Posts: 10,212
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All,
I know there are a number of phone scams out there, so wondered if anyone has been receiving the same calls I have. The first one I got I answered, but after two or three seconds of silence on the other end, I hung up. I've been called a couple of times from that same number since, but haven't answered. No voicemail is left.
Caller-ID gives "ICF" as the name. The area code is 225. I thought about posting the entire number, but will hold off for now, as I don't know if this is a potential scam or not.
Posts: 10,212
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Joined: Apr 2009
PS. I did a little research and found that several people in the US have had calls from "ICF" using the same number that was used to call me. Although "225" is the area code for South Louisiana some sites suggest the calls originate from elsewhere.
Anyway, for what good it will do, I filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission since I'm on the "Do Not Call" registry. I'm still curious if others have been called by "ICF". Thanks.
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None of the scammers doing any of this care if your number is on the list or not. Also, because of the way they are able to "spoof" their caller ID info, it is unlikely that they can even be found. They are more than likely using IP based calling and literally can be anywhere in the world.
Posts: 1,557
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I got a call from a 225 number last week.i just don't answer it.Nobody outside of Hawaii has my phone number... so it's easy to filter calls.
..Bad boys,Bad boys what we gonna do...let ya out on bail for a buck or two...
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I got a call and the the caller ID said just a bunch of zeros.
Jon in Keaau/HPP
Jon in Keaau/HPP
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If I don't recognize the number I don't tend to answer. If the number has a prefix I don't recognize, I go to reverse number look up online and enter the phone number. Most of those numbers turn out to be highly suspected of spam.
Wahine
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Yeah, I've gotten these too. Also others promising a credit card or some crap, that I've occasionally gone through the robocall to vent at the jerk on the other end, where it just disconnects instead of putting you through to a live scammer. No idea what the point of these is. Trying to verify you're a real number? It's not like not picking up for a long time before stopped them, so that doesn't seem to be it.
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Don't answer or talk to them. 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....
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One time they called my sister in another state saying that they were a process server, I was being sued, and they needed to serve me court papers THAT DAY or else I would lose the court case by default. The back story was that they were unable to find me. She believed their story, but was smart enough not to give them my information but called me in a panic with their contact info. I looked it up online and read all about their scam. Needless to say I didn't return their call. A few months later I got a call from somebody who had my name and DOB and told me they were a process server and yada yada yada I told them their scam had already been reported to the FBI. I didn't hear back from them. Had the scam continued they would have graciously offered to settle the court case on my behalf if I gave them my credit card number.
There is another one where they spoof caller ID so it looks like 911 is calling you. When you pick up the phone they say that you were in the middle of requesting help and got disconnected, when you reply you didn't call 911 they ask what your address is. It was originally used by collection agencies to get your address when they only had your phone number, but now its also used by scammers who are collecting info on you as part of a larger scam like the process server scam. The fact that they will exploit your parents and siblings as part of their scam demonstrates how low they will sink and how much time they are willing to invest.
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I get 3-5 calls a week saying "We have the new back brace you ordered" or "We understand someone in your household is in chronic pain". Last week there was one saying "You owe the IRS back taxes, call this number immediately to resolve this".
