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So, I got a phone call from the FIB yesterday...(Vanity, kind of, but it really happened!)
Dr. Franklin ^ | February 16, 2022 | Dr. Franklin

Posted on 02/16/2022 4:46:21 PM PST by Dr. Franklin

So I checked my phone yesterday and saw that a got two missed calls from a number that looked like a business. I googled the number and it came up as the Philadelphia FBI. I prefer to deal with such people in the written form whenever possible, so nothing gets twisted around. Possibly, it's about a fraud complaint I left online last year that I also spoke to the state police about. However, with all of the suppression of MAGA, I am wondering if the FIB is getting more interested in FReepers online comments.

Has anyone else gotten a phone call from Big Brother lately?

(Excerpt) Read more at fbi.gov ...


TOPICS: Government; Miscellaneous; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: drfranklin; fbi; feds; pennsylvania; philadelphia; vanity
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To: Dr. Franklin
I got one a couple of months back. I answered it and it ended up being some girl trying to sell me solar panels. My wife got a call last month from the IRS number. It was seeing if she wanted to sell the house.

Figure it is scammers just using random numbers from the government to try to scare folks into answering.

I wouldn't sweat it myself. Like my mother used to say, "If it's important, they'll call back." ;)
21 posted on 02/16/2022 5:10:40 PM PST by Retrofitted
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To: gnarledmaw
No but a couple of MIBs stopped by to ask what I knew about the sale of a Borellian ionic transducer. I said, “No, do I look like a zergblatt?”,

That's impressive, but don't give Joe Biden any ideas. It is bad enough that his administration is going to say they averted war between Russia and Ukraine. Next week he may be saying he found the missing Borellian transducer and saved our solar system from destruction.

22 posted on 02/16/2022 5:12:48 PM PST by freeandfreezing
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To: dfwgator

I have a non-local area code for my cell phone number. If the call is not from a local exchange (and I don’t recognize it) I will not answer it. I get a lot of unrecognized calls from my cell phone’s area code.


23 posted on 02/16/2022 5:13:36 PM PST by throwthebumsout
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To: Dr. Franklin

Crooks mask or fake caller ID phone numbers. It wasn’t an alphabet agency, it was a scam.


24 posted on 02/16/2022 5:13:40 PM PST by Oldeconomybuyer (The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money)
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To: Dr. Franklin

I’m pretty sure they were hoping to sell you the new Hunter Biden Extended Car Warranty.


25 posted on 02/16/2022 5:15:17 PM PST by moovova
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To: Dr. Franklin
I googled the number and it came up as the Philadelphia FBI.

What was the number, let us check it out

26 posted on 02/16/2022 5:16:00 PM PST by Hot Tabasco
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To: gnarledmaw
No but a couple of MIBs stopped by to ask what I knew about the sale of a Borellian ionic transducer. I said, “No, do I look like a zergblatt?”

Yeah, and I reported the neighbors who said they were from France to Homeland Security and the INS. I've never seen any real French person with such pointy heads. They aren't fooling me, they're from South America where they found those old cone-shaped skulls.
27 posted on 02/16/2022 5:16:14 PM PST by Dr. Franklin ("A republic, if you can keep it." )
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To: Dr. Franklin

It is trivially easy to spoof a phone number. Don’t fall for it.


28 posted on 02/16/2022 5:17:40 PM PST by rarestia (“A nation which can prefer disgrace to danger is prepared for a master, and deserves one.” -Hamilton)
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To: Dr. Franklin

If it were a legitimate call from anyone, they would have left a voicemail.

No voicemail, they don’t want you calling them back because they don’t want you to know who they are.


29 posted on 02/16/2022 5:18:29 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum ("Communism is not love. Communism is a hammer which we use to crush the enemy." ― Mao Zedong [FJB])
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To: All; Retrofitted

I am going with “what Retrofitted said”....Caller ID spoofing goes back quite aways...6 years and more...see:

https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/stlouis/news/press-releases/scammers-spoofing-fbi-phone-numbers-to-fool-victims


30 posted on 02/16/2022 5:19:04 PM PST by Drago
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To: Hot Tabasco
What was the number, let us check it out

215-418-4000, It's on the Phildelphia FBI's webpage:
https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/philadelphia
31 posted on 02/16/2022 5:19:29 PM PST by Dr. Franklin ("A republic, if you can keep it." )
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To: throwthebumsout
If the call is not from a local exchange

I get a lot of spam calls from my local exchange. I even got one from my own number.

32 posted on 02/16/2022 5:23:34 PM PST by TangoLimaSierra (⭐⭐Public hangings will wake 'em up.⭐⭐)
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To: Dr. Franklin

They could be using a phishing board (that’s an old term I’m pretty sure I can’t remember the current), where they can make it look like your call came from whatever number you entered. That’s how people get SWATted.

There are a few people that a get calls like that from on a regular basis. How can I tell? Because I’ll leave a snarky comment on a particular person’s blog/mag post. Ring! Ring! There’s the phone.

It’s always some name on the caller ID that is related to the comment I left, like a little cute joke. No, really! We have that “sales call rejection” feature where they have to dial 1. That stopped a lot of it. We did get swatted once, too, but luckily the local cops didn’t buy it and so we just got a visit from them and not, you know, the SWAT team showing up.

Sometimes I will call one of these numbers back. It’s never who the caller ID says it is and usually it’s a non-working number. So you probably got phished. The IRS does stuff like this every so often, with their thought apparently being that you will get freaked out by the IRS calling and run to some rich relative and beg for money. Even if you don’t owe anything.


33 posted on 02/16/2022 5:24:05 PM PST by Scarlett156 (Someone with "comedian" on his social media profile is invariably a self-hating sadistic loser.)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
If it were a legitimate call from anyone, they would have left a voicemail.

Since this phone doesn't have voicemail, they couldn't. I have another phone number with a voicemail, but no phone that can be tracked. I can only be traced when I call or check messages online.
34 posted on 02/16/2022 5:24:55 PM PST by Dr. Franklin ("A republic, if you can keep it." )
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To: Dr. Franklin

FBI Warns of Phone Scam That Uses Threats, Spoofed FBI Phone Numbers

The FBI’s Philadelphia Division is again warning the public to be on alert for a phone scam that spoofs, or fakes, the FBI’s name and actual telephone number on the recipient’s caller ID.

We have seen our main number (215-418-4000) spoofed in this manner, as well as the phone numbers of the division’s resident agencies:

Allentown - 610-433-6488
Fort Washington - 215-641-8910
Harrisburg - 717-232-8686
Newtown Square - 610-353-4500
Scranton - 570-344-2404
South Jersey - 856-795-9556
State College - 814-234-0341
Williamsport - 570-323-3791
Scammers have targeted residents around the region, claiming to be with the FBI; the intended victim may be told there’s a federal warrant for their arrest, which will be thrown out in exchange for immediate payment.

FBI field offices across the country have received reports of similar calls, showing local FBI phone numbers. The caller says they are an FBI agent and demands money – for school loans, back taxes, even unpaid parking tickets. The caller often knows the name, background, and personal cell phone number of the intended victim.

International students attending U.S. colleges and universities have also been targeted. The caller insists there are problems with the visitor’s financial aid, and/or student visa, and threatens deportation if payment is not made.

Please note that the FBI does not call or e-mail people to demand money or threaten arrest.

To avoid becoming the victim of a scam:

Always be suspicious of unsolicited phone calls
Never give money or personal information to someone with whom you don’t have ties and did not initiate contact
Trust your instincts: if an unknown caller makes you uncomfortable or says things that don’t sound right, hang up
Victims of phone or online scams can file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.IC3.gov.


35 posted on 02/16/2022 5:25:02 PM PST by conservative98
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To: Dr. Franklin

Only contact the FBI through your lawyer. Block that #


36 posted on 02/16/2022 5:25:28 PM PST by outpostinmass2
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To: conservative98
FBI Warns of Phone Scam That Uses Threats, Spoofed FBI Phone Numbers...

Thanks. It could be that.
37 posted on 02/16/2022 5:27:52 PM PST by Dr. Franklin ("A republic, if you can keep it." )
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To: Dr. Franklin

Probably a scam trying to scare you into giving them money. There are many apps that allow you to spoof any number you want.

NEVER talk to the police. Never. If your boss is doing something screwy, they can twist your words to make it look like you are a) complicit or 2) lying for your boss. The FIB is really bad about sending two agents; one to ask questions, the other to take the “official” notes. The best thing you can do is say that you have nothing to tell them and then TELL THEM NOTHING. Don’t admit or deny you were at such and such location or that you have talked with someone about such and such. It is never too soon to SHUT UP. Your silence CANNOT be used against you.


38 posted on 02/16/2022 5:29:55 PM PST by Blood of Tyrants (Inside every liberal is a blood-thirsty fascist yearning to be free of current societal constraints.)
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To: Dr. Franklin

Could You post the first 6
Numbers of the caller ?
I got 2 missed calls lately
If it’s Important,,,
Well, you know.


39 posted on 02/16/2022 5:31:37 PM PST by Big Red Badger (Make His Paths Straight!)
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To: Scarlett156

The word for making your phone number appear from someone else is called spoofing.


40 posted on 02/16/2022 5:31:58 PM PST by Blood of Tyrants (Inside every liberal is a blood-thirsty fascist yearning to be free of current societal constraints.)
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