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I got a threatening call from "The IRS" from Washington DC 202 area code. The message was totally bogus, but they had a pretty good skit that sounded real until the very end when they said, "May god save you!" I laughed out loud at that one. I read just a few weeks ago they busted a bunch of people in India for this scam http://abc27.com/2016/10/06/dozens-arres...cam-calls/
quote:
According to police in Mumbai, the yearlong scam involved running fake call centers which sent voice mail messages telling U.S. nationals to call back because they owed back taxes.
Those who called back and believed the threats would fork out thousands of dollars to “settle” their case, Mumbai police officer Parag Marere said Thursday.
The scam brought in more than $150,000 a day, Marere said without giving a total sum. If the scam netted that amount daily, it would have made almost $55 million in one year.
Some victims were also told to buy gift vouchers from various companies, and hand over the voucher ID numbers which the impostors then used to make purchases, Marere said.
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The latest problem is if you give them grief, they call 911 and report that they saw you doing something terrible - and police show up at your door with guns drawn....
Where do they send the cops if it's a cell phone? To the PO Box where I get my bill?
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Whatever you do, don't talk to them.
I received a repeated call a few years back, from a revolving list of phone numbers, but the same message. I finally got fed up, pressed "1" to speak to someone about their valuable offer, and gave them a piece of my mind about what they were doing. For over a year afterward, I received three phone calls in the middle of every night with a Spanish song playing for 4 minutes. On my 800 number so I had to pay for the calls. Hawaiian Telcom said they couldn't do anything. My 800 number provider couldn't do anything.
Finally I bought a phone (Panasonic) that blocks 250 different numbers. My long personal nightmare was finally over. Now, when I get a spam call, it's the first and last time from that number.
Something is wrong, I know it, if I don't keep my attention on eternity. Mary Oliver
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
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Kalakoa, have you heard of Enhanced 911 or E911 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_9...quirements
quote:
* Basic 911: All 911 calls must be relayed to a call center, regardless of whether or not the mobile phone user is already a customer of the network being used.
* E911 Phase 1: Wireless network operators must identify the phone number and cell phone tower used by callers, within six minutes of a request by a PSAP.
* E911 Phase 2
95% of a network operator's in-service phones must be E911 compliant ("location capable") by December 31, 2005. (Numerous carriers missed this deadline, and were fined by the FCC.[4])
Wireless network operators must provide the latitude and longitude of callers within 300 meters, within six minutes of a request by a PSAP.[5] Accuracy rates must meet FCC standards on average within any given participating PSAP service area by September 11, 2012 (deferred from September 11, 2008).[6]
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quote:
Originally posted by HereOnThePrimalEdge
Finally I bought a phone (Panasonic) that blocks 250 different numbers. My long personal nightmare was finally over. Now, when I get a spam call, it's the first and last time from that number.
In case you don't know there are a lot of apps out there for cell phones too that block numbers and share databases of call centers, etc.
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must provide the latitude and longitude of callers within 300 meters
A "minimum 7500sf" lot is ~18.5 meters wide = 32 lots (both sides of one street for 300m, not counting adjacent streets).
Wider lots in HPP, so only about 14 lots per 300m of road frontage.
Also somewhat amusing: if you have multiple phones on a single account, you'll notice that the scammers call the phones sequentially, despite the fact that the phones have wildly different numbers -- they're not working through all possible phone numbers, they're working from a list of phones on the account, which they must have "somehow" obtained from the carrier, probably in "violation of the law".
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If you want to play tricks, and have some fun: listen to their whole spiel, then say "Uhhh, I think you want to talk to my dad, Dad, Dad it's for you" wait a while and repeat and add "he's comming". Lower your voice and let them give the whole spiel again, sound interested, give your name as Kirsten Hollered, Oscar Lavista, or such, and ask them to call back at your private number (808) 566-4300 (Honolulu FBI)
The fun is keeping them on the line as long as possible. Time is money to them, and if you can waste it they have less time to annoy others and it costs them to your enjoyment.
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Many of them, like the IRS scam was a recorded robo-call message that you have to call back to another number to deal with your "fine" so you don't "go to jail immediately".
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quote:
Originally posted by Eric1600
Kalakoa, have you heard of Enhanced 911 or E911
* E911 Phase 1: Wireless network operators must identify the phone number and cell phone tower used by callers, within six minutes of a request by a PSAP.
Right, but how would they get your phone's location, when they're the ones calling to SWAT you? They can spoof your number and could probably fake a location, but couldn't fake the cell tower location. So they couldn't send the cops to your house unless they actually know your address already (in which case they could just tell the 911 operator). If anything, that would just reveal that it's a fake call.
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