underserved. Keep in mind, I am talking about 50-80 year olds who have no life insurance at all. Most are habitual procrastinators. I often come across people who only qualify for Guaranteed Issue insurance because their health is too poor for most companies to take a risk. That "no questions asked" insurance you see on TV? Well there is a reason they can afford to advertise on TV so much. I also come across people who have that insurance who easily qualify for immediate coverage instead of waiting two years for full coverage. Why? Ignorance. Ignorance is not stupidity - ignorance is a lack of knowledge. As far as procrastination is concerned, I am guilty of that myself. The fact is there are a LOT of people out there who NEED this - otherwise their families will have to pass the hat to pay for a funeral. It happens.
What about those who have life insurance? Well, 7 out of 10 people do NOT have what they think they have! I do policy reviews. I never charge for these. You would be shocked at what I find. The most common thing is people who bought cheap term insurance thinking it is whole life. Some never know this until their birthday or policy renewal to find their policy is cancelled or the price has jumped out of reach. One of the most well-known "senior advocate" member organizations sells this by the ton to unsuspecting seniors who think they are getting a great deal.This is just ONE example of helping, really helping people whose families would otherwise be adding financial hurt to the emotional hurt of losing a loved one.
If you don't want your time wasted - go on the DNC list. It solves the problem about as well as any other act of congress, however at least you won't be called by reputable telemarketers. The fact is I don't want to waste MY time talking to disinterested people either. So we are on the same page there. As far as "interruptions" go, nobody says we have to jump to answer the phone every time it rings. I'll admit, I am as guilty as anyone, but I do have an answering machine and I could let that do what is was purchased for.
In a perfect world, my phone would ring all day not yours. Those calling me would want to get the coverage they need to protect their loved ones. The world is far from perfect and some of us are willing to put up with the hang ups, the irate, the total jerks just to help those few we do find who need it. Believe it or not, most of these are actually grateful I took the time to find them the right insurance to fit their needs and their budget.
H2
Oh yeah - Medical Supplement plans should be reviewed every two years especially at age 67. Why? Because some carriers like to lowball age 65's to get them on the books, then they start raising the premium. Every "Plan F", for example, is exactly the same as every other "Plan F" by law so the only difference is price. This is true of every MedSup plan. However one must be careful about switching carriers because after the initial "Guaranteed Issue" of an age 65 person, they must qualify medically to be accepted by another carrier. That said the savings can be huge - over $100 per month in some cases. Not everybody is aware of this.
There was a guy in the UK who used to scam the Nigerians right back. He would get them to send wacky posed photos and even small sums of money to him. The photos went on to his website and the money went to a London children's hospital. Finally, the postal service (they ran the phone system too) came to him and told him that, while what he was doing was worthwhile, it was technically illegal and to please stop it. he regretfully shut the operation down.
ReplyDeleteIf I don't recognize the telephone number, I answer using my deranged geezer voice.
ReplyDelete"Hello...? Hello...? Hello...?" repeated a few dozen times usually causes a hang-up on their end.
I guess nobody loves me.