I’ve posted one or two rants about these people. They come to your door saying they’re from “the electric company” (they never say an actual company name). They insist on seeing your latest electric bill to “see if you’re being overcharged”. The reality is that they’re trying to trick you into changing your electric provider.
They are extremely persistent and act as if they have some legal right to see your bill. I’ve had to threaten to call the police to get them to leave.
The environmental thing is a new angle. I’ve haven’t seen them try that yet.
I live in California, so I figure I’m safe from this scam. If some person comes to enough doors with a spiel that might make people think they’re from PG&E, they will surely have the snot beaten out of them at some point.
Or set on fire.
We don’t like PG&E very much around here.
The only unexpected people coming to our door these last two decades were two pair of religious solicitors some years apart. Pumas likely got the rest. Mountain life is good. Folks living neck-to-neck in urbs and suburbs don’t appreciate wild carnivores.
How to avoid landline and cell spam? Never answer; only take messages; return calls worthy of your effort and hope the recipients don’t follow your strategy.
If you simply refuse to answer an incoming call when you don’t recognize the caller’s number, that seems potentially troublesome. What, you never get a call from a stranger occasionally that is legitimate and maybe even interesting or important to you?
I have occasionally. Not often, to be sure.
Example: I got a call once from someone that I didn’t know (at the time), but knew of only vaguely and only by his first name. He was the caretaker at a property that was being prepared for a recreational event, and he had an issue that had to be dealt with. I don’t have caller ID, but if I did, I would certainly not have known his number.
He began leaving a rather longish message, beginning with his name (which I didn’t recognize). But it became clear that the lengthy message was important for me and for many others too. I wasn’t the right person for him to call, but he didn’t have contact information for all the right people, and he had somehow gotten my phone number, and it was rather urgent, needing resolution by the following day.
In the middle of all that, I answered. Once I understood what he wanted, I was able to get him connected up with all the right people.
What annoys me is that we have a ‘no solicitors’ sign prominently displayed. If you ignore my wishes, do you really think I’m going to be receptive to your pitch? I’ve also had religious types tell me, after being made aware of the sign, “Oh, I’m not selling anything!” Of course you are, dear.
They will call you only after you have called them or they have sent letters.
So, a collection attempt by a revenue Officer will be along the lines of “letter, firm letter, threatening letter, call, personal home or business visit.” One of the letters will be sent certified.
I signed up (online, I think) to start receiving my SS benefits. This would have been 4 years ago.
A few weeks later, having never spoken with or received a letter from SSA, I started to get phone calls where the caller ID read “Federal Government.” Since I had gotten IRS scam calls, I ignored them. However they kept calling, so I finally answered one day.
It of course was SSA. I forget what they wanted, but it was benign enough I felt comfortable providing the info over the phone. When business was concluded, I told them they needed to change their caller ID info. The man sighed and told me that they’d like to, but the red tape involved in doing so was horrendous enough that so far they’d been unsuccessful in getting it approved.
I also suggested that they leave a message with a callback number. That he said was not allowed for privacy reasons.
I got the Social Security scam call today. After I told them my name was Dick Nixon, and my SSAN was 567 68 0515, they hung upon me. I guess they’ve heard that one too many times.
For the two government agencies, not “never” but only after establishing contact via snail mail. I’ve had ongoing issues with both of them and once the ‘conversation’ – for lack of a better term – had started they called me more than once, and I called them as well.
I sold encyclopedias for a few weeks in college once. Among the things they told us was that the No Salesmen sign should be considered a target based on the somewhat empirical data that suggested people who posted those signs were often the most vulnerable to a slick presentation. As in it worked more than it didn’t. It’s what the man said.
I wouldn’t think so. All they do is deposit it into your bank account (either your own bank or a provided debit card). You don’t need to show them your SS number or anything, and it is nowhere mentioned on any of the paperwork, paper or virtual.
I could see it being a problem getting the thing started, but, once running, it seems to just work.