The world has changed a bit with the smart phones, and the ability to screen, but that movie about the bully callers really opened my eyes some time ago. It seems like there should be a mandatory scam class in highschool which I think would be a fun week or two of real life schooling.
If you google it, apparently there was just a major bust in India with something like 750 call center people arrested, along with 4 ring leaders in Miami, FL.
People aren't going to remember what they learned in their high school scam class 50 years later when they actually need it.
I like to make sure an actual operator has picked up on the other end, and then I yell: 'I already told you, I don't want your chemical weapons! NSA! NSA! These people are trying to sell weapons of mass destruction!!' I usually don't get called back by the same scam group after doing that once or twice.
You mean...I can get technical support and sued by the IRS for taxes rhetoric from the same call center guy in India? That would be hilarious. I be like "I can't get my wi-fi router to work!". He be like "Did you hold the reset button down for 15 seconds?". Then, he be like "...and the IRS is suing you for failing to pay your taxes!". Then, I be like "cool but I just want my router back up!". Then, he be like "this is very serious. cops are on their way!". Then, I be like "can they take back my POS wi-fi router back to Best Buy for me and get me another one?". Then, he be like "you laugh now...but you're in big trouble!". Then, I be like "Big Trouble in Little India?". No offense to the people of India...but if I picked up my phone and got a spiel from some heavily accented person about how the IRS is suing me if I don't pay up or I'm going to jail, I would be LMFAO!
My three favorite scams of late were: 1. The valets who took your car keys, asked u to fill out a form to win a prize with your address on it, then drove your car to your home while you eat at the restaurant, go into your house, steal all your stuff, and give your car back. If someone did that to me, I almost have to congratulate them. 2. The fox in Zootopia. 3. The Lincoln Lawyer videographer.
Valet keys are out of fashion these days... makes that easier to pull off, now that I think about it.
I received 4 or 5 of those things. They were very threatening robotic calls. The woman doing it was obviously from the States, or a damn good actress. I immediately knew they were fake. The IRS doesn't operate that way.
Trying making crude remarks out of no where. "I will make payments when you and your mom and sister have a threesome." "What is a 3some?" "It's when your mom goes down on you like this while you finger your sister" "Well we at the IRS....."
Any calls asking for urgent, immediate payment is definitely a red flag. Unless they promise a large tax refund next month...
sometimes it's not purely about scamming money. The 'verification' info can be used for id theft. (dob, tax# etc).
