SS Scam

[dtbach]

I usually try to have some fun with them and waste as much time as I can so they can't move on to the next victim. My small part in helping the world.

 

[Sunset]

I usually try to have some fun with them and waste as much time as I can so they can't move on to the next victim. My small part in helping the world.

If you are talking about the IRS, I was thinking next time of putting a strip club or sex line phone number down on my return.
Gov't workers need some entertainment

 

[ncbill]

The IRS has my tax preparer's phone number, so there's no reason to provide mine.

 

[aja8888]

They do get paid for this, but it’s not a scam. They are required to do it from Medicare. It’s part of their quality score. You’d be surprised how many people never actually connect with a healthcare provider until they are really sick. The belief is that not engaging with a provider is actually more expensive in the long run.

My friends, who are quite health conscious, were getting these calls monthly. Sounds like a nice racket for the doctors.

 

[splitwdw]

Here is what is shown in the 2017 instruction booklet for Form 1040 (emphasis mine):

"Daytime Phone Number

Providing your daytime phone number may help speed the processing of your return. We may have questions about items on your return, such as the earned income credit or the credit for child and dependent care expenses. If you answer our questions over the phone, we may be
able to continue processing your return without mailing you a letter. If you are filing a joint return, you can enter either your or your spouse's daytime phone number."

Doesn't this conflict with the text you posted from the linked article?

Yes, yes it does maybe they just wanted your number. I really don't think they will call you. So far, wherever I've looked on their web site it states that they will send you a notice in the mail. Here's another, it's an excerpt from the "FAQ Refunds"..

"It's been longer than 21 days since the IRS received my return and I haven’t gotten my refund. Why?
Some tax returns take longer to process than others for many reasons, including when a return:

• Includes errors
• Is incomplete
• Is affected by identity theft or fraud
• Includes a claim filed for an Earned Income Tax Credit or an Additional Child Tax Credit. See Q&A below.
• Includes a Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation, which could take up to 14 weeks to process
• Needs further review in general

We will contact you by mail when we need more information to process your return."

https://www.irs.gov/refunds/tax-season-refund-frequently-asked-questions

 

[davebarnes]

I am now a member of this club.
So fake. Robot voice. "Officer Nancy..."
And, 5 minutes later, got another one.

 

[NW-Bound]

I did get a call from SSA, but it was an interview call, confirming my application info. I believe the online process indicated there might be a call.

After my wife applied on the Web for her SS at 62, she got a call from them.

The caller said that the application was already processed, and whether my wife wanted the first check to be deposited in the upcoming cycle in just a few days.

 

[Badger]

They do get paid for this, but it’s not a scam. They are required to do it from Medicare. It’s part of their quality score. You’d be surprised how many people never actually connect with a healthcare provider until they are really sick. The belief is that not engaging with a provider is actually more expensive in the long run.

IF that is the case then Medicare should be notifying all participants up front of this program instead of through your doctor.
I was contacted by my doctor a couple years ago and thought it was going to be an annual physical. I fell for it. No physical and no blood work just a few questions and a form to fill out. Then a nurse came in and said the generic "lose a couple of pounds, exercise, eat more veggies". I do all those things and my blood pressure, cholesterol levels, etc. are very good. It was just a way to supplement the doctors income.
I call that a scam.


Cheers!

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

If you are talking about the IRS, I was thinking next time of putting a strip club or sex line phone number down on my return.
Gov't workers need some entertainment

Don't do it.


They are authorized to ding you $500 if they think you are a wise guy. No appeal.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

We have an answering machine with caller ID. Most scam calls ("Anonymous", or just a local city name) never leave a message. Lately we have been getting "blah blah blah...this is your final notice." about every half hour during the day. Final notice, I wish.


One funny one: the Caller ID said "Scam Call". (Why not?)

 

[RetireBy90]

One funny one: the Caller ID said "Scam Call". (Why not?)

Been getting lots of spam or scam calls on land line, and many of them have spam in caller id. Seems funny to me that caller id shows them to be spam.

 

[googily]

Been getting lots of spam or scam calls on land line, and many of them have spam in caller id. Seems funny to me that caller id shows them to be spam.

Phone companies are starting to mark calls as suspected spam callers.

 

[FreeBear]

I just let all numbers I don’t recognize go to voicemail. I think Clarke Howard recommends this, but I’ve been defaulting to this for some time out of annoyance. Legit callers leave a reasonable message (no robo voice threatening doom), and I just call back the phone on the official website or statement.

 

[teejayevans]

What’s the point of the scam, are they going to try to get your personal information from you on the call back?

 

[Teacher Terry]

When I applied for SS I got a phone call that my benefits couldn’t start until they talked to me and it was legitimate.

 

[DatumPoint5]

What’s the point of the scam, are they going to try to get your personal information from you on the call back?

I think the scam is that if you call back, the phone company will start charging you anywhere from 1 dollar to 5 dollars and more per minute (or some other "big number"). The scammers will just try to "keep you talking" for as long as they can. A lot of the "call back" numbers I have heard on my own answering machine follow this path.

If you try to contest such a charge with your telephone company, it may push back, saying that all it did was connect you to a foreign number that you willingly dialed, and that it has no control over the high per-minute costs.

For further reading see this AARP link.
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