# Scam call this morning
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-call-this-morning/939452
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [April 5, 2021, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-call-this-morning/939452 "2021-04-05T16:46:06Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2021, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-call-this-morning/939452/41 "2021-04-07T10:23:06Z")
> [@jaycat](#):
>
> Who the hell gives Facebook their phone number?
If you have established multi-factor authentication — and everyone should do this, anywhere and everywhere possible — it might have been configured with a mobile phone number, to receive a login confirmation code via text. In this case, it’s obviously better to set up multi-factor to receive the code via email, but nevertheless it’s a reasonable practice.
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### Author:  [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2021, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-call-this-morning/939452/42 "2021-04-07T11:05:59Z")
> [@Mangetout](#):
>
> They then helpfully walk you through the process of ‘transferring your money to a safe holding account’ (which is the actual scam - you’re willingly transferring money to the scammer)
The big problem here is that many banks take the line that if you willingly transfer your money to a crook, that’s not their fault, so the loss is yoors not theirs.
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### Author:  [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2021, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-call-this-morning/939452/43 "2021-04-07T11:29:09Z")
Normally, I don’t answer calls from numbers I don’t recognize. On the rare occasions I do, the pause after I pick up is a giveaway of a bogus call, so I just hang up anyway. BUT, were I inclined to screw around with such callers, a report of a suspicious purchase on Amazon might be answered with “But I’ve never been to the Amazon! I’ve never been to South America!! You must have me confused with someone else.”
That is, if I could say it with a straight face. It’s just easier to leave strange calls unanswered - legit callers will leave legit voice mails.
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### Author:  [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2021, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-call-this-morning/939452/44 "2021-04-07T17:23:11Z")
> [@peedin](#):
>
> o the OP: if you knew this was a scam, why did you put your wife on? Did it surprise you that she was going to give the caller the card number?
I was not certain it was a scam until I called the bank. But after he tried to get the number from her after I had refused, I decided to end it there. And yes, it did surprise me that she was going to give the number. She is usually as sensitive to this as I am. Also I assumed she had overheard my refusal to give out the numbers. He wanted to talk to her after I said that she did the online banking in the family.
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### Author:  [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2021, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-call-this-morning/939452/45 "2021-04-07T17:23:31Z")
This reminds me, that I’ve been getting a lot of telemarketers calling and leaving voicemails about my pickup truck’s expired warranty. I no longer have the truck their referring to. And I can’t carry my cellphone into the office, so it’s normally just a bunch of missed calls.
Next time I’m available to get a “live one,” I want to yank their chain.
“_I’m sorry, but I no longer have that vehicle. It was destroyed by an IED strike while I was exploring the back country of Nicaragua. Damned FARC rebels totalled immediately, and then shot up the wreckage. I was lucky to escape with my life through the brush, only because I spoke Hovitos._”
Tripler
Yeah, I’ll lay a little of that on 'em.
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### Author:  [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2021, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-call-this-morning/939452/46 "2021-04-07T17:43:48Z")
> [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#):
>
> “Well, his mother handles all the money. Can you hold on a minute please?”
>
> \< puts down phone \>
>
> \< Cues up & watches ‘Parker’ on NETFLIX \>
Too bad that in the US your minutes are also wasted there.
(Scam calls are one big reason why I do think that it is insane that the ones getting a call have to **pay** for the minutes still.
IMHO that is a big scam too, and it is coming from the cell phone companies)
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### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2021, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-call-this-morning/939452/47 "2021-04-07T17:52:20Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#):
>
> Yes, but then why call and ask for the number
They can confirm the number if you give it, and if you don’t they at least have confirmed that the info they bought was somewhat legit because the person they have listed was the person who answered.
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### Author:  [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2021, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-call-this-morning/939452/48 "2021-04-07T17:54:58Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#):
>
> Too bad that in the US your minutes are also wasted there.
>
> (Scam calls are one big reason why I do think that it is insane that the ones getting a call have to **pay** for the minutes still.
>
> IMHO that is a big scam too, and it is coming from the cell phone companies)
That hasn’t been an issue for a long time. At home, cell phone calls are handled over the WiFi network and don’t count under whatever my monthly allowance is and unused minutes roll over from month to month, so I usually have thousands of minutes available.
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### Author:  [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2021, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-call-this-morning/939452/49 "2021-04-07T18:10:52Z")
IIRC that is what landlines got before, there is a bit of grandfathered lines used in internet/cable systems when you get the phone service in a package with cable and internet included. However, It is not rare nowadays to not have a landline, just a cell phone.
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### Author:  [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2021, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-call-this-morning/939452/50 "2021-04-07T18:15:41Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#):
>
> > [@Hari\_Seldon](#):
> >
> > A couple months ago, my wife just happened to look at our credit card online statement and found two spurious charges from that very date that totaled over $3000.
>
> So how do you think they got the CC number? And if they already had it, why did they call you?
That was a different card and no one called us about it. She just likes to look at the credit card bill from time to time and noticed these two transactions. As to how they got the CC number, who knows. She makes a lot of online purchases and one of them probably had a crooked clerk. I think the CC company will try to sort that you when they investigate. I guess this can happen whenever you make an online purchase, especially over the phone.
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### Author:  [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2021, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-call-this-morning/939452/51 "2021-04-07T18:27:33Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#):
>
> That hasn’t been an issue for a long time. At home, cell phone calls are handled over the WiFi network and don’t count under whatever my monthly allowance is and unused minutes roll over from month to month, so I usually have thousands of minutes available.
This is not universally true. I cannot call my sister on her cell phone because she is charged an outrageous amount for receiving an international call. From Montreal to Philly. Also I cannot skype her since her ex gimmicked the landline to accept calls only from known numbers (which my landline is).
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### Author:  [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2021, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-call-this-morning/939452/52 "2021-04-07T18:35:28Z")
My credit union has a service that monitors my VISA and I can set notification limits. If there are any transactions over $25 or any transactions of any amount made online, I get a text instantly. After having 3 credit cards in a row compromised (I suspect at gas stations along the interstate) I keep close watch on our account. It’s funny to be handed a receipt at Lowe’s at the same instant my phone signals a text because I spent more than $25, but it’s reassuring. Especially after being awakened one night by a text about a multi-hundred dollar purchase at WalMart - that led to an immediate call to the fraud dept.
Damned thieves…
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### Author:  [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2021, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-call-this-morning/939452/53 "2021-04-07T19:25:50Z")
> [@Tripler](#):
>
> Next time I’m available to get a “live one,” I want to yank their chain.
>
> “ _I’m sorry, but I no longer have that vehicle. It was destroyed by an IED strike while I was exploring the back country of Nicaragua. Damned FARC rebels totalled immediately, and then shot up the wreckage. I was lucky to escape with my life through the brush, only because I spoke Hovitos._ ”
Or just ask them if the extended warranty covers IED damage.
> [@FairyChatMom](#):
>
> BUT, were I inclined to screw around with such callers, a report of a suspicious purchase on Amazon might be answered with
Or ask to speak to their manager, as you did order it, but it wasn’t the green one like you wanted.
> [@elbows](#):
>
> The very first time I got this call, I had been in SEAsia a few weeks prior, so it def set me off. They transferred me to someone who wanted my card number but didn’t know why I was transferred to him?
Do your best to read off those little numbers in the dim light, but keep making “mistakes”.
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### Author:  [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2021, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-call-this-morning/939452/54 "2021-04-07T19:53:09Z")
I keep a whistle by the phone. When I first speak, it’s really softly. Then I blow that whistle as loud as I can. You know they wear headsets, right?
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### Author:  [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2021, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-call-this-morning/939452/55 "2021-04-07T20:02:05Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#):
>
> Do your best to read off those little numbers in the dim light, but keep making “mistakes”.
Back when I was scambaiting, I would tell the scammer over the phone/Skype the MTCN numbers. and I always kept making mistakes. It was funny!
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### Author:  [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2021, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-call-this-morning/939452/56 "2021-04-07T20:07:12Z")
I had a very strange scam call. After the AT&T chimes, the caller came on to tell me that AT&T was making fiber optic internet available in my area and I HAD to change from my current DSL to fiber optic - “Please press 1, your case number is 9101”. The first giveaway was that the AT&T chimes were terribly distorted, like someone had recorded them with a cheap microphone. Then I checked the call with several scam sites.
I guess that after pressing 1, I’d be asked for my credit card number.
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### Author:  [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2021, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-call-this-morning/939452/57 "2021-04-07T20:49:32Z")
> [@TheCuse](#):
>
> Back when I was scambaiting, I would tell the scammer over the phone/Skype the MTCN numbers. and I always kept making mistakes. It was funny!
Now I want to tell a scammer that my credit card number is 4.
That’s it – 4.
It’s a very old card.
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### Author:  [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2021, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-call-this-morning/939452/58 "2021-04-07T20:53:15Z")
I often refuse to speak English.
I’m out of practice, but I can do passible Spanish.
I also know phrases in German(even if just “Fröhliche Weihnachten”), Russian(Вы говорите по-русски?), Lithuanian(Lu gattu la sonava la zampogna), and Japanese (Arigato to too much anime.)
I just keep switching up until they hang up in frustration.
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### Author:  [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2021, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-call-this-morning/939452/59 "2021-04-07T20:55:02Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#):
>
> Now I want to tell a scammer that my credit card number is 4.
>
> That’s it – 4.
>
> It’s a very old card.
You would definitely confuse him! 😃
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### Author:  [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2021, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-call-this-morning/939452/60 "2021-04-07T21:16:30Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#):
>
> Now I want to tell a scammer that my credit card number is 4.
>
> That’s it – 4.
>
> It’s a very old card.
You should probably tell him it’s 42. That way it will pass the Luhn check digit test and appear more authentic! 😃
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