IRS Scam Alert

I always answer my phone even if I know it's going to be a guy selling something. I make it a game trying to keep them on the line and waste their time. At the end I tell them that's what I am doing. They make less calls and bother less people that way.
For scamers that tell me the IRS wants me, I just laugh at them and tell them to send them on over. Then I tell them they really need to find a different job because the scam business is really not going to work for them, they are so bad at it. Funny, the number of calls I get has gone down.

Geees!! And all you folks are the first to complain about the increase in violent crime. If a conman can't make a buck on the phone or internet, what is he/she to do ?

Wife is bored, so I hope they don't call. Last scam someone tried. She played along.
Ended up with me and kids and cops waiting, on the perps, in a parking lot armed to the teeth.
They never showed and didn't intend to they wanted a number off a green dot card or something she was supposed to buy. I'm too old for bear hunting.
I told her don't ever do that again.
Got a call a few days later about free cruise. She didn't get to the phone before I did.

This brings to mind the FBI Virus scam that is still popping up on people from time to time. My local Office Depot store said they had a bunch of people fall for it and actually send the scammers money to get their files back.

Our local police department just put out the word about being carefull about scams and mentioned the IRS scam in particular. Seems someone in our town got scammed with that one.

A friend of ours is a boater. He keeps an aerosol air horn next to his phone. When he gets these scam calls he talks very quietly to make sure the caller is listening intently, then blows the horn at the phone. They don't call back! We have caller i/d and don't even bother to answer if we don't recognise the caller.

frankdamp wrote:
A friend of ours is a boater. He keeps an aerosol air horn next to his phone. When he gets these scam calls he talks very quietly to make sure the caller is listening intently, then blows the horn at the phone. They don't call back! We have caller i/d and don't even bother to answer if we don't recognise the caller.

I've always heard this, but what happens when the caller calls back and also has an air horn?

frankdamp wrote:
A friend of ours is a boater. He keeps an aerosol air horn next to his phone. When he gets these scam calls he talks very quietly to make sure the caller is listening intently, then blows the horn at the phone. They don't call back! We have caller i/d and don't even bother to answer if we don't recognise the caller.

I like that one. :B

I always answer the phone no matter the number because it might be family or friends calling from a different phone in a emergency. That has happened to me a couple of times. If I get a scam or a sale pitch I save the number and label the ID for it as Do Not Answer. After they try a couple of more times and you don't answer they give up.

down home wrote:
Wife is bored, so I hope they don't call. Last scam someone tried. She played along.
Ended up with me and kids and cops waiting, on the perps, in a parking lot armed to the teeth.
They never showed and didn't intend to they wanted a number off a green dot card or something she was supposed to buy. I'm too old for bear hunting.
I told her don't ever do that again.
Got a call a few days later about free cruise. She didn't get to the phone before I did.

The ironic thing is that green dot cards are history now. One has to know someone's credit card number to add funds to it. I'm guessing too much fraud.

frankdamp wrote:
A friend of ours is a boater. He keeps an aerosol air horn next to his phone. When he gets these scam calls he talks very quietly to make sure the caller is listening intently, then blows the horn at the phone. They don't call back! We have caller i/d and don't even bother to answer if we don't recognise the caller.

That doesn't work. Telephones and the phone line circuitry can only handle limited frequencies and volumes. As far as audio quality is concerned, telephones are very poor. It is impossible to send deafening volume over a phone. The idea sounds great but in actuallity accomplishes nothing.