Carriers have rolled out some new tools to help warn people against scammers – you may see a warning like “scam likely” on your phone screen when it rings – but they aren’t perfect. There are a few other things you can look for to tip you off that an incoming call probably isn’t worth your time.
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Or you can do like I do and let your wife or husband screen your calls.
I detest talking on the phone and will not answer a call unless I recognize the number and I want to talk to you. I'll just let it ring through and let the answering machine pick it up. If you think it's important you'll leave a message and if I think it's important, I'll call you back.
Lisa's the exact opposite - she can't stand to hear a phone ring and will answer no matter what.
I've been getting calls lately from a place claiming to be my doctor's billing office and appearing to come from their number. I'll admit we've had a bit of a disagreement on some billing...namely that they have the money yet keep asking if it's paid. So they call, and promptly start in with 'due to HIPPA laws, can you verify...' and then go on to ask a bunch of personal information questions. Sorry, if you call ME, I'm not giving you any shit about myself. Doesn't help that it sounds like its coming from a call center in India. Next time I'll ask for all of their detailed information...maybe a credit card number...and see how they feel about it.
ReplyDeleteI'd lie to them and give them a bunch of bull shit.....
DeleteBeen a few times I was expecting a call and answered what turned out to be a scammer. I then spoke a foreign language from that point on, they were expecting English and hung up quickly.
ReplyDeleteFunny you should mention spam calls. Received three calls and voicemails from a Cobb County, Ga number today. They were from the Cobb County jail, purporting to be from my son. They were ostensibly jail house collect calls . I ignored them, deleting the voice mails. Then I got a text from a Mississippi number supposedly from a bail bonding company, along with a picture of the arrest report. DUI, assaulting a police officer, eluding, license under suspension, assaulting a police officer female plus a couple of other charges.
ReplyDeleteI noticed as I was reading the report, that the guy was black, with a tribal tattoo on his right arm. My wife looked up the name and address and the report is legit, except I'm white and only had daughters.
So it was either a scam, or the guy gave the wrong number. I messed with them and texted back that a DNA test proved he wasn't mine, he belonged to Joe Biden, lol.
By the way, the bail was $11,200 bucks with a bail of $1,400 bucks to the supposed bonding company.
And our local newspaper had an article from the sheriff today warning of a scam involving people spoofing their number.
I answer unknown callers with "Who is calling, please?" then I mute my mic. That usually gets a few seconds of silence and a hangup.
ReplyDeleteI answer, ask if everything is ok at home, are they married, if not would they like to get married, if married, could they ask around the cubicles if someone else wants to.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to be the same people.
After a week I had to not use speakerphone because Alex from health services is now cussing me out.
If my wife's caller ID doesn't show up, I know it's a scam. She's the only one with my number.
ReplyDeleteAnyone else gets greeted with "Who the fuck are you, how did you get this number, and what the fuck do you want?"
I like the one I saw online. You answer and say " it's done, but there's blood everywhere"
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely the best way but you need to say, wait… he’s still moving and let a shot ring out. Then tell them you’ll call them back once he’s in the trunk.
DeleteThe fat one won't fit in the wood chipper, whadda ya wanna do?
Delete"I told you not to call back. The price just went up another grand! And don't try to stiff me or it WON'T look like an accident!"
DeleteMy phone will list Spam Risk as the caller ID. I answer, but do not say anything. I guess they are waiting for that Hello to see if they will talk to you? Do they possibly have multiple lines dialing & then take the next one to respond?
ReplyDeleteGot a call from a fund raiser for something State Police or Firefighters or some such. It sure sounded like a computer generated voice so I start talking bs about how good they have gotten. The gentleman was so focused on his script he was not listening. Until he was, and then got all pissed off & hung up on me. Get Stuffed, you're not my local volunteer firefighters.
I figure if I've got time to waste their time, it keeps them from calling someone else for a bit longer.
You're Welcome.
Jerry
"I'll just let it ring through and let the answering machine pick it up."
ReplyDelete...Like a landline.
-lg
I never answer my land line. If someone wants to talk to me they can leave a message and I'll call them back. It's called "Call Screening".
ReplyDeleteRule #1: Never say "Yes" when they ask you if you're "X". Say "Who are you and why do you want to talk with him?"
ReplyDeleteMy iPhone 15+++ sez "Potential Spam" 10-12X/day. If I don't know the #, I let it go to VM.
I answer unknown calls, "Sheriff's department".
ReplyDelete"(Name)'s desk, unsecure line. This call may be monitored" They almost always hang up.
DeleteOr "Moshi-Moshi"
Let me just state fact here: after 20 years in TPC (the phone company-the big one ATT) I know for a fact that they could stop all the spoofed numbers and those coming from non-existent numbers, and numbers that are real but are being used by robo-callers to make you think they are your neighbors, friends or some other legitimate caller.
ReplyDeleteThey have the technology to filter all of those calls, ALL OF THEM, but don't because it would cost them revenue to stop the abuse.
If you don't trust the government, big Pharma, or the guy running 3 Card Monte, don't trust the phone companies either.
A friend of mine got a call from a faked number - she knew right away as it was her number on the display.
ReplyDelete+1 for letting all unknown calls go to voicemail, and if it's legit they'll leave a message and then I have the option to return the call if desired. I see no benefit in wasting my time with potential scammers and taking the unnecessary risk in using my voice to say something that can be recorded and used against me.
ReplyDeleteAnother way to tell it’s a scammer is to not say anything after answering the call. Wait for the caller to say something first. If you happen to say hello and hear a click then someone comes on the line, it’s the auto dialer transferring you to a scammer.
ReplyDeleteOf the machine hears “hello” and a pause (actually listening for noise then a pause), it knows it has a person and connects with an agent. An answer with continuous talking gets marked as a machine/voice mail and should be smart enough to wait for the beep to start an auto message. I used to run some dialers.
ReplyDeleteif i have the time i play with them. I like to tell the scammers I have to go out to my car and get my billfold . Then I put the phone down and go do something else, the record was 15 minutes "Sir ,...Hello? ... Sir? Hello".... usually they catch on a bit quicker. I figure its their dime and if im wasting their time they aren't scoring off someone else who doesn't know any better.
ReplyDeleteDoctor's office uses staff's personal phones to call. I tell their front desk that I won't answer if its not the office ph number of record. They say they make a note of that but still use employee's personal phone. Then say they've tried to reach me.
ReplyDeleteThey can't leave a message either because the message box is full and I don't empty it. Because it would quickly fill up with spam.
I’ll answer the phone with Oklahoma State Simmental bull research select semen section. I don’t understand why there’s never a conversation afterwards.
ReplyDeleteI have a list of word-salad phrases for the 'english as a second language' callers. They hear english words that make no sense. I even use emphasis to make it sound like I am giving them answers. One of my favorites is "Solid lifter roller cam" and "Folding disk street permit".
ReplyDeleteI have a Panasonic phone set that has a base unit and several satellite handsets. The base unit has the ability to block up to 1000 numbers, and any of the blocks can be partial numbers. I block anything that starts as 800 (actually all 8xx numbers), anything from several area codes (202, 351, and many others), some specific exchanges, and about 50 individual numbers. It has a "suppress first ring" option so that I don't even hear a ring on the blocked numbers (but they appear in the call log). It also allows blocking all numbers with Unknown caller id. Best invention ever!
ReplyDeletehttps://961theeagle.com/ixp/11/p/scam-phone-area-codes-ny/
ReplyDelete