Opinion on a potential scam

[Brdofpray]

We used to live in the Chicago area, now in South Carolina. We still have phone numbers from Illinois. Today, DW started getting slammed with robo calls from the Chicago area (over 20). Each call is from the same town, but different numbers. She did not answer the majority of the calls. She did pick up on three calls, did not say a word, but listened. The gist was, there was a $700 challenge on her Amazon account. Please call this number to resolve. I know it is a scam. We did check her accounts, the credit card account associated with Amazon, etc. Nothing there.

What could they be trying to obtain? Their persistence is annoying!

 

[Ready]

They are going to ask you for a lot of personal information and then try to steal your identity and use your credit cards, checking account, and possibly try to obtain consumer loans in your name.

 

[easysurfer]

Not potential. Is a scam.

 

[Brdofpray]

Any thoughts on how to stop the calls? Or do we let them run their course, until they start targeting someone else.

 

[marko]

Mom (age 91) got a similar call here in Boston yesterday. And she doesn't have a computer.
I told her that trying to get anyone at all on the phone from Amazon was next to impossible under any circumstance so.....

 

[frayne]

Been there, done that, it is a scam.

 

[RunningBum]

Any thoughts on how to stop the calls? Or do we let them run their course, until they start targeting someone else.

Set a custom ringtone for everyone in your contacts, and a different default ringtone for anyone else who calls. I found an app to make it easy to set a ringtone for my contacts. I made the default a very pleasant piece of a song I like so when I hear it I don't interrupt what I'm doing to answer, and it doesn't bother me. So I can tell right away if a call is coming from a contact or not.

If there's a time you are waiting on a callback from a doctor or a vaccine clinic, you might have to answer and find it's one of these calls, but usually I just let people leave a message if it's a legit call.

You can also get a spam blocker but so many of these calls are spoofed numbers with the area code and next 3 digits matching yours. That actually makes it easier for you since you probably aren't expecting any calls from Illinois anymore, so you can also look at your phone and not answer.

 

[RunningBum]

In other words, you can't stop the calls, but you can keep them from bothering you.

 

[harley]

Set a custom ringtone for everyone in your contacts, and a different default ringtone for anyone else who calls. I found an app to make it easy to set a ringtone for my contacts. I made the default a very pleasant piece of a song I like so when I hear it I don't interrupt what I'm doing to answer, and it doesn't bother me. So I can tell right away if a call is coming from a contact or not

So does that mean the ringtone for your contact list is annoying so you'll answer it quickly?

J/k. I do the same thing. Like the OP I no longer live in the area code of my phone number. So if I get a call from that area code (excepting contact list numbers) I reject it immediately. On very rare occasions I'll answer out of curiosity, but without exception they've been spam calls.

As far as the original "potential" scam, it's a scam.

 

[Sunset]

Google , on an android phone, has this screening feature.
Sometimes a phone call rings and it says "Possible Scam" , pretty helpful.

I can even push a button if I'm unsure, and google will announce to the person (paraphrase) "This person is screening all calls so state your name and reason for calling"
A doctor's office was calling, so I pushed accept and answered.
Another time it was a scammer, so their auto dialer (I think) responded to Google's AI , that they would take me off their phone list.
I still pushed the button "report scam"

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

Until we can get SHAKEN/STIR authentication to be required of all phone providers, we'll keep seeing caller ID spoofing attacks like this. (Although it's possible that they obtained a bunch of local numbers through Google Voice, spoofing is much easier, and people are more likely to trust local numbers.) I've written to my legislators about it, but it was already something they supported.

 

[Golden sunsets]

I've noticed something lately on my home phone system. Where the caller ID is displayed on the handset, there is often a completely different set of numbers on the first line and the second line shows a local number, which leads me to believe that the spoof or alias number is not fully disguised. I won't answer when this happens and so far no legitimate message to call back has been left. So this is an help.

 

[euro]

My cellphone is set so it only rings for numbers that are in my contact list. Everything else goes directly to voicemail and if there is no valid message left, it is ignored. If it is valid then we will call back. Yes, this is inconvenient at times, but it is the reality of life these days.
On our landline/voip line, we have been screening (to answering machine) basically for as long as answering machines have been widely available (~80-ies). Friends and relatives have long ago learned that they need to at least start leaving a message so we have time to pick up, if they want to get in touch.

 

[scrabbler1]

I have had Nomorobo on my land line phone for just over 4 years. It blocks some robocalls but many others get through because the scammers spoof the numbers for every call to stay ahead of Nomorobo's database. We have had many threads here about phone scammers and the tales they tell us to try to get us to give out our personal info. I have gotten the fake Amazon call a few times. I will sign into my Amazon account to make sure there are no recent orders other than the rare one I may have recently authorized which might still be in progress.

 

[disneysteve]

My 90 year old mom got two of those calls yesterday. She doesn’t even have an Amazon account. We have to keep telling her it’s a scam and to hang up and not say a word. It’s tough because she’s old and gullible. She’s never actually gotten scammed but so many times has given us great detail about the calls she gets meaning she spent way too much time on the calls.

 

[braumeister]

Another suggestion is to put the WideProtect app on your phone. I've been using it for a couple of years and it has cut the spam calls down to almost none.

 

[MarieIG]

Yes, we get that call as well . . .

 

[RobbieB]

Oh yeah, an endless stream of scammers;

Apple account, amazon account, microsoft has found malware on your box, a $700 charge has been placed on your account, press 1 to have it removed.

 

[SnowballCamper]

Yeah, DW found a setting on her smartphone so that only calls from numbers in her contacts will ring. Highly recommended!

 

[Markola]

Yeah, DW found a setting on her smartphone so that only calls from numbers in her contacts will ring. Highly recommended!

Settings/Phones/Silence Unknown Callers. That plus the Hiya app work well for me. For some reason, however, the “Hi this is ATT Direct TV” robocall scam seems able to make it through any fence I can install.

 

[twaddle]

For anybody curious about how the Amazon refund scam works, this is worth a peek:

 

[harley]

Yeah, DW found a setting on her smartphone so that only calls from numbers in her contacts will ring. Highly recommended!

If you ever make calls to companies that will call you back, this won't work. If you never talk to anyone you don't already know, this is a great solution.

 

[cbo111]

Set a custom ringtone for everyone in your contacts, and a different default ringtone for anyone else who calls. I found an app to make it easy to set a ringtone for my contacts. I made the default a very pleasant piece of a song I like so when I hear it I don't interrupt what I'm doing to answer, and it doesn't bother me. So I can tell right away if a call is coming from a contact or not.

If there's a time you are waiting on a callback from a doctor or a vaccine clinic, you might have to answer and find it's one of these calls, but usually I just let people leave a message if it's a legit call.

You can also get a spam blocker but so many of these calls are spoofed numbers with the area code and next 3 digits matching yours. That actually makes it easier for you since you probably aren't expecting any calls from Illinois anymore, so you can also look at your phone and not answer.

I've done a similar thing, but for the past couple months we had to abandon that because we have the vaccine lotteries here in Florida where you sign up online and wait for calls from the surrounding counties. And you have to answer these calls to get a reservation. They try to reach you twice, and if they can't, then back into the lottery you go!

 

[disneysteve]

Yeah, DW found a setting on her smartphone so that only calls from numbers in her contacts will ring. Highly recommended!

I did that for a while but had to turn it off because I found I was missing some important calls. Not everyone who calls me is in my contact list, especially businesses. Even if I have the business main number on my list, they often have multiple lines so when they would call me, it wouldn't ring through. Plus I now have a relative on hospice care and I'm the contact person so I need to be able to get those calls.

 

[RobbieB]

I just let all I don't know go to voice mail.

Then I delete them.