Jean in Newcastle Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 I'm sure they were trying to get her to tell them her credit card number etc.but she was alternately too savvy and too clueless for them. She said that since their script was word-for-word what the t.v. news had warned about that she was sure it couldn't actually be scammers but were college aged kids playing a joke. Until she refused to tell them stuff and they told her they knew where she lived and would come kill her. They called back 3 times. She's not too shaken up - they have good security at her retirement community but I'm a bit mad. Not so much at the scammers. I mean - they are scum but we know that they are doing what they do in order to bilk the elderly out of money. I'm more angry at the police who brushed my mom's call off. They only took it seriously when my sister got on the phone and called them. Not that they can do much but I do think they should be aware of the situation and should do what they can to reassure my mom. My mom now has caller i.d. on her phone and is having fun with her new toy :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethel Mertz Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Oh, Jean, that's terrible! I'm glad your mother wasn't too shaken by this and am glad she's having fun with her caller ID. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
school17777 Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Glad your mother was smart about it and isn't scared. Very sad though that someone would do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 How do these people sleep at night?!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted February 19, 2015 Author Share Posted February 19, 2015 My mom said that the police officer who first took her call "solved" the problem by telling her to not use her phone. Mom's retort was "I have a phone for a reason." and the officer backtracked with "Well, I guess you do need to talk on the phone sometimes." My sister was the one who came up with the idea of getting her Caller I.D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Wait, what? The police treated a 90 year old woman like that? Geez, really, especially if the news had already warned citizens about a scam like this. I wonder how they'd like it if their mother was told that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El... Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 What dirtbags those scammers are! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelle in MO Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 That's crazy on both fronts--scammers and police! How wonderful that she wasn't shaken! Glad she has caller ID now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Wait, what? The police treated a 90 year old woman like that? Geez, really, especially if the news had already warned citizens about a scam like this. I wonder how they'd like it if their mother was told that? The scammers are dirtbags. My 88 yo FIL got a call once and fortunately was aware of what they were doing. I'd almost be more angry at the police than the scammers. If they hadn't taken your sister seriously (though really, she shouldn't have had to call them), I'd say take it to the media. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted February 19, 2015 Author Share Posted February 19, 2015 I should say that she was shaken a bit. She's taken to locking her door now. But she's not too worried that they will actually track her down. One of the things they did was to say "We know you live at _(wrong address)__" hoping that she would correct them and give them the right address and she didn't fall for that. She got a bit of a kick out of some things. The man who was scamming her used the "I'm a good Christian man" ploy but was not amused when she pointed out that a good Christian man wouldn't be trying to scam her out of money. ;) She said he used definitely "un-Christian " language at that point! She called him on that too:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 :grouphug: Hugs to your mom. Sounds like she's a smart cookie! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 There's no spot in hell hot enough for scumbags who harass elderly people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 I am so angry at both the scammers and the police! :angry: Your mom sounds like a real pip, though -- I'll bet I would like her a lot if I met her! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 I should say that she was shaken a bit. She's taken to locking her door now. But she's not too worried that they will actually track her down. One of the things they did was to say "We know you live at _(wrong address)__" hoping that she would correct them and give them the right address and she didn't fall for that. She got a bit of a kick out of some things. The man who was scamming her used the "I'm a good Christian man" ploy but was not amused when she pointed out that a good Christian man wouldn't be trying to scam her out of money. ;) She said he used definitely "un-Christian " language at that point! She called him on that too:) Atta girl! if we ever wonder where your sass and spine comes from, look no further. Your mom is a gem! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigs Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Glad your mom was too smart for them! Don't use the phone??? Ummm ok. I wish I could do the "rolling eyes" emoticon on this kindle... but I'm doing that right now. Here you go: :001_rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 That just makes me go "grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happi duck Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 What the he// is wrong with people!?!?!?!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Good for your mom! Although I would have just hung up the phone rather than carry on a conversation. I once had a call from a charity that was collecting money for kidnapped kids, or something like that. I never give money over the phone to organizations I don't know. When I said that, the man told me I'd feel differently if someone kidnapped my kids. He sounded so creepy that it scared me. I told him he was an a$$hole and hung up the phone. Thankfully, he didn't call back. But it's because of that call that I use caller ID. I do not answer calls I don't recognize. If it's important and they really need to talk to me, they should leave a voicemail and I'll call them back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hikin' Mama Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 That's horrible! I do not understand people who pull this kind of crap, :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orthodox6 Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Caller ID has flaws, imo. We often receive calls which say "Texas" or some other state, but no name -- just the phone number. Some of the time the call is "real" and from a friend or relative whose phone number we have not memorized. This mom receives my enthusiastic salute for her preparedness and quick intelligence! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brehon Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 You know, I'm with another poster. I'm mad at the police for their reaction. In fact, I would either urge my mom to file a complaint against the officer(s) who had such a cavalier attitude or I would myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 That's horrible! Good for your mom for handling it the way she did! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted February 19, 2015 Author Share Posted February 19, 2015 You know, I'm with another poster. I'm mad at the police for their reaction. In fact, I would either urge my mom to file a complaint against the officer(s) who had such a cavalier attitude or I would myself. My mom won't do it. I could talk to my sister about doing it. (I'm thousands of miles away.) Despite my mom's sharp comebacks and savvy, she actually is starting to get a bit confused now that she's turned 90. So she didn't think to actually hang up since that would be impolite. Despite my sister's worries that she wouldn't remember all the instructions for not using the Caller I.D. correctly, Mom told me how to do it in detail. :) But yes, I'm mad at the police. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 How would telling her to not use her phone. fix this they told her they knew where she lived and would come kill her. That's beyond ridiculous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbutton Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 You can also call a regulatory commission for things like this. I want to say the FCC is the right agency. http://www.fcc.gov/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbutton Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Whoa...the FCC gives a list of who is responsible for policing which kinds of violations: https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us/articles/202958440-Issues-Outside-the-Jurisdiction-of-the-FCC?from=button The FTC has a page like this too (they seem to be the most applicable): http://www.ftc.gov/faq/consumer-protection/submit-consumer-complaint-ftc Hmm...maybe you can embarrass and educate the police officer with one of these links. I think this goes well beyond fraud and may need to be reported to more than one agency. If another agency takes this seriously when the police did not, I would definitely complain to the police about how they handled it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firefly Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Your poor Mom! I would be shaken, too. It would be unsettling to have someone say they're going to come kill you, even if you feel fairly certain they couldn't really carry through with the threat. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted February 19, 2015 Author Share Posted February 19, 2015 Your poor Mom! I would be shaken, too. It would be unsettling to have someone say they're going to come kill you, even if you feel fairly certain they couldn't really carry through with the threat. :( Me too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Χά�ων Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Might be worth notifying the media and telling them the same scam included death threats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Whoa...the FCC gives a list of who is responsible for policing which kinds of violations: https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us/articles/202958440-Issues-Outside-the-Jurisdiction-of-the-FCC?from=button The FTC has a page like this too (they seem to be the most applicable): http://www.ftc.gov/faq/consumer-protection/submit-consumer-complaint-ftc Hmm...maybe you can embarrass and educate the police officer with one of these links. I think this goes well beyond fraud and may need to be reported to more than one agency. If another agency takes this seriously when the police did not, I would definitely complain to the police about how they handled it. Threats of violence do escalate things above fraud level. I'd call the agencies, not just make an online form report. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 That's terrible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Might be worth notifying the media and telling them the same scam included death threats. Especially the station who did the original report she saw! I'm glad your mom was too wily for them. What awful scum. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 I encourage you to consider putting your folks' number on an OOMA line instead of a landline. The OOMA handsets can work just like a landline, and you can even port their number there. Best thing is that you can blacklist whole categories of callers (sort of like internet filters) as well as individual numbers, and you can access an entire log of all calls (in and out), and click Block on charities, scammers, etc. I urge anyone with elderly parents to do this ASAP. Phone scammers and "charities" (both legit and not legit) prey on elderly, and once your folks are "on a list", the calls will soon be incessant. I did this with Mom's number a year ago, and the calls have finally stopped. It just took 5 min/week to click through incoming numbers and block them . . . She was getting dozens of scam/charity/etc calls daily. It was awful. The cost for "premier" two line service is $10-15/mo, porting the number cost $40 or so, and if you buy their special handsets (photo caller ID!!), those are $50 each, but you can alternatively use "normal" phones no problem. I love, love, love it. Voice quality is perfect. I set it up so all voicemails result in an email (with the mp3 attached) as well as a text to me . . . So, I never miss messages. No, I don't work for them or have any financial stake in OOMA. Just a happy customer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innisfree Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 I would be beyond livid, and would definitely report the threat. How awful! :mad: It would also make me wonder if they've tried that line with anyone else. Some elderly folks, living alone, could be seriously frightened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted February 20, 2015 Author Share Posted February 20, 2015 I encourage you to consider putting your folks' number on an OOMA line instead of a landline. The OOMA handsets can work just like a landline, and you can even port their number there. Best thing is that you can blacklist whole categories of callers (sort of like internet filters) as well as individual numbers, and you can access an entire log of all calls (in and out), and click Block on charities, scammers, etc. I urge anyone with elderly parents to do this ASAP. Phone scammers and "charities" (both legit and not legit) prey on elderly, and once your folks are "on a list", the calls will soon be incessant. I did this with Mom's number a year ago, and the calls have finally stopped. It just took 5 min/week to click through incoming numbers and block them . . . She was getting dozens of scam/charity/etc calls daily. It was awful. The cost for "premier" two line service is $10-15/mo, porting the number cost $40 or so, and if you buy their special handsets (photo caller ID!!), those are $50 each, but you can alternatively use "normal" phones no problem. I love, love, love it. Voice quality is perfect. I set it up so all voicemails result in an email (with the mp3 attached) as well as a text to me . . . So, I never miss messages. No, I don't work for them or have any financial stake in OOMA. Just a happy customer. I'll have to look that up. My mom has a special closed caption phone because she is profoundly hard of hearing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJosMom Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 She got a bit of a kick out of some things. The man who was scamming her used the "I'm a good Christian man" ploy but was not amused when she pointed out that a good Christian man wouldn't be trying to scam her out of money. ;) She said he used definitely "un-Christian " language at that point! She called him on that too:) Your mom sounds really cool. Go, Granny! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurel-in-CA Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 I am really sorry about this for your mom - but she sounds tough enough to deal. Glad your sister pushed it with the police. My oldest is applying for jobs on craigslist. You would not believe the scammers. Requests for photos and offers of private modeling jobs. A personal assistant job where she was offered a high rate of pay and then asked to put up her own money to be paid by a check - which was actually dispatched to her for deposit. She hesitated because she had NEVER met or even skyped with the supposed employer. Told them she wouldn't do it unless she could see them....and is still holding the fake $1500 check, which if she had deposited would apparently have given them access to her checking account and, quite possibly, SSN. The police said, well, we really can't do anything about internet stuff......good thing you were smart. She left the fake check with them. Evil flourishes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 Google the police's department in your Mom's area. Quite often the "regular guys" don't really handle these calls but the Fraud Department (they can go by various names) is usually more interested in it. My mother (who lives in Europe) got a scam call from "her grandson" who asked if she would loan him a little money and he would give her his account number. Mom thought it was so hilarious that she never even considered calling the police. Since Mom's grandson does not speak her language fluently but the caller did, she was incredibly amused. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted February 21, 2015 Author Share Posted February 21, 2015 My dh's cousin got a distress call from our "son" about 5 or 6 months ago. She was very suspicious but that didn't stop her from blistering the young scammer's ear with helpful advice on how to get his life in order. Then she called us to see if it really was ds and despite being told by us and by ds that it wasn't, she still spent another twenty minutes blistering ds' ear with helpful advice on how to get his life in order! She's a bit of a force of nature and we had quite the laugh about the scammer walking blind into that one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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