The other day I got a phone call from a number I didn't
recognize; caller ID said "UNKNOWN NAME." I let it go to voice mail.
The caller, who may or may not have been a robot, left a threatening message. "I
am calling regarding an important action executed by the U.S. Treasury requiring
your immediate attention. Ignoring will be an intentional attempt to avoid
initial appearance before the magistrate judge or grand jury and is a federal
criminal offense. I would like you to cooperate with us so we can help
you."
I had just read about a scam where a senior citizen got a
similar call from someone who claimed to be from the IRS. The poor man was shamed
into forking over $5000.00 that he was told he owed, in order to avoid being
hauled off to jail. The scammer was the one who belonged in jail.
After my nuisance call, I filed a complaint with the Do Not
Call list, which does no good whatsoever, but it made me feel better. I also
noticed someone posted on a neighborhood social media site that she had
received the same call, exact wording, but from a different phone number. I wrote
about my experience in the comments. Within a few hours, over 60 people had
reported receiving the same call, from various phone numbers and supposed
locations. We congratulated ourselves that we had all recognized a fraud and
failed to bite.
But someone is biting, or these con artists would eventually
give up.
My 90-year-old mother-in-law used to fall for letters from bogus
charities and the fake lotteries that assured her she was a winner; all she had
to do to claim her million dollars was mail back a check for a small processing
fee. And then the crooks got hold of her signature and bank information from
the check, and started debiting her account every month.
Some of the phony solicitations she received were disguised
as correspondence from government agencies, such as the Social Security
Administration or the property tax assessor. At first glance, they appeared
real, until you closely examined the fine print.
We finally had to take her checkbook away. It was a good thing
she never got a computer. Otherwise, she would have been corresponding with
Nigerian princes who wanted to park their millions in her bank account.
New schemes constantly appear to cheat unsuspecting people
out of their hard-earned money. Some scams are easy to spot, but some are
getting more clever. Caller ID and spam filters can't keep up. Government and
law enforcement agencies are overwhelmed with complaints. If only these
criminals would use their minds for honest work...
What suggestions to you have for dealing with scam calls and
emails? I would love to hear your comments.
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