A new kind of spam call...telling me $$ will be auto deducted from my account

Marie5656

Marie5656

SF VIP
Location
Batavia, NY
I do not answer unknown caller or 800 number calls. But this one left a robo voiced voice mail. My VM did not pick up entire message, but it was something about a $250 auto payment being deducted from my account if I did not cancel. Hmm.. I figured it was spam, but called back (with plan to NOT give any personal info) just to see what it was.
Got a live operator (from India, what a surprise). Did not give my name, just said I "Got this call about a $250 charge" He went right into something about my Windows contract running out (what???) and I was going to get charged. I simply said "this is spam" to the operator and hung up.

This is a new one to me. Anyone else getting it???
 

It's best just not to answer any call you do not recognize. If you respond they know they have a 'live' number.

On my cell phone now I have an option to set "do not disturb". The only people that don't get rejected are the ones on my contact list. It's too bad that's not available on a land line phone.

But sometimes they still get through and I see the number. So I check the number and the number is fraudulent. I check it at a pay phone.
 
I get these calls every day, if not several times a day. If I make the mistake of answering, I immediately hang up. If they come in through my answering machine, I never call back--OF COURSE NOT! In this day and age only a moron would believe them. I would be concerned about a lonely old senior with dementia.

I received two phone calls yesterday for my late mother. I did say "I'm so sorry you are so pathetic that this is the only job you can get, ripping off people & scamming on a phone." I will use this line again, I sensed some shock before I hung up.
 
Credit cards, pay by phone directly to the credit car company;
other bills still use checks, envelopes, stamps
do not trust any purchase by phone or pc
avoid if at all possible
 
My rules: Do not answer numbers you do not recognize; caller will leave a message stating who he is, reason for his call and a call back number.
If I miss a call and they do not leave a message: never return calls.

I did know about the "do not disturb" but I thought it was for ALL calls. The problem with 'do not disturb' would be a place I booked an appointment but I don't have their number on my contact list.

As for purchases, all my bills go to the mc or bank (debit) and I receive info only by email. They don't call me, I call them. We also removed our landline phone and hardly get any calls now.
 
On my cell phone now I have an option to set "do not disturb". The only people that don't get rejected are the ones on my contact list. It's too bad that's not available on a land line phone.
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Camper, the trouble with that system is that once in a while I do get a call from a neighbor, or somebody not on my contacts list, or a doctor's office confirming or changing an appointment. Some of those calls are legitimate, without being "contacts." So what then?
 
Camper6 said:
It's best just not to answer any call you do not recognize. If you respond they know they have a 'live' number.

On my cell phone now I have an option to set "do not disturb". The only people that don't get rejected are the ones on my contact list. It's too bad that's not available on a land line phone.
Click to expand...

They do have devices you can purchase for landlines that will block these calls. I have one that will block either by phone number or area code or both. It will block 1000 numbers. It is so easy to block a number. Then when they call, my phone doesn't ring. The only way I know they have tried is when a red light is flashing. If I don't want it to continue flashing, I just go over and look to see what number has been blocked and it quits flashing. I love it!
 
Marie5656 said:
@AprilSun my phone allows me to block numbers. It does work.
I am usually more savvy about these kinds of call. Had a momentary lapse in judgment I guess.
But I still like to help make us seniors more aware of what is out there
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I thought about providing the link to the blocking device I have but I didn't want to be pushy. But, if anyone is interested in it, I will be happy to provide it.
 
I have a spam call blocker on my landline, but sometimes local spam calls get through. When they do I answer the call and push a big red button to block them in the future. It reduces the scam calls, while letting legit calls get through. I love it!
My mom got several calls from "social security" saying her account was being used by someone else. She didn't fall for it, called the real ss and found that it was a scam, fishing for information. Thank goodness she is finally listening to us. She was once tricked into hooking her computer up with an Indian scammer, who claimed her computer was infected with a virus. She didn't even have it on at the time. Fortunately, online banking is beyond her capability and she doesn't know how to buy things online, so no harm was done.
 
I get so many strange calls these days I have decided
that if I don't know the numberthen I don't answer my
phone shows me the number, many are UK numbers,
yet the Caller ID tells me that it is an international call.

Anybody that knows meand are using a strange phone
know to leave a message.

Mike.
 
I only answer the calls from folks in my contact list.

The last person that left a message was the President of the United States a day or two before election day, I didn't bother to listen to the message or return his call.

It is extremely rare that anyone leaves a legitimate message and when they do I add the number to my contact list.
 
Pepper said:
I get these calls every day, if not several times a day. If I make the mistake of answering, I immediately hang up. If they come in through my answering machine, I never call back--OF COURSE NOT! In this day and age only a moron would believe them. I would be concerned about a lonely old senior with dementia.

I received two phone calls yesterday for my late mother. I did say "I'm so sorry you are so pathetic that this is the only job you can get, ripping off people & scamming on a phone." I will use this line again, I sensed some shock before I hung up.
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We'd all like to think scammers & thieves are shocked when confronted. Most of them are not; in fact they're usually proud of themselves - it makes them feel sharp, cunning &, intelligent, not like the dirtbags they are.
I know because my brother is a thief. Our mother got him an auto repair business - perfect for ripping people off. When he did, he'd brag about what a clever business man he was - including intentionally damaging people's engines so he could charge them a fortune to repair them. He spent half the time in court & the other half at the shop. Out of hundreds of ripoffs, he only got one criminal conviction for fraud & he was convicted of a felony & sentenced to 1 year in jail to be served on weekends (so he could still work/continue to rip off people). And, his mommy spent a lot of money on appeals & he never spent one minute in jail.
 
I'm disabled, and live alone. I've been hauled out of my home a few times via ambulance. So, I have a cell phone from Consumer's. The only reason I have it is for an emergency, otherwise I use my landline. I get at least 4-5 calls per day on the cell. I never answer them, since no one really calls me on my cell. Strangely, I don't have any robo calls on my landline. I wonder why? Yeah, both numbers are registered in "Don't call".
 
Suzy623 said:
Wow! I've not even seen a pay phone around here in years! We know what you're referring to but bet our grands would be lost. LOL!
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They are rare here now. No more outside ones in booths. Too much theft.
They have them in places where people can make phone calls to get a taxi, like Bowling Alleys and Medical clinics.
Grands would be lost on dial phones, not push button ones.
 
Marie, I've gotten the same message on my answering machine. It frightened me at first and I think that's what it is intended to do, get a person worried about some charge. I've gotten it several times. Tried to call them back once and got a busy signal.
 

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