Scammer fun

[2LaneCruzer]

Best reply is to answer the phone------ "Sheriff's dep't, how may we be of assistance?"

Another is---------"City morgue"

"Hung Chow Chinee buffet"!

 

[prichard]

I either silence it so it takes longer to go to voice mail or answer and hit mute. I figure the longer they're on the line with my phone the less people the can bother.

 

[cqaigy2]

Pray tell.

 

[the old grind]

I used to have an answering machine and got several hangups every day. When I heard a decade or ago that scammers would sell lists of legitimate numbers I tossed it into the bin. Within a few months my scam calls had dwindled to only 15 or 20/wk. As a senior I'm getting 2-4/day again, 'just like old times'.

When I gave in to family/peer urging to get a cel phone I kept the land line number/phone with caller ID and limit who I give the cel number to, assigning names to numbers of those (too many) I know and care to hear from. I also regularly leave the iPhone 5s on the table next to the 'wired' one, and rarely carry it.

It costs me ~$100/mo to have both lines, and IMO it's worth it. I don't need to hear from scammers OR acquaintances who are bored (nothing good on TV) when I'm not (my 'reality life'). I Google every number that doesn't clearly identify its source (kind of a hobby by now :laughing Some of these clowns spoof numbers that caller ID says are 'not in service' and my favorite using the same number I'm answering.

Years ago when I might answer an unwelcomed call I'd just lay the phone down and come back later when the default noise alerted me to a 'not active' phone off the hook. I did talk to a few scammers back then, often answering with "scam call hotline. Are you calling to report or to confess?" Sometimes I'd answer "make me laugh" though 'Rachel' never did. I'm registered at Spokeo, and some numbers are so off-base that typing in a 10 digit number produces only addresses instead.

 

[bennyperkins]

The last one i played around with on Craig's list, I had them get me all kinds of details. I wanted a picture with the hours showing, I asked if specific implements would work with it. After about 40 emails back an forth they finally sent me the fake Ebay Motors email. I waited a day and they asked me if there was a problem. I said no I was sending the Ebay gift cards they requested soon. I went to the store and took a picture of $2500 in ebay gift cards. I then sent the the picture of the gift cards along with a complete critique of their efforts as a scammer. I gave them a D minus and told them they probably should look for other work. I of course reported them to ebay, craig's list the Utah national guard, the FTC, and google for using a gmail account. I know I did not stop them but I felt better for having wasted so much of their time.

 

[4570Man]

I only get a few spam phone calls a month and they’re always robots. I usually go out of my way to mess with online scammers. And I reported 8 on the forum last night.

 

[Jim Shooz]

Nah, I was just pullin' yer chain Mate.

That got me flushed