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I never answer the phone anymore. I don't care what phone number shows up, I wait for a message. Then I call back.
I don't have a landline to start with. I don't answer my cell and my kids prefer texting as the primary mode of communication. A friend told me that when he gets a call and does not recognize the number, he never answers.
I don't have a landline to start with. I don't answer my cell and my kids prefer texting as the primary mode of communication. A friend told me that when he gets a call and does not recognize the number, he never answers.
I usually don't answer call from unknown numbers, although one will get through every now and then, especially if I am waiting for a call back from someone, and I don't know for sure what number they will be calling from.
Anyway, one tipoff right off the bat that the call is a scam is they start right into the spiel - be it an IRS or SS thing or they say they are from the bank - is that they never ask for me by name. Happens whether they call my personal cell, or shared home phone. Now, anyone from any of those agencies, even if it were legit, would need verify that they are talking to the actual account holder or individual that the call applies to.
I don't have a landline to start with. I don't answer my cell and my kids prefer texting as the primary mode of communication. A friend told me that when he gets a call and does not recognize the number, he never answers.
I wouldn't be surprised if half the population in this country doesn't answer calls from unfamiliar numbers unless they have a business tied to it.
I got that call.. “your social security benefits are being suspended due to unusual activity.” I told them to call me back in 40 years when I am eligible to collect them, and we’ll talk.
Just as an FYI, I got a call about a year ago on a Sunday night about 9:30 pm from a guy who said he was from XYZ bank where I did my banking. He said there had been some suspicious activity on my online account with the bank and wanted to ask me a couple of questions.
Naturally, I figured that this was a scam of some kind, so I told him in rather colorful language (which I can't post here) what he could do with his questions and where he could go.
Well, lo and behold, a few days later I made an online purchase of shares of a mutual fund that I have dealt with for years and the bank blocked my transaction. DAMM, I was pi$$ed when I found out. I got on the phone and called the bank to find out what was going on.
As it turns out, the guy who called me at 9:30 on a Sunday evening really was from the XYZ bank and the call really was legit. Since I was uncooperative with him, they DID put a freeze on my account and I couldn't even draw my own money from the account until I went into one of their offices and presented identification and got the situation straightened out.
Apparently the problem stemmed from me doing several similar transactions of withdrawing money from my HELOC account and depositing the money in my checking account, then using the checking account to fund mutual fund purchases. I guess they thought this might be someone illegally accessing my accounts and they wanted proof that it was really me. Since I told the Sunday night caller to take a hike (in rather colorful language), they just froze all my accounts with the bank.
Moral of the story: Sometimes it really is the bank calling you on a Sunday night to inquire about your transactions.
Hasn't SSA made it CLEAR, like other government agencies, that they NEVER contact people by phone!!?????!!!!??
I mean, really.
Yeah, but. My late husband had a brain tumor, and could easily get confused and was very forgetful. The good news is he didn’t answer his phone unless it was somebody he knew. But I can see somebody getting taken by these people rather easily after my husband’s illness.
So, yes, it’s something we all know. But there are circumstances that still make this a viable scam. Look at it this way — if it didn’t work, they’d stop doing it. So obviously it’s still working.
So I say, be aware. But there are times where anyone can be taken. It happened to my mother. In her case nothing happened. She caught on really quick. And she felt really stupid. But as I said to her, you know mom, these guys are good at what they do. If they weren’t good at what they do, they’d be in jail.
A few months later, they pulled it on someone else, who happened to have a young relative there. First thing he did was call the cops out of earshot and the crooks did serious time.
Hasn't SSA made it CLEAR, like other government agencies, that they NEVER contact people by phone!!?????!!!!??
I mean, really.
When I recently applied to start receiving SS the application process said I may be contacted by phone for further information. So it is possible they may contact you by phone.
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Solly says — Be nice!
