Scam Call? Caller ID said "US GOVT"

easysurfer said:
There are some hilarious youtube videos with folks stringing these so called MS repair techs along.
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Somehow it never occurred to me to search for them. I'm listening to one now that is a stitch. I posted the link to the video here.
 
Walt34 said:
Somehow it never occurred to me to search for them. I'm listening to one now that is a stitch. I posted the link to the video here.
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Nice! :LOL: Great runaround lol
 
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That's an obvious scam. I never answer a call when I don't know the number. If it's important they will leave me a message. Or not - which is many times the case with scam and such.
 
We just hang up on them. I figure that if you toy with them too much, they are probably in a position to pass your phone number along such that the volume of crank calls goes exponential.
 
We have always relied on the electronic butler (answering machine) and won't pick up any call where we don't recognize the caller.

The latest scam is very clever. It sounds "real," a young man with a local (mid-Atlantic) accent. The caller never identifies himself, but asks for Mr. A. by his first name. Moreover, the caller sounds anxious, as in "Aloysius? Aloysius! Please pick up. Helloo? Aloysius?"

One of these days I plan to pick-up and say, "This is Aloysius. Whattaya want?"

Amethyst
 
LinCella said:
I never answer a call when I don't know the number. If it's important they will leave me a message. Or not - which is many times the case with scam and such.
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I avoid answering unknown calls too.

When the phone rings I do think for moment trying to recall if I'm expecting a call from a doctor's office or some other business I may have left a message with. They almost never have caller ID enabled and often don't leave a message.

It took me years to unlearn hopping up to answer the phone when it rings, but now I'm good at ignoring it :)
 
TromboneAl said:
I solved the robocalls problem 100% with this product

Amazon.com: SENTRY 2 (New), Fully automatic blocking, 100% blocking of all spam calls new or repeated.: Electronics

The first time a call from an unknown caller ID is received, the caller has to press "O" when prompted to do so by a message. From then on, that person's calls will go through.

There are a few problems with it, but it has blocked all robocalls--the phone doesn't ring.
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The Sentry 2 is the real deal. :)

The call blocker is whitelist based, so even handles the telemarketers that routinely spoof by changing their numbers. I have mine set up with a splitter (to have the caller id pass through), but with the splitter, I do get 1 ring before calls get screened.
 
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TromboneAl said:
I solved the robocalls problem 100% with this product

Amazon.com: SENTRY 2 (New), Fully automatic blocking, 100% blocking of all spam calls new or repeated.: Electronics

The first time a call from an unknown caller ID is received, the caller has to press "O" when prompted to do so by a message. From then on, that person's calls will go through.

There are a few problems with it, but it has blocked all robocalls--the phone doesn't ring.
Click to expand...

Does this device work will cell phones or only land lines?
 
Tailgate said:
We dropped the land line 2 years ago because of scam and robo calls... now, these calls are beginning to trickle over to the cell phone...
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This is why I have always kept a minimal land line with a number I can give out instead of giving out my mobile number. As others have said, I don't answer it except for a small set of known caller ID numbers.

rbmrtn said:
One thing that helped for me , when I dropped the landline I "parked" the number with a parking service. The number now is just a voicemail, it sends me an email if a message is left. I decided to keep the old landline number because it was tied to so many accounts and everything now that requires a phone for registration get this number.
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I like this idea too, and will have to look into it.
 
Scam Call? Caller ID said "US GOVT"

I received a call today from a friend who works at the VA Medical Center and it said US GOV.
 
I don't have a caller-ID box. Would I need to buy one of those, too? And would my phone bill increase if I added caller-ID service? I see I would need to buy a splitter if I don't have one already (I'd have to check to see if I have one of them already). I am trying to get a handle on what other little surprises await me should I buy the Sentry 2 call-clocker.


Nevertheless, I am so sick of getting calls from Carmen or Bridget from Cardholder Services 2 or 3 times a week along with all the other garbage calls.
 
Cassie said:
I received a call today from a friend who works at the VA Medical Center and it said US GOV.
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I've had calls that also shows SSI or a variation of Social Security. Because the spoofers can imitate legit names and numbers, those that rely on caller id alone can get fooled
 
scrabbler1 said:
I don't have a caller-ID box. Would I need to buy one of those, too? And would my phone bill increase if I added caller-ID service? I see I would need to buy a splitter if I don't have one already (I'd have to check to see if I have one of them already). I am trying to get a handle on what other little surprises await me should I buy the Sentry 2 call-clocker.


Nevertheless, I am so sick of getting calls from Carmen or Bridget from Cardholder Services 2 or 3 times a week along with all the other garbage calls.
Click to expand...

You would need caller-ID service for the Sentry 2 to work.

The Sentry 2 doesn't show the name but only numbers.

You don't need a separate caller-id box for the Sentry 2 to screen calls. Of course, to see the name, you'd need caller id with name as the service and a display that shows both number and name.

For me, I actually use a mutisplitter which I connect the Sentry 2, my cordless phone (with caller id and name display) and answering machine.

The multisplitter is similar to this:

Amazon.com: 5 Port (or 4 , 3 , 2) Way Telephone (Phone , Modem , Fax) Line Splitter 4-Wire Adapter: Electronics

Calls on my whitelist go through as normal. Ones on my blacklist get hung up on 1st ring. New calls not on my whitelist get intercepted and screened on 1st ring.
 
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H2ODude said:
As universally hated as these calls are, you'd think some politician would run on a platform to eliminate this. Heck, I'd contribute to their campaign fund.
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Care to be my campaign manager? Though I would need to also "pack the court" as "cruel and unusual punishment" would be litigated as public whippings for these and any other money thieving scoundrels would be my platform I would run on. I don't want to build prisons the taxpayer must finance. Whips are cheap to buy. Surely 15% of the population would vote for that you think?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
easysurfer said:
You would need caller-ID service for the Sentry 2 to work.

The Sentry 2 doesn't show the name but only numbers.

You don't need a separate caller-id box for the Sentry 2 to screen calls. Of course, to see the name, you'd need caller id with name as the service and a display that shows both number and name.

For me, I actually use a mutisplitter which I connect the Sentry 2, my cordless phone (with caller id and name display) and answering machine.

The multisplitter is similar to this:

Amazon.com: 5 Port (or 4 , 3 , 2) Way Telephone (Phone , Modem , Fax) Line Splitter 4-Wire Adapter: Electronics

Calls on my whitelist go through as normal. Ones on my blacklist get hung up on 1st ring. New calls not on my whitelist get intercepted and screened on 1st ring.
Click to expand...

Not having caller-ID, I would need to pay Verizon more $$ every month AND buy this Sentry device to avoid all the garbage calls, not just pay a one-time amount for only the device. This sounds a lot like a shakedown which I find more distasteful than the calls themselves. No wonder Verizon doesn't really want to stop these calls - they make money from both sides in this little war.
 
scrabbler1 said:
Not having caller-ID, I would need to pay Verizon more $$ every month AND buy this Sentry device to avoid all the garbage calls, not just pay a one-time amount for only the device. This sounds a lot like a shakedown which I find more distasteful than the calls themselves. No wonder Verizon doesn't really want to stop these calls - they make money from both sides in this little war.
Click to expand...

I'm sure the telco companies like Verizon and ATT don't really want to stop these calls. They get you from both sides. Kinda like the irony in buying a car when the salesperson tells you how great the car is until you commit to buy, then the extended warranty person tells you who crappy the car is :).

My understanding is that caller id is required because on first ring, that is how the device gets the number to interpret to block or pass along as good.
 
Clone said:
We just hang up on them. I figure that if you toy with them too much, they are probably in a position to pass your phone number along such that the volume of crank calls goes exponential.
Click to expand...
I had one call me back. It was the Microsoft support scam, and as soon as he introduced himself I started with "MY COMPUTER? OH NO, I CAN'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH MY COMPUTER! I'LL PAY ANYTHING IF YOU CAN FIX IT, PLEASE PLEASE!" Then I got less intelligible, and finally just started wailing/screaming into the phone and hung up. He called me back and said "Hey, you a$$hole" and I picked up a whistle I keep by my phone and blew it as loudly as I could. I think that may have actually been my last call from them.
 
TromboneAl said:
I solved the robocalls problem 100% with this product

Amazon.com: SENTRY 2 (New), Fully automatic blocking, 100% blocking of all spam calls new or repeated.: Electronics

The first time a call from an unknown caller ID is received, the caller has to press "O" when prompted to do so by a message. From then on, that person's calls will go through.

There are a few problems with it, but it has blocked all robocalls--the phone doesn't ring.
Click to expand...

I got one too! Now it's like the old days...when the phone rings we jump to it, and it's ALWAYS someone we know.
 
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