Posted on 01/31/2017 4:55:40 AM PST by rktman
Police say scammers record the “yes” response and play it back to victims who try to deny the charges while the scammers try to threaten legal action.
Law enforcement officials say the scam is a variation of one that began in late 2016.
“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.”
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
I guess I’m a skeptic too. I’ve been hit with this before. I make it a practice to never say “yes” unless it is to someone or somewhere I have called.
For those who have issues with not answering/hanging up:
http://www.digitone.com/Digitone%20Call%20Blocker.htm
I have a very elderly parent (mentally not firing on all cylinders) who grew up in the days when phone calls were rare & if the phone rang, it was important so you answered it. He’s also too polite to hang up quickly (if at all) on scammers. The Digitone Call Blocker has been a life saver for us ..... worth every single penny. From the factory, it is set to allow all calls & you block the ones you don’t want. You can also reset it to block all calls & then you allow area codes, exchanges, numbers you want to get through. This is how we have ours set up.
I always ask “Who’s calling?” If it’s a legit call, they’ll announce themselves. If it’s not, I hang up. Too many robocallers nowadays make it seem like it’s a real person from the outset. I’ve become skeptical of any call on my phone from a number I don’t know.
I almost never answer an unknown caller or caller with an unrecognized number. The few times I do (if I suspect for some reason that it might be legitimate), I hang up immediately without saying a word if it’s obviously a bad call.
I used to interact with them by telling them to email me. If they said they don’t know my email address I would say, well, you found my phone number, didn’t you.
But I don’t do that anymore. Mostly don’t answer. When I do answer, if not a known caller, hang up immediately.
BTW, someone here in FR posted recently (and maybe again on this thread, I haven’t read the thread) that phone scammers are now often in Eastern Europe and use VOIP technology to identify random US area codes on the incoming call.
Anyone who still answers unknown numbers is brain damaged.
“Did you vote in the 2016 Presidential election just say yes or no!”.....Got the same one. It’s from www.votethewill.org. A scam.
It’s not fake news. It’s a real scam.
start talking Yiddish to them
Same here.
Anyone who still answers unknown numbers is brain damaged.
******************
Agree, let them leave a message and return call if needed.
I’ve been doing that for years now.
“Uh....I’m in the Pen right now, but can I get your number to call you back? You sound hot! Can I call you collect?”
Go to your local boating supply store and get an air horn.
Blast their heads off when they call.
Hello ? HORN !
I don’t answer the phone because someone might be on the other end.
I’ve done the same thing, except I use an old whistle I have left over from when I used to referee kids’ basketball games.
Nice and shrill.
This happened to me with a recording.
“Hello”
“Hello, Can you hear me?”
“Yes”
Is it just me or does Breitbart freeze everyone’s computers up? Sheeeesh I wish they’d get this fixed.....
Same here. Thank heavens for caller ID.
I knew someone who would list his dog’s name as the first name. When someone called (and his kids had a lot of fun with this) and asked if Izzy Jones, or whatever, was in, the response was “He’s out in the back yard pooping,” or “He’s sleeping under the dining room table.”
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