Posted on 08/23/2014 7:32:59 AM PDT by The Working Man
I just received an interesting phone call from "Credit Card Services". It wasn't the call that was interesting it was that they used my OWN phone number as the identifying number on the Caller ID.
I'm not sure where this falls in the "legality' scale but from my own point of view if this company can use my own phone number on the caller ID to identify themselves then they or anyone else can use it also to conduct business that is truly illegal. Try explaining to the authorities that you didn't order that kilogram of 'drugs' when your home phone number is clearly the one that was used in making the order as confirmed by 'Caller ID'.
SO what do 'you' think?
Yup.
I always ask, “How’s the panang curry doing, Saheeb?”
“The calls are coming from inside the house!!”
None of the credit card service calls I’ve gotten are legit considering I don’t have any credit cards! No more, they are poison.
Some of the calls come up on the caller ID as ‘wireless call’, on my house phone, so that you think it’s just someone on their cell phone calling.
My husband also gets strange numbers calling on his cell phone, 402 is one of the regular area codes. We’re sick of it!
This is a new trick I’ve been noticing. The number the telemarketer sends to my Caller ID is almost exactly the same as my home phone number, with only the final digit changed. It’s illegal for telemarketers to send phony Caller ID information, but the FCC and FTC are too overwhelmed with complaints to do much and these bandits often are offshore.
Back in the day of public phones, I used to keep track of telemarketers who annoyed me just to call their 800 numbers from a whole bank of pay phones which cost them a lot more than calling from home. Then many started to automatically reject pay phone calls which ended that front on my war against telemarketers.
I get them all the time. And if I hang up, and then try to make a phone call, they’re still there! They seized my line. I used to be on 24/365 emergency duty at the water company I ran. Really ticked me off! I’ve found that if I run my thumb over all the buttons randomly, then hang up, they’re gone.
Thanks for the Link...I’ve set mine up, I receive at least one or two robocalls everyday.
I had that happen a few days ago. The phone rang and the caller ID showed my own phone number.
Very interesting.........Just this past week a guy I play softball with saw his own number listed on his caller ID too......he didn't answer the phone tho
I was getting about one call a week on my cell for "Credit Card Services". I started making sure I talked with them. I could usually take up about 2-3 minutes listening to their spiel. I would then tell them I had a question. "Why are you calling a number on the National 'Do Not Call' Registry?"
click
It took three of these but the evidently wised up and stopped calling.
"Ceterum censeo 0bama esse delendam."
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
Give her my number, nobody calls me, I'm lonely and I'd like someone to talk to.........
I was getting some days 10 calls a day from the same “card services” scammer with caller ID showing a number that was my number except for a different last digit.
I called ATT (my phone service company) and pressed the connection number for the “cancel my service” department. Told the nice ATT rep who answered, about the numerous scam calls and said that if we could not find a solution that I would need to cancel my 2 land lines and use only my Verizon cell phone from now on.
First she tried to tell me that there was nothing ATT could do about it, and that I simply needed to go sign up for the National do-not-call list. I told her that if that was my only option since the list was a joke, then cancellation of ATT was the only answer to the problem.
She gave me “call blocking” at no charge, entered in the offending phone number, and said to try that, which I agreed to hold off on the cancellation of ATT for a few days to see if this option worked. I didn't have a whole lot of faith, thinking scammers would just change the number 1 by 1 digit and keep calling.
Sure enough they did call about an hour later with caller ID changed by one digit.
But then, right after that........ all the spammer calls from them stopped completely. It has been a week now and no more calls from them. Not sure if ATT did something or if the spammers have been put out of business.
You don't want to mess with Rachel.
Laz says he'd hit it...ain't that enough?
But if you insist, just put your phone number on the National Do Not Call list...it'll start ringing soon enough.
The FCC is worse than worthless on this stuff, in my experience.
I get these calls all the time.
Several years ago, one Saturday morning, they called to ask me about some suspicious charges -- airline ticket from Turkey to Dubai and a similar ME airline charge. The 2nd charge sparked a 'hold'.
If your CC company or bank sees suspicious activity, they will call you, but they will clearly identify themselves as being from XYZ bank or ABC Master Card and typically not something generic like Credit Card Services and they wont ask you for your full card number, your pin number, the 3-digit security code on the back of your card, or your SSN or DOB or full billing address, etc. as they already have that information. And they will never ask you for your on-line account password.
If you get a call from someone claiming to be from your bank or CC company and they ask for that type of detailed and personal information or the call seems in anyway suspicious, dont give it to them and ask them to give you a reference number and that you will call them back using the 1800 customer service number on the back of your card. If the call is legit, they will be more than happy to give you a reference number and completely and politely understand why you prefer to call them back.
Last year I got a call from my bank informing me of a suspicious charge on my bank debit card that they were holding, a charge of $1 to an on-line sporting goods store located in CA scammers and CC thieves will often try to put through a charge of a $1 to see if it goes through first before racking up big charges. The woman from the bank asked me to verify the last 4-digits of my card number and then asked me for my billing zip code for purposes of identifying and confirming that I was the card holder. Then she asked if I had made the purchase, to which I said NO! So she told me that she would immediately cancel my card number and that I could go to any bank branch to get a new card with a new number on the spot. And I love that about my bank, not having to wait a week or more for them to mail you a new card.
Also last year I was making travel arrangements for a business trip to the UK. I booked the flights and the hotel through our corporate travel agent using the company account but I needed ground transportation from Manchester to Hull and tried ordering train tickets on-line with my Master Card because it seemed easier and cheaper to do myself. But the charges were denied. Within only a few minutes I got a phone call from my credit card company and also a fraud alert text message to my phone. I completely forgot that I had to notify my CC company and my bank, if I was planning to use my CC or debit card for overseas travel or overseas purchases.
The very nice man who called from my credit card company asked if I was attempting to make an on-line purchase for train tickets in the UK on XYZ website in the amount of £109 to which I said, yes and then after asking me to confirm only the last 4 digits of my card and my billing zip code, he told me that they would release and process the charge and then he asked me from what date to what date would I be in the UK and where I would be in the UK so they would not question charges in the UK while I was there. He also gave me some advice on using UK ATMs, where to find ATMs at the Manchester airport and in Hull where I could withdraw £ without hefty additional service fees, told me about resources on their website for overseas travel including up to date currency exchange rates and their current currency exchange fees. He then told me to have a safe and happy trip. That was IMO, great customer service.
FWIW, I also have alerts set up on both my credit cards that send me an email for any purchase of $1 or more. Sometimes I get these alerts via email that goes to my phone even before I even get home from the store.
And another piece of advice, never click any log-in web links contained in any email from what appears to be from your CC company or bank or bill paying alert emails. Always use the URL that you have booked marked and know is legit for purposes of logging in to your accounts. And use strong passwords and change them regularly.
My Discover Card calls me every time I charge over $100. I’m very grateful. I always call each discover card I have (one for gas and one for incidentals) tell them I’m going to Florida or wherever and all gas charges on the 1-95 corridor are ok and any one night stay in hotel in the south is OK. This year, I forgot to tell them that I’d be fishing and any charter charges would be OK. I got a call that they wanted to know if the two $800 charges were legit.? I really believe they are looking out for me, but I could be wrong.
I’m sorry that happened to you. But now you know that the majority of these on-line computer tech support companies are nothing but scammers.
It’s happened to me. I wouldn’t worry too much. Google it up and see the details. It was baffling when my number appeared on the TV screen. I joked that my television was possessed by demons. Performed an exorcism. Only happened once.
It’s happened to me. I wouldn’t worry too much. Google it up and see the details. It was baffling when my number appeared on the TV screen. I joked that my television was possessed by demons. Performed an exorcism. Only happened once.
Contact the FCC web site.”
I get a lot of these calls on both my cell and our business line. They are robo calls and the location of the number can be checked out on the internet.
Contacting the FCC is worthless. They have too many complaints and by the time they get around to checking on the number, it has been cancelled and the caller has a new number. Best approach is not to answer any call if you don’t recognize the number. The Do Not Call list is a farce.
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