Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
This is an old scam. Guess it still works, though.
A friend of mine, an older lady who is otherwise fairly intelligent, got the one from Microsoft telling her there was something wrong with her computer and asking for her password so they could go in and remotely fix the problem. She happened to mention to another friend and I that she was on the phone with them for an hour. We both wanted to slap her upside the head.
Fortunately, she is one of those types who does not use the computer for anything financial, doesn't pay bills online (still sends out checks in the mail) doesn't use online banking, nothing. Mostly just sends pictures of her great-grandkids around and forwards those stupid frikken emails about angels and forward it or ten puppies will die.
The scammers must have been frustrated and bored to tears.
It's not all elderly falling for this, only the ones that have lost their wits about them
True. A couple of years ago, my mother went to her church and a woman there told her in a quavering voice that she had gotten a call from the IRS and she was going to jail if she didn't pay $5000 that she owed. She didn't know where she was going to get the money.
The woman was about 80 and my mother was 86. My mother said, "Don't you read anything about these types of scams? They're talked about in the local papers and in magazines and on TV. Why would you owe the IRS $5000? How could that even be possible?"
The woman just kept saying, "But they SAID they were from the IRS..."
Gullibility isn't always about age. Some people choose stupidity when they are young and ride on it all their lives.
Someone tried to call my mother and pretend to be my son. However, he kept calling her Grandma and my son has NEVER called her that. He has a particular name for her and that completely tipped her off. She has also had someone trying to pretend to be my cousin (that guy called my Mother...and he called me as well) She has had someone call and pretend to be from Con Edison. They are relentless, but luckily she is aware and hangs up.
Someone tried to call my mother and pretend to be my son. However, he kept calling her Grandma and my son has NEVER called her that. He has a particular name for her and that completely tipped her off. She has also had someone trying to pretend to be my cousin (that guy called my Mother...and he called me as well) She has had someone call and pretend to be from Con Edison. They are relentless, but luckily she is aware and hangs up.
I got one of those police society phone calls. I answered the phone but the guy on the other end didn't realize it right away. I could overhear a conversation in ghetto-rat language, and then I said, "Hello?" again, and suddenly the voice changed to polite, standard English and the spiel started that he was Officer so-and-so. I laughed and said, "No, you're not, I heard you talking", and I hung up.
I’ve heard of a scam where the caller will ask you "can you hear me ok?" to get you to say "yes" on a recording which they will then edit into a tape of you accepting a credit card charge or a charge to your phone bill. Then when you dispute it they will use the recording with your voice as proof that you authorized the charge. Never say yes to an unknown caller regardless of what they ask.
There's no actual evidence of that last one happening.
But, yes, various consumer-protection agencies and organizations have done outreach to Target, CVS, etc. to try to cut down on the number of gift-card frauds. They have been a big problem. You may even see a sign up in some Targets warning about it.
Preying on the old and confused, especially for so much money, is beneath contempt. Of course a lot of pastors are effectively running the same scheme...
There's no actual evidence of that last one happening.
Government agencies have warned about the “can you hear me” scam:
Quote:
In some cases, the caller may record the person saying “yes.” Scam artists may be able to use a recorded “yes” to claim that the person authorized charges to his or her credit card or account
Not sure what you mean by no actual evidence of it happening but you can say that about a lot of things. I got a robocall today that I did not answer but the transcript and recording from Nomorobo has the caller asking if you can hear him ok. I think that’s enough evidence that it’s real or do you think he really wonders if you can hear him?
"Hi this is Vince I'm a medical alert systems emergency specialist on a recorded line can hear me Ok."
"Not sure what you mean by no actual evidence of it happening but you can say that about a lot of things."
You have to understand that in the world of scams, there are scams, and then there are moral-panic scams, because people lose all ability to judge what makes sense in a criminal context. The "yes" one is the latter. Look at the wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Can_Yo...telephone_scam)
(Basically, if you think about it for five seconds, the idea that it's even worth trying to capture a random "yes" from someone so you can mock up some other scam where that fake "yes" will somehow constitute overwhelming proof that the person agreed to whatever is...silly. Is it possible that someone, somewhere, has tried it? Yes. Do we have evidence from the wild that this is actually being used to scam people? No.
You shouldn't talk to random strangers on the phone anyways, but that's not the reason.)
Recordings of phone calls are routinely used as proof that someone made a binding verbal agreement. It’s the norm, not the exception. Subscribe to a newspaper over the phone and the call is recorded and will be used to enforce the agreement if you don’t pay. That’s just one example. When I renew my Sirius XM subscription the representative asks me if I agree to the terms they have just read and they won’t take any answer other than yes. If I say it sounds good, they ask me to say yes. Saying yes to a purchase or service on a recorded phone IS most definitely used as proof that a person entered a binding agreement. To think agreeing to something on a recorded phone call is not proof is naive.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
