Non-fake phone calls?

Sunny

Sunny

SF VIP
Location
Maryland
Has anyone else hung up on a company making a legitimate call, thinking they were scam artists? This has happened to me several times in the last few weeks. One was today.

I got a call from a computer firm which I was using to help me with computer problems. I paid them a small fee every month, and had unlimited access to their help. Today's call seemed
suspicious, even though the (heavily accented) man identified himself as working for that company. He said, "We are having trouble with your credit card." I told him, "There is nothing wrong with my credit card," and hung up.

I googled the number they called from, and there were many reports of a scam. Then I called the company at their official number. Amazingly, the call seemed to be on the level. They said my
bank refused to pay the charge, saying that my address had changed! (It hasn't.) But it was actually on the level.

I think all the robocalls and scam artists are making us all unduly suspicious. But on the other hand, the company could have been a little more professional-sounding. Seems like a strange way
for a billing department to behave.

I ended up cancelling my contract with them.
 

I agree with you Sunny, all these scam telephone shysters are making us all very wary of whose on the other end of the line...

I would have reacted exactly the same as you for the same reason with your Computer company...be professional, or you will lose my business!!
 

Cold calling is illegal here in the UK, yet I get several
in a week, sometimes in a day, they always start with
my name, then ask about "the accident" that I had that
wasn't my fault.

I did have an accident in my car a couple of years ago
and it was my fault, so they are wasting their time and
mine.

These are usually Solicitors trying to find business, how
can they get round the law?

Mike.
 
Never give ANY private info over an incoming phone call; I would have hung up, too. If they want your credit card number, SS#, whatever... just tell them you will call back and discuss with customer service. Scammers get trickier and slimier by the day.
 
That's happened with me too. I found out it was a legitimate call but I would rather be safe than sorry. Any company that doesn't understand people hanging up on them aren't worth doing business with in my book.
 
And it's bad enough when it's a private company, but what about when it's the U.S. government? I've already told this story here, but you may have not seen it. I got an email from Medicare, saying I had to call 800-MEDICARE if I hadn't received my new Medicare card. When I called that number, they asked all sorts of questions such as my age, ss number, address, etc. I gave them the information, figuring it was safe
because I had called them. But afterward, I realized that the reason I called them was because they had contacted me in the first place. How did I know that number was valid?

The email looked valid, and the number certainly sounds valid. I did some research, found that I got lucky this time, it really was Medicare. And they sent my new card. But what is wrong with them, contacting
people this way, after all the warnings we get all the time?

It would have been less alarming if they had not contacted me via email to begin with, just mounted a big publicity campaign telling everyone to call that number if they had not received the card.
 
I never give anybody any info period over the phone. I don't even answer it if I don't recognize the number or if there is no name. If it's valid, they'll get back to me. So far I've had no problems. Hope I never do.
 
All these scams and hackers have certainly changed the way I answer someone's initial phone greeting. If someone asks for me by name I don't say yes. Now I always ask, "who's calling?".
 
chic said:
I never give anybody any info period over the phone. I don't even answer it if I don't recognize the number or if there is no name. If it's valid, they'll get back to me. So far I've had no problems. Hope I never do.
Click to expand...

Same here with our cell phone. But we also still have an old landline phone with no caller ID. I'm not sure why we still keep it. Old habits die hard.
 
Just FYI: The new Medicare cards are being mailed between April 2018 - April 2019, in a state-by-state basis. You can check whether your state's cards have been mailed by going to Medicare.gov.
 
I live a stress free life because I make the rules on how I want to live. I do not answer the phone unless the caller ID is in my contact list. If the call is important, the caller will leave a message. I don't get anxious in returning the ones that let the phone ring once, which saves the spammer time waiting for you to answer. Don't expect me to return cold calls.
BTW, I haven't had a land line since Dec 2003.
 
Beth, I do the same thing. They greet me by my first name and ask how I am doing, and I answer, "Who's calling?" But usually I don't pick up in the first place if I don't recognize the number. The reason I answered this call from the computer company (all right, it was Hewlett Packard) was that I actually did have a contract with them to service my computer as needed. And the call was genuine. Although I've never figured out what sort of problem they were having with my credit card, which nobody else is having a problem with. They certainly came across as extremely dubious.

C'est Moi, our state's cards had been sent out. But some people, including myself, never received them. Apparently Medicare had an error in my address. That's why they contacted me.
 
i have a collection agency calling me saying i owe a certain dr 37.oo and 61 cents--i went thru my bank statements and saw it was paid--i called the head office of the billing dept at the dr and they said my bill has 00 balance--so when collections call i told them i sent the bill in -they wanted to know if it was a check or money order--i told them a check they wanted to know the no. on the check and i told them i would have to thru my bank statements and i dont have time right now
 
Twinkles, it sounds like that "collection agency" is the same bunch that keep calling me and warning me that the police are on their way to my house to arrest me for unpaid taxes, unless I call them back immediately to correct this.
 
Robo callers and scammers force us to be wary. I don't answer calls from numbers I don't recognize. Period. Valid callers understand and leave messages.

I carefully guard my cell phone number and am judicious about giving it out. I use the phone number for my business land line for almost everything besides doctor's offices, friends, etc. The landline goes straight to voice mail. Rare indeed are there any messages of value on that line, though it receives plenty of messages and hang-ups. The $15 per month that it costs for a landline to safeguard my cell number is money well spent.
 
We have a "bundle" package here also. The cable TV is free. So probably I shouldn't complain. But I bet they all end up costing us about the same total amount anyway.
 

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