Telemarketing scam

n/a | n/a | Texas Eagle

[Texas Eagle]

Sorry if this post doesn't fit this category but I hope to prevent as many as people as possible from getting scammed.

I received a telemarketing call from someone professing to be from a magazine clearinghouse and sweepstakes company. The caller said the name so fast that I didn't catch the exact name. I told the caller that I wasn't interested in ordering magazines but he interrupted me before I could get the whole sentence out and started naming off magazines I could get for 3.35 a month.

After a few minutes of this I hung up only to have the same person call back a few seconds later. I said I wasn't interested and told him not to call back only to have him call back a few seconds later.

He called back 3 more times and the last time he called back he simply said, "Hey, m******f*****, enjoy your 700 dollar bill!"

I would normally discount this as some sort of prank but the caller asked for my wife by her first name and her name is not listed in our local phone book so obviously these people have at least some info on us and may possibly have our home address as well. This all happened less than an hour ago so obviously I have not received any such bill but I am wondering if anybody else out there has received similar phone calls so I can decide if this is something I might want to get the authorities in on.

[Texas Eagle]

Thanks for any info

[MindBender26]

Call your local Police or Sheriff's Dept. tomorrow (they're a little busy tonight....) Report this AND GET A CASE OR INCIDENT NUMBER. That way, if telco or anyone else tries to charge you, your have official record that you did not order same, etc.

[Lunatic Fringe]

I had this happen to a friend- what they do is get deeply discounted rates on long term subscriptions, subscribe you to magazines for 5 years, bill it to you all at once. My friend wanted one magazine but was sent 5, charged a bill of about $500, and it took her 6 months to clear it up.

[Cagey]

Call the National Fraud Information Center at 1-800-876-7060. They're building a national database on telemarketing fraud.

[cmsgop]

Do what Mindbender says ASAP......

[TXBubba]

Thanks for the head's up. I'm going to let my friends also know about this.

[hole_n_one]

After a few minutes of this I hung up......

Huh?

[Tennessee_Bob]

Some fun software for this kind of stuff:

http://www.antitelemarketer.com/enigma.htm

http://alabamalawyers.com/enigma.htm

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Call your local Police or Sheriff's Dept. tomorrow (they're a little busy tonight....) Report this AND GET A CASE OR INCIDENT NUMBER. That way, if telco or anyone else tries to charge you, your have official record that you did not order same, etc.

That's good advice. Hopefully this guy was just pulling your chain because you kept putting him off. I really doubt that you could be charged a large phone bill just by answering the phone, but maybe a more tech-savvy Freeper could give you a better answer.

[Tacis]

No, I've not had that call (I did have a call from a vacuum cleaner sales guy who wanted to speak to my wife by name and called back 5 times before a sent an email to the owner complaining). Your names and other information about you are pretty easy to come by, however. Two free ways come to mind. In you public library, there is a reverse 'phone directory which lists folks by street address. In most states (I think most), the local real estate tax authority has extensive information about you and your property and those records are available to the public. Here, I can actually buy a CD ROM for all the property in the county.

This info is commonly used for marketing purposes. If I'm going to open an upscale restaurant, I want to mail a menu and coupon to every single family residence within a two mile radius.

So, there is little mystery about your name and your wife's name. I don't know about the sales scam.

[Cultural Jihad]

You ought not post links to apparently unmaintained and amateurish webpages which tout software. There's no telling what an EXE file would do, and those pages you listed seem less than professional, what with all their broken links.

[Texas Eagle]

I know, I know.....I guess I'm just too nice of a guy. I didn't want to bore you with all the details so I gave a thumbnail's sketch of the whole thing.

The guy was pretty persistent. I couldn't even get the whole sentence out before he would interrupt and start the whole thing over again. From now on, no more Mr. Nice Guy. It's going to be "No, thanks!" and click.

[FreedomPoster]

Interesting technological suggestion from this month's Wired magazine.

Find a non-working number. Call it and record that nasty 4-note tone that you get from the telco. Truncate it down to just the first note. Record that at the beginning of the outbound message on your voicemail/voice recorder.

Supposedly, the ACD phone switches that sophisticated telemarkers use will recognize that tone and drop the call immediately, and likely result in your number being removed from that telemarketer's database.

[Tennessee_Bob]

Ok - here's my endorsement for the software. It's not loaded with anything like spyware or virii. It works well, it's put together well, and it gets the telemarketers pissed off when you use it. It's freeware, and it's anti-telemarketer.

Works for me.

And thanks for the sermon.

[Henchman]

*69 Next time hit *69 and see what their telephone number is...doesn't always work on out of area calls.

[oust the louse]

Eagle,I had a telemarketer call me once.I was sitting around the table with a few friends having an adult beverage when I took the call and she told me her name was Linda.She stated she was with xyz company and I said that's wonderful,how long have you been with them?
She stammered and said oh,about 3 months.I said well congratulations on getting your new job,are they paying you good? She said well yes,I think so.I asked her what they paid an hour and she,without hesitation,told me $7 an hour.I said hey,that's pretty good,are you full time? After one or two more questions she sat there quietly on the other end and I said ,it was a pleasure talking,good luck with your new position,and we hung up....she probably has no clue what hit her that evening.
I'd immediately make a report with the police tomorrow in case you end up with a bill.

[mikeIII]

A simple remedy is to buy a cheap answering machine and pick up only if you recogize the caller!

[The Magical Mischief Tour]

First I bought a really nice digital answering machine cordless combo and I keep it set to three rings, I use the generic computerized message that comes with the machine and I screen ALL calls.

When I give my phone number to anyone, friends etc… I tell them up front I do not answer the phone for them to speak into the machine and I’ll pick up… they do and I do. Works like a charm.

If its someone like the Doctors office, work or legitimate business matter such as my credit card company calling me to let me know of unusual activity on my card etc… they will leave a message anyway and I can pick up the phone or just call them back on my time.

At bedtime the phone ringer goes off and my pager is on my bed stand for emergencies work etc…

I’ve been doing this for two or three years now and I’ve yet to tangle with a telemarketer. They do call but most just hang up when the answering machine picks up.

[meyer]

Some fun software for this kind of stuff:

OK, I'm just having a little trouble understanding how software on my computer will help with telemarketers on my phone.