Another phone and computer scam

[bangerjim]

My wife used to work for a financial concern and they bought trunk lines in major cities to appear like local calls. Not hard to do at all. And perfectly legal.

Not-so-honest concerns can "spoof" the system with fake numbers. That is NOT legal from what I have been told.

Most personal phones can block only a certain quantity of phone numbers. And most of these clowns use MANY rotating numbers so it is darn near impossible to block all of them.

Best blocking system is your own common sense! And have fun with them while keeping them occupied on the phone call!!!!!!

[woodbutcher]

Used to like the ones saying we have been tracking your credit card use.Then let the live person get on the line.Then let them ramble on for a minute.And then tell them that that is most interesting as I have`nt had a credit card in almost 50 years.Don`t get any more calls.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

[Down South]

We've been getting calls that the caller ID shows as a local number. I answered the first one thinking it was a neighbor. They started the spiel about credit card something or other and I hung up. We are a small town in a small county and I couldn't see how they could be local.

I called the phone company(a small company) and they said this is the latest thing. Somehow the scammers can show a local number even though they are a long distance away. This has made us very careful about answering any call that we don't recognize the ID.

BTW. We bought a new cordless phone system a couple of months ago that has a feature that allows us to block unwanted numbers. I've started writing down the numbers that I have blocked to see if it works. Not sure I would know unless one of those numbers manages to get thru.

It’s called Spoofing. I get calls from my area code and prefix regularly. They go through some type
of computer system to spoof the number so that you will think it might be someone who you know or someone close by.
The drawback for me is my phone is a business phone and although I’m pretty sure it is a Spoffed call, I have to answer just in case.

[SyberShooter]

I tend to string them along then if they try to tell me my computer is spreading virus I say ' you caught me, now what are you going to do about it' like I am intentionally doing something.... or I let them go on about Microsoft to the tell tem I'm running Linux- havent used MS in years - Had one bright fella try to switch his speel in minstream- telling me first my MS os was bla bla then it was my Linux system that was the problem.... click

[Gunslinger1911]

My dad used to keep score how long he could keep em on the line - 33 min was his record.
I got one about Microsoft problem. Told em "That's funny, I run an Apple Mac laptop - a govt issued lap top, same as this phone - CIA issue - everything traced and tracked". Can't imagine why he hung up.