Warning: There's yet another scam

[SiennaGuy]

You may get unsolicited text messages or unsolicited phone calls from someone claiming to be from Social Security who needs information to process your claim, or they may offer to "help" you with the process. I've gotten several from several different numbers and area codes.

The first question they'll probably ask you is, "What's your Social Security number so that I can look up your information?"

Don't fall for it. Don't give anyone your Social Security number over the phone who says that they're from Social Security, unless you've called the official Social Security office yourself. There are two reasons I didn't return the scammer's messages or give them any information:

1. I called the Social Security office and they said that they had not tried to reach me.

2. The scammers called me on Memorial Day, a federal holiday when all Social Security offices were closed. That was a BIG hint.

[mojoman]

I make it a point to keep these scum bags on the phone as long as I can by appearing as a confused elderly person. I keep asking "when are you coming to visit" and repeat numbers differently, coughing, adding dog barks, farts, etc.. It is quite hilarious. Almost 30 minutes is my best time so far. If more people did this, the problem would go away.

[cruising7388]

Originally Posted by mojoman

I make it a point to keep these scum bags on the phone as long as I can by appearing as a confused elderly person. I keep asking "when are you coming to visit" and repeat numbers differently, coughing, adding dog barks, farts, etc.. It is quite hilarious. Almost 30 minutes is my best time so far. If more people did this, the problem would go away.

You're operating at a disadvantage and should turn this job over to me because I don't have to to appear confused and elderly sincee I am confused and elderly.

[SiennaGuy]

When the scammers claiming to be from "Windows Tech Support" called me repeatedly, I finally stopped them by talking to to them like it was a paid adult "chat" line. I used every single dirty word and phrase I knew and I wouldn't stop the obscenities and vulgar language. After a few minutes, they hung up and never called back after that.

[SiennaGuy]

As long as ONE person falls for a scam, they'll continue to do it. if it takes them several hours to get one credit card number or one person's Social Security number, they don't care. They'll continue to do it. If they steal the info from just one person per day, they're still averaging thousands of dollars in possible fraudulent charges per hour.

[BBQ]

.

The best thing you can do is to waste their time.
Because time is money.

[VinMarlow]

Originally Posted by SiennaGuy

You may get unsolicited text messages or unsolicited phone calls from someone claiming to be from Social Security who needs information to process your claim, or they may offer to "help" you with the process. I've gotten several from several different numbers and area codes.

The first question they'll probably ask you is, "What's your Social Security number so that I can look up your information?"

Don't fall for it. Don't give anyone your Social Security number over the phone who says that they're from Social Security, unless you've called the official Social Security office yourself. There are two reasons I didn't return the scammer's messages or give them any information:

1. I called the Social Security office and they said that they had not tried to reach me.

2. The scammers called me on Memorial Day, a federal holiday when all Social Security offices were closed. That was a BIG hint.

Thanks for the heads up, man. These scammers are definitely getting smarter by the minute.

[BBQ]

...Don't give anyone your Social Security number over the phone who says that they're from Social Security, unless you've called the official Social Security office yourself.

The same with emails...

They send you an email that looks like it's from the bank

...telling you for security reasons, you should change your password... just click on the link below to access your account...

... and you type in your account number and password.


Oops

[rtsukijima]

The other ones that are circulating are the emails and text messages from courier companies indicating you have a package to pickup. Since more and more people use e-commerce sites, these ones are often clicked on as they 'seem' legit. UPS is common as well as UPSP, FedEx, etc.

[gklugie]

I handle all unsolicited telephone calls similarly. If the caller is female, I ask for a detailed description of her under-garments (color, size, trim, cut, etc.). This gets a quick hangup and magically OFF the call list! If the caller is male, I ask about the physical attributes (height, weight, measurements, etc.) of his mother or wife or daughter for purposes of dating her. This also gets me off the sucker phone list. My wife gets so disturbed when I do this that I have to spend the night on the couch.

But think about the beauty of this scheme.... if everybody acted "weird" and "inappropriate" ( not super ugly or nasty.... just a bit swarmy!) to phone scammers/solicitors, they would be out of business in a day or two.

Like Clark Griswald said when he cut off his staircase newell post. "problem solved honey!"

[Mat Mobile]

Originally Posted by SiennaGuy

When the scammers claiming to be from "Windows Tech Support" called me repeatedly, I finally stopped them by talking to to them like it was a paid adult "chat" line. I used every single dirty word and phrase I knew and I wouldn't stop the obscenities and vulgar language. After a few minutes, they hung up and never called back after that.

I just say "I don't believe you." and hang up.

I get the waste their time idea.... But it's wasted time for me too. They usually don't call back.

[avanti]

Just put them on hold.