A Half Dozen Select Phone Scams

A landline telephone can still provide benefits: a direct way to call 911 for instance. But then, there’s the nuisance factor, like the recent 7:30 in the weekend morning robocall from “Sarah from Direct TV. How are you today?” As if Robo-Sarah cared, not unlike the almost daily contacts from the “home center,” whatever or wherever that is. Robo-calls are generally easy to identify. A specific noise can be heard, best described as a burp, the sound the machine makes when putting the caller on the line. The caller has a screen with the full name and street address of the person being called, obtained from purchased call lists.

Home Center, Contractor Scam

Often, these calls are cleverly designed to engender acceptance. “Hi, I’m Roy. I spoke with your wife (he or she always knows her full name) about home improvement a year ago and she suggested I call back in a year. I remember she was very nice to me.” That part is the key – the victim is less likely to hang up on someone who has called him or his family member very nice. “So I thought I’d call back to find out if you’re still interested.” During the call, the scammer might ask, “can you hear me okay?” In this instance, the “yes” is being recorded to assent to whatever scheme had been given by the vendor. Time to hang up.

Sweepstakes, Lottery Scams

When a potential victim fills out an application to enter a contest at a shopping mall, that paperwork often ends up with phone scammers who tell a victim they have won a significant prize and request payment for taxes, fees, or processing charges to claim the supposed winnings. They turn over the fees or taxes to the scammer, who then moves on. Guess what? No winnings ever appear.

The Microsoft Care Scam.

Often initiated in the Asian subcontinent, India in particular, a call comes in. “We are calling from the Microsoft care department. We are getting warning messages. Hackers are using your computer for illegal works.” Following the instructions of the scammer, the victim initiates the “join remote control session” prompt produced a pop-up with a nine-digit ID number and a four-digit password. If you reveal the ID number to the scammer, that allows him or her remote control of my computer, a very bad thing. The brave so-called victim might read back nine digits, very close wrong digits. He will catch on. You’ve wasted his time and he will be angry. You will hang up and hope he doesn’t blizzard you with fake calls.

The Grandparent Scam

The grandparent scam caller claims to be a grandson in a Las Vegas jail or some other city and needs bail money. “My lawyer will call you in a few minutes. Please do what he says.” Often, the lawyer and the grandson are the same caller. The so-called grandchild discloses a series of misfortunes. He was in a car with friends and they got pulled over and drugs were found in the car. All the occupants were arrested and he was in jail, waiting for court. Could granddad help get him out? “Don’t call my mom,” The scammer asks grandpa to send money to his lawyer who will pay him back after he gets out. One grandpa replied, “I have many grandsons, which one are you?” No answer, hangs up. Another designated victim told the scammer, “Don’t bend over to pick up the soap.”

The Social Security Scam

Once very common, the Social Security scam threatens federal prison for tax evasion. “I just received a phone message telling me that my Social Security account, number and benefits have just been suspended and that I need to call a phone number immediately. This was the first time I’ve gotten this call.” The scammer instructs the victim to go to Walmart, or use Green Dot, Vanilla or iTunes cards. The scammer convinces the victim to buy the card, then share the serial number with the scammer. That’s as good as handing off cash. Done deal.

The Offshore Phone Scam

Another category tricks the phone user into calling an expensive area code by ringing a phone once or twice, hoping no one will answer. When the recipient sees the incomplete call, the victim might return the call. If it’s an 809 area code, which is the Dominican Republic, long distance fees are up to $35 for the first minute.

Scammers acquire information from a variety of sources. “I can go on any website with your background and in 10 or 15 minutes, through dark web,” said a law enforcement source. “I can have the entire history of your close family, even their ages. The elderly population is especially vulnerable as they tend to keep same phone number for 30 or more years.” Cell phones are called as these numbers are shared up on these applications.

“Most of these scams originate from overseas, Ukraine or Canadian provinces. It’s extremely rare to make arrests. There are multiple task forces, but many countries do not have treaties.”