Weird phone call

[Night Elf]

A man just called my house line and asked for Deloris somebody name I can't pronounce. I told him he had the wrong number and he said, you know your voicemail said Deloris. I said no, it says my last name. He sounded skeptical and said well okay and he hung up. I used my cell phone to call my land line and the voicemail definitely has my name on it so I have no idea what he's talking about. He called me two times in a row, just long enough for the first call to have gone to voicemail. There's nothing I can do but I'm mystified.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Probably a collector. 

[Lanny]

FOR SECURITY REASONS I strongly suggest that you change that message so that it does not have your name on it. Change it to something like, "Thank you for calling, I'm sorry we cannot talk at this time. Please leave your name and your phone number after the tone"

[Bootsie]

FOR SECURITY REASONS I strongly suggest that you change that message so that it does not have your name on it. Change it to something like, "Thank you for calling, I'm sorry we cannot talk at this time. Please leave your name and your phone number after the tone"

What safety/security issue is there if a caller hears "You have reached the Smith residence..."? 

[Lanny]

IMO it is better for security if the message is generic and does not identify the family or an individual.

 

Sent from my SM-G355M using Tapatalk

[redsquirrel]

My outgoing messages always just says the number, not the name. It says "you have reached 123-456-7890 please leave a message after the beep" That way, if someone has got a wrong number they can double check it, but if you know me, you know it's my number.

 

I learned that when I worked at a domestic violence agency. Our agency outgoing message only had (has) the number and anyone who worked for the agency was required (waaaay back in the day, lol) to have an unlisted and blocked number and to not have any identifying information associated with our phones etc, for our personal safety. Sadly, it wasn't uncommon for our office to get some scary threats.

Edited March 29, 2017 by redsquirrel

[Scarlett]

My outgoing messages always just says the number, not the name. It says "you have reached 123-456-7890 please leave a message after the beep" That way, if someone has got a wrong number they can double check it, but if you know me, you know it's my number.

 

 

This is a pain for businesses who call for legitimate reasons.  I have to call customers and if I get a number with no name I am often left wondering if I reached the right number or not. 

[Scarlett]

What safety/security issue is there if a caller hears "You have reached the Smith residence..."? 

 

 

I have never understood this either. 

[Bootsie]

My outgoing messages always just says the number, not the name. It says "you have reached 123-456-7890 please leave a message after the beep" That way, if someone has got a wrong number they can double check it, but if you know me, you know it's my number.

 

I learned that when I worked at a domestic violence agency. Our agency outgoing message only had (has) the number and anyone who worked for the agency was required (waaaay back in the day, lol) to have an unlisted and blocked number and to not have any identifying information associated with our phones etc, for our personal safety. Sadly, it wasn't uncommon for our office to get some scary threats.

I can understand security issues associated with a domestic violence agency, but to me that is far different from my home.  And, with technology today, it doesn't seem to make much difference.  For many numbers, it is fairly easy to do a search and find out who 123-456-7890 belongs to. 

 

I am just trying to figure out what real threat exists if someone randomly calls my number and finds out my last name is Smith. 

[redsquirrel]

This is a pain for businesses who call for legitimate reasons.  I have to call customers and if I get a number with no name I am often left wondering if I reached the right number or not. 

 

but if you called me you should have the number.  And if you don't it's still not my problem. My concern for my personal safety is more important than my concern for the inconvenience to a business.  I haven't had any problems with business not leaving messages.  It might say something like "I am leaving a message for Ms Squirrel, This is Ms Car mechanic.  I am calling about your car that needed repairs, please call me at 111-222-3333"   No problems.

 

I've had that as my outgoing message for over 20 years on a variety of platforms and no one has every said it caused a problem. I've never not got any messages I needed to get and no one has ever expressed that it caused them any difficulty. I have got quite a few 'Sorry wrong number' messages though, lol. Why anyone would take the time to leave a message saying 'wrong number' is beyond me.

[Scarlett]

but if you called me you should have the number.  And if you don't it's still not my problem. My concern for my personal safety is more important than my concern for the inconvenience to a business.  I haven't had any problems with business not leaving messages.  It might say something like "I am leaving a message for Ms Squirrel, This is Ms Car mechanic.  I am calling about your car that needed repairs, please call me at 111-222-3333"   No problems.

 

I've had that as my outgoing message for over 20 years on a variety of platforms and no one has every said it caused a problem. I've never not got any messages I needed to get and no one has ever expressed that it caused them any difficulty. I have got quite a few 'Sorry wrong number' messages though, lol. Why anyone would take the time to leave a message saying 'wrong number' is beyond me.

 

 

No, I wouldn't tell a customer it was a problem.  But yes it could be a problem if you were looking for an answer from me and I left the information on someone else's phone because someone transposed a number and I wasn't sure if I had the right person or not.  And you are right it is not a likely issue to happen, but it does bug me.  I do realize that it is not customer's problem if I am bugged or not.  :)

[SKL]

Weird.  I have been getting several calls from a guy who claims he wants to go into a psychiatrist partnership with a woman whose name is similar to mine and who somehow showed up on my credit report decades ago.  He's calling my cell phone.  So strange.  :P

[OH_Homeschooler]

I don't know if it's a scam or just a new sales tactic, but DH has been getting a lot of calls where they ask for a completely wrong name as a way to engage you when you would normally just hang up. (I don't answer most calls if I don't recognize the number so I can't comment personally).

[redsquirrel]

No, I wouldn't tell a customer it was a problem.  But yes it could be a problem if you were looking for an answer from me and I left the information on someone else's phone because someone transposed a number and I wasn't sure if I had the right person or not.  And you are right it is not a likely issue to happen, but it does bug me.  I do realize that it is not customer's problem if I am bugged or not.  :)

 

Maybe once a year I get a message for someone else.  Even more rarely than that, I get a series of messages for someone else. Usually by the second call they sound more tentative. If someone calls three times, I will call the number back and let them know they have the wrong number. I have had to do that once and that was back in the 1990s.

[Lanny]

I don't think the message should include the phone number either.  Our magicJack phone has a regular landline phone number, in the USA.  After we got it, several times, I received calls from a bank that, apparently, the previous party who'd had that phone number had a Credit card with. They called to check on transactions, several times and they left messages on the Voice Mail. Sadly, they did not leave their phone number in their message so I could call them and tell them he doesn't have that phone number now. . Finally one day, I picked up the magicJack phone and it was them and I explained that their customer had apparently changed phone numbers. No more calls from them.  It also got some Telemarketing calls and I registered the phone number on the "Do Not Call" list (is that what it is called?) and have not received any more of those calls.   :hurray:

 

OT: One day, my wife picked up the magicJack phone. The man calling asked for her first name. I think they spoke for a minute or so, before they realized he had the wrong number and that my wife wasn't the one with that name he wanted to speak with.  :-)

 

 

[Lanny]

I don't know if it's a scam or just a new sales tactic, but DH has been getting a lot of calls where they ask for a completely wrong name as a way to engage you when you would normally just hang up. (I don't answer most calls if I don't recognize the number so I can't comment personally).

 

Yes, my wife looks at the Caller ID on our landline phone before she picks it up.  Also, on her cell, I don't think she will answer, unless she knows the number calling.  

[Jean in Newcastle]

Some calls are fishing (or phishing) for information.  It can be a bill collector who knows that they are not calling the right number but hope that you will give up the previous tenant's information or that of a relative.  (I had bill collectors call for YEARS for someone who has the same name as my niece.) 

 

Sometimes it is a scammer who wants to know your name or information in order to make a better connection so that they can scam you.  Neither my husband or I actually use our birth names regularly so that works against scammers because even when they pretend that they are a long lost friend, we know very well that they aren't.  They don't particularly care what your name is but it's a bit harder for some people to hang up on someone who is chummy with them.

 

 

 

 

[redsquirrel]

The vast majority of 'wrong numbers' on my cell phone are scammers. I don't think I've ever had a legitimate wrong number call on my cell. I dont answer if I don't recognize the number and if it's a scam message I block it right away.

 

FWIW, I only get actual phone calls on my phone if there is an emergency of some sort. I think my mom called me once to tell me something important. Everyone just texts if they need to communicate. I sometimes think I could easily get rid of the phone function of my 'phone' and never miss it, lol

[Katy]

Yeah, this was a collector I bet. When we moved here we had repo agents knocking on our door for months.  I had to show them ID before they stopped knocking, even though it's totally illegal here.

 

I don't leave my name on my voicemail either.  I don't want scammers to have additional information about me when they call.

[Lanny]

For SECURITY reasons we have a rule that if we receive a call and they say it is, for example, a bank calling That we must assume the call is for Criminal purposes

Sent from my SM-G355M using Tapatalk

 

ETA: So much for my ability to type on my phone...   It sent the message before I finished...  If for example, we receive a call from someone saying they are working for a bank, we assume that it is a Criminal calling.  If we call a bank, we know that we called a bank.

 

People calling and looking for information, we don't give them information...

 

People trying to sell us things over the phone, we don't buy what they are selling.

 

 

Edited March 29, 2017 by Lanny

[Jean in Newcastle]

A scammer called here pretending to be the police.  What almost took me in though was the fact that they had spoofed the real police number so the caller ID said that it was the police.  We knew that it was false though when he said that he had a warrant out for dh's arrest because he missed jury duty but if we bought gift cards to the tune of $2000 and mailed it to him, that all would be forgiven.  We put him on hold and called the real police who were well aware of the scam but when we went back to talk to him, he had wised up and hung up. 

[Lanny]

The vast majority of 'wrong numbers' on my cell phone are scammers. I don't think I've ever had a legitimate wrong number call on my cell. I dont answer if I don't recognize the number and if it's a scam message I block it right away.

 

FWIW, I only get actual phone calls on my phone if there is an emergency of some sort. I think my mom called me once to tell me something important. Everyone just texts if they need to communicate. I sometimes think I could easily get rid of the phone function of my 'phone' and never miss it, lol

 

Or, you and your mom can sign up for WhatsApp and you can use that, as long as you have good Wifi available, or Data.  I think it uses a lot of Data, but in an emergency, it would obviously be worth using the data.

 

My wife did a video call with her sister, who lives about 4 hours from us, this morning, on WhatsApp. Her sister was in their house, on Wifi. My wife was helping with a project. I think they probably spoke for 30 minutes or an hour.  Free.

 

ETA: You can also send Messages to other WhatsApp users free. I am like you,  happier to send a message than to talk on the phone. One can do that at their convenience, not at the convenience of someone who calls them. 

Edited March 29, 2017 by Lanny

[Jean in Newcastle]

Or, you and your mom can sign up for WhatsApp and you can use that, as long as you have good Wifi available, or Data.  I think it uses a lot of Data, but in an emergency, it would obviously be worth using the data.

 

My wife did a video call with her sister, who lives about 4 hours from us, this morning, on WhatsApp. Her sister was in their house, on Wifi. My wife was helping with a project. I think they probably spoke for 30 minutes or an hour.  Free.

 

This prompted me to look at my WhatsApp app.  I use it for chats but didn't know that you could make voice calls. 

[Scarlett]

For SECURITY reasons we have a rule that if we receive a call and they say it is, for example, a bank calling That we must assume the call is for Criminal purposes

 

Sent from my SM-G355M using Tapatalk

 

ETA: So much for my ability to type on my phone...   It sent the message before I finished...  If for example, we receive a call from someone saying they are working for a bank, we assume that it is a Criminal calling.  If we call a bank, we know that we called a bank.

 

People calling and looking for information, we don't give them information...

 

People trying to sell us things over the phone, we don't buy what they are selling.

 

 

I think this is a good policy. 

[Night Elf]

I'm not worried about having my last name on my voicemail. You can google my phone number and see my name and address. I didn't give the caller this morning any information. I just thought it was odd that he said he heard a different name, and a long one at that, on my voicemail. It just wasn't true.

 

Normally I do not answer calls that I don't recognize but that particular number called twice with only a couple of minutes between calls. I worried it was someone important.

[Scarlett]

One of my friend's just told me that her mother....who is about 65....gave scammers $5000 recently.  !!!!  I couldn't believe she fell for it. 

[Cinder]

My outgoing messages always just says the number, not the name.

 

I had a co-worker whose message said, "You have reached the number you have dialed. Please leave a message."   :laugh: 

[ashfern]

I don't know if it's a scam or just a new sales tactic, but DH has been getting a lot of calls where they ask for a completely wrong name as a way to engage you when you would normally just hang up. (I don't answer most calls if I don't recognize the number so I can't comment personally).

 

When I get those type of calls I just say nope not that person and hang up. I usually won't answer if I don't have the number in my phone. Occasionally I will pick it up but as soon as I realize it's a telemarketer I say nope not interested and hang up.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I used to have people dialing my number ALL the time, looking for Walmart Pharmacy.  I finally had to go looking it up, the Walmart Pharmacy number had 2 numbers transposed from my phone number, so instead of 506 it was 056.  I think they must have changed it though because I haven't gotten a call like that in a while.  I had one lady call 3 times in a row, this was before I realized what happened.  She was convinced she had the right number and kept reading it to me.  I kept trying to explain to her, yes, that number is the number you have called....but it reaches my cell phone and not Walmart Pharmacy.  She must have gone and looked it back up because I didn't get her again. 

 

The ones that were funny though were the ones that would leave a message.  My voicemail would say "Hi, it's Jane, please leave a message and I will call back."  Very clearly a personal phone, not a Pharmacy.  Really, I can't remember the last time I called a pharmacy and didn't have to press like 5 different buttons.  So I don't know why people would hear that greeting and then just leave a message.  "Yeah, hey, this is George Smith...that's S-M-I-T-H, I need to know if my script for XXX is ready yet.  Please call me at 123-4567 asap."

 

Our number is similar to a doctor's office number, apparently.  We have gotten calls for them for years.  Not every day but on occasion.  It's annoying, mainly because they always seem to call right when I'm taking a rare nap. 

[Catwoman]

Weird.  I have been getting several calls from a guy who claims he wants to go into a psychiatrist partnership with a woman whose name is similar to mine and who somehow showed up on my credit report decades ago.  He's calling my cell phone.  So strange.  :P

Sounds like he needs a psychiatrist... ;)

[Lanny]

This prompted me to look at my WhatsApp app.  I use it for chats but didn't know that you could make voice calls. 

 

Recently, one of my cousins and his wife were on vacation in India and Nepal.  She wrote me that they used  WhatsApp to do video calls with their children and grandchildren and send them photos and videos. Free.  My guess is that a large percentage of WhatsApp users are in  India.  It is very popular here in Colombia. When I'm in the house, we have WiFi, I call the store we buy Pet Food from, on WhatsApp, instead of using my cell service. I did that today and they delivered the food...

[Lanny]

One of my friend's just told me that her mother....who is about 65....gave scammers $5000 recently.  !!!!  I couldn't believe she fell for it. 

 

Incredibly common and  frequently for FAR more money than USD $5K

[Lanny]

Our magicJack phone number  is not listed and when I lived in the USA, my phone number was not listed. That adds a little to security, if people cannot get your phone number and address publicly. Or, do a Reverse Lookup of your phone number and find out your name and your address. 

 

ETA: Our landline number here is not listed either. 

Edited March 29, 2017 by Lanny

[Bootsie]

I just did a quick google search with my name and the words "phone number"--I found a number of places that people can find my phone number of free, and a number of other services that would provide even more info about me for a fee

 

Then, I typed in only my phone number and up popped all types of search results that included my name, my address, the name of contractor who got a permit to move a gas line at our house and the date that occurred, information about my education, names of other family members, and....

 

So, the reduction in hassle of someone dialing or having been given the wrong number leaving a message for someone else on my voicemail outweighs the annoyance of someone going to the trouble to dial my number, hoping to get my answering machine, hoping to get a name to put with that number to try to scam me.  There are plenty of name/number combinations for the scammer to get off of the internet to try without resorting to that.