Posted on 01/28/2017 5:46:06 PM PST by ETL
"Can you hear me?" Police in several states are urging people to avoid answering this simple question from a phone number they do not know.
Authorities in Virginia say the question is aimed at getting unsuspecting victims to say "yes" -- an answer the frauster then records as a way to authorize charges on a phone, utility or credit card bill.
The scam is a variation of one that began late last year, according to law enforcement.
"You say 'yes,' it gets recorded and they say that you have agreed to something,” Susan Grant, director of consumer protection and privacy for the Consumer Federation of America, told CBS News. “I know that people think it’s impolite to hang up, but it’s a good strategy.”
The Pittsburgh Better Business Bureau (BBB) reported in October that it was receiving consumer complaints, citing unsolicited automated calls from "an employee" of a home security agency, cruise line, or social security firm.
In those phone calls, scammers were using phrases like, "Are you the lady of the house?"; "Do you pay the household telephone bills?"; or "Are you the homeowner?"
Similar calls are now being reported in Virginia -- with criminals asking the question, "Can you hear me?"
"Usually it has a familiar area code," Officer Jo Ann Hughes with the Norfolk Police Department told WTKR-TV.
“That kind of warms you up,” Hughes told the station, warning that those on the receiving end should hang up the phone immediately.
In many cases, scammers will play back a person's verbal confirmation and threaten to take legal action if they try to deny the charges.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
The challenge is that these call almost always originate outside of the U.S. The number that shows up on caller ID is a spoofed number, so even though it shows your area code, the caller is likely in India or Nigeria or someplace else out of the U.S.
The Feds can't really touch these people.
I am so glad I have kept my landline. I never answer my phone unless I absolutely know who is calling. One time my own phone number appeared. . .definitely didn’t answer that one. If no messages are left, then I know they didn’t want to talk with me anyway. I would be answering the phone 24 hours a day if I didn’t have my caller id/message feature on the landline. I love standing there and saying. . .if you think I’m going to pick up the phone . . .forget it.
Read about it in a similar article posted earlier on Consumerist
(Static)
"Do you want to turn down our offer to install a giant wind turbine in your backyard?"
"No!"
(Static)
"Thank you, sir. A crew will be out tomorrow to install it."
If I get a call from a number I don't recognize, and they don't leave a message, I put the number on auto-reject. And just hope it wasn't some attorney trying to tell me my rich Uncle Chester died and left everything to me!
I doubt they are reporting their ill gotten gains to the IRS. IRS should go after everyone of them
MCI WorldCom played this game with their long distance service.
*************
The worst and most blatant scam was when you had to specify your long distance carrier.. One company would cold call you , be all friendly .. and then ask “Can I put you on HOLD?” ,,, HOLD was “Home Office Long Distance” a scam outfit with outrageously high fees...
They will often go to your phone company and tell them that you have ordered their "service". The phone company is more than happy to add a third-party charge to your phone bill for a slice of the pie.
Q: “Are you the lady of the house?”
A: “No, but I do have a Microsoft Windows problem. Can you help me with that?”
Ravi: “Yes. Let me connect you with our Microsoft support team. Please hold.”
Q: “Do you pay the household telephone bills?”
A: “No, but I do have a Microsoft Windows problem. Can you help me with that?”
Sekhar: “Yes. Let me connect you with our Microsoft support team. Please hold.”
Q: “Are you the homeowner?”
A: “No, but I do have a Microsoft Windows problem. Can you help me with that?”
Priyanka: “Yes. Let me connect you with our Microsoft support team. Please hold.”
Happened to me about 10 years ago. First time I fell for it and gave the woman $10. A couple months later I saw the same woman in another store parking lot trying to scam someone else. I walked up to her and told her I was going to call the cops. She ran over to a waiting pickup truck (nicer than mine) got in and they sped off.
I got took about 10 years ago too. Got fed the line that the car was broken and she needed $20 to get home in a nearby city. Ponied up the money and watched her walk towards a convenience store. There was a cop in the parking lot and I told him about it and asked him if he recognized the woman as a “regular”. He takes one look at her and says, “Hey Flo, come over here and talk to me”. He gave her the choice of giving us back our money or getting charged. We got the dough back and the cop scolded us for falling for it in the first place.
I never ever give money to Nyone asking for it. I will however give money once in awhile. Today I attended a memorial for my best friends Hubby who passed away 4 days before Christmas. After the service they had a luncheon at one of our local Basque restaurants. They’re all in a really seedy part of town with tons of transients. I was standing outside waiting for my daughter to come out when an older, black homeless man was walking by with his shopping cart. He looked at me and said.....good morning and smiled real big and kept on walking. I yelled at him to come back and he did. I handed him $20 and told him......don’t buy booze with that. Buy yourself something good to eat. He said God bless you ma’am and shuffled off. He may have bought booze with it but he was so nice and polite and had a great smile so.......
“Can you hear me”
“FAWCK YOU!”
click
Caller ID works great to screen calls. Just don’t answer if you don’t recognize the number.
ping!
Thanks for the heads up.
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