Phone scam/spam



  • I've been getting phone scam messages lately. No name, company, or reason, just that it's "absolutely vital" that I call them back to provide my input or the company will move forward without me. And they assured me that this was my "last chance" to work with them and if I don't respond I won't hear back and I'll miss out on "great opportunities." The only thing is I've gotten that call four times now--so much for last chance. They use a different phone number each time so I can't even block them.

    They're automated calls that start talking as soon as you pick up or the voicemail answers. Which means they start talking before voicemail starts recording, so usually I get a voice message containing only the last five seconds or so of the message.

    Who needs SSDS to play the end of a video when you can just use your already-existing voicemail system!


  • If you are on the Do Not Call List you may have recourse -- Did you retain the offending phone numbers and/or record the messages?  Check the site below. 

    http://ago.mo.gov/nocalllaw/

    What happens if I violate the law by calling someone on the register?

    Telemarketers who unlawfully call numbers on the register will be subject to civil penalties of up to $5,000 for each knowing violation, and any additional relief as deemed necessary. (The Attorney General has taken action against several telemarketers.) In addition, individuals on the register who receive more than one phone call from a telemarketer within a 12-month period may sue the telemarketer and recover up to $5,000 in damages.

     

    3. Any person who has received more than one telephone solicitation within any twelve-month period by or on behalf of the same person or entity in violation of section 407.1098 or 407.1104 may either:

    1. (1) Bring an action to enjoin such violation;
    2. (2) Bring an action to recover for actual monetary loss from such knowing violation or to receive up to five thousand dollars in damages for each such knowing violation, whichever is greater; or
    3. (3) Bring both such actions.

  • Discourse touched me in a no-no place

    @Medezark said:

    http://ago.mo.gov/nocalllaw/
    <Fines>
    Rhetorical question: What happens if the caller isn't in Missouri/The US/America?



  • @PJH said:

    @Medezark said:
    http://ago.mo.gov/nocalllaw/
    <Fines>
    Rhetorical question: What happens if the caller isn't in Missouri/The US/America?
     

     Not in Missouri?  Go to the [url=http://www.donotcall.gov/]national Do Not Call website[/url].

     Not in the US?  Well, it really depends on if your country has such a law or not.



  • @PJH said:

    @Medezark said:
    http://ago.mo.gov/nocalllaw/
    <Fines>
    Rhetorical question: What happens if the caller isn't in Missouri/The US/America?

    ... telephones exist outside Missouri!?



  • @blakeyrat said:

    @PJH said:
    @Medezark said:
    http://ago.mo.gov/nocalllaw/
    <Fines>
    Rhetorical question: What happens if the caller isn't in Missouri/The US/America?
    ... telephones exist outside Missouri!?

    Missouri exists?



  • @PJH said:

    @Medezark said:
    http://ago.mo.gov/nocalllaw/
    <Fines>
    Rhetorical question: What happens if the caller isn't in Missouri/The US/America?
     

    Or if I happen to live in Missouri but have a cell phone with a Nebraska phone number?

    I'll take a look at this if it happens again. I've gotten four calls over maybe two months so it's not really even annoying.



  • I've gotten similar calls, except they are in Spanish, which I don't speak. Never the same number and it's always the same message. If I don't pick it up it will go to voice mail where the first several seconds will get cut off. Don't know who it is or what there selling or how/why my cell phone number is on their list. Never signed up for the do not call list because I was under the impression that cell phones were already protected from being targeted by phone spammers. Perhaps that is a missunderstanding on my part, but the frequency of these calls is relatively low (only about once or twice a month), so I've not made it a priority to get them quashed.



  • Discourse touched me in a no-no place

    @powerlord said:

    @PJH said:

    @Medezark said:
    http://ago.mo.gov/nocalllaw/
    <Fines>
    Rhetorical question: What happens if the caller isn't in Missouri/The US/America?
     

     Not in Missouri?  Go to the national Do Not Call website.

     Not in the US?  Well, it really depends on if your country has such a law or not.

    The whole point of a rhetorical question, is that you don't need to (try and) answer it.



    Not that you did answer it. You appeared to answer the less rhetorical, and possibly more valid, "What happens if the person being called isn't in Missouri/The US/America?"



  • @mott555 said:

    @PJH said:

    @Medezark said:
    http://ago.mo.gov/nocalllaw/
    <Fines>
    Rhetorical question: What happens if the caller isn't in Missouri/The US/America?
     

    Or if I happen to live in Missouri but have a cell phone with a Nebraska phone number?

    I'll take a look at this if it happens again. I've gotten four calls over maybe two months so it's not really even annoying.

    A few years back when I still had a land-line, there was a cat shelter advertising my phone number.  I got a dozen calls a day asking about cheap spay/neuter services.  And I worked 3rd shift (midnight-8:30), so I was invariably asleep when the calls came in.  I probably would have done something about it if I wasn't so damn tired all the time.

     I also got frequent calls from an old drunk guy mis-dialing his lawyer from a 7-11, but those all came in while I was at work.



  • @DeepThought said:

    I've gotten similar calls, except they are in Spanish, which I don't speak. Never the same number and it's always the same message. If I don't pick it up it will go to voice mail where the first several seconds will get cut off. Don't know who it is or what there selling or how/why my cell phone number is on their list. Never signed up for the do not call list because I was under the impression that cell phones were already protected from being targeted by phone spammers. Perhaps that is a missunderstanding on my part, but the frequency of these calls is relatively low (only about once or twice a month), so I've not made it a priority to get them quashed.

    Cell phone spam (in the US at least) is strictly opt-in.


  • :belt_onion:

    @PJH said:

    @Medezark said:
    http://ago.mo.gov/nocalllaw/
    <Fines>
    Rhetorical question: What happens if the caller isn't in Missouri/The US/America?
    In that case you pay higher connection fees?



  • @blakeyrat said:

    @PJH said:
    @Medezark said:
    http://ago.mo.gov/nocalllaw/
    <Fines>
    Rhetorical question: What happens if the caller isn't in Missouri/The US/America?

    ... telephones exist outside Missouri!?

    Telephones exist inside Missouri? I figured they just made the local black person carry their messages.



  • @PJH said:

    @Medezark said:
    http://ago.mo.gov/nocalllaw/
    <Fines>
    Rhetorical question: What happens if the caller isn't in Missouri/The US/America?

    My specific response was directed by the information available at within the question -- The person asking the question did not provide location information within his question so I used his profile location (Missouri) to answer the question at hand as specifically as possible.

    If someone is in the United States of America, not inclusive of it's territories, they should first contact their State's Attorney General's office and determine the applicable Do Not Call Laws for  their State.  If those are not sufficient then they should refer to the National Do Not Call Law.  If your residence is in one State, but your phone number is in another I believe that your State of Residence's laws apply.

    If you are not in the United States of America, you will need to perform research into whatever similar laws may apply in your Jurisdiction.  If you are not on Earth, then you've probably got a really high long distance bill.



  • @Medezark said:

    @PJH said:

    @Medezark said:
    http://ago.mo.gov/nocalllaw/
    <Fines>
    Rhetorical question: What happens if the caller isn't in Missouri/The US/America?

    My specific response

    Trying to help. He said caller, not callee. What if the phone scam/spammers are based on Mars?

    (the answer is probably, hopefully, that it doesn't matter because the company they're spamming for will be held responsible).


  • Discourse touched me in a no-no place

    @Medezark said:

    @PJH said:

    @Medezark said:
    http://ago.mo.gov/nocalllaw/
    <Fines>
    Rhetorical question: What happens if the caller isn't in Missouri/The US/America?

    My specific response was directed by the information available at within the question -- The person asking the question did not provide location information within his question so I used his profile location (Missouri) to answer the question at hand as specifically as possible.

    I refer you to the post I made some minutes ago. The person asking the question is not the same person I refer to in my post.


  • I think almost everyone here (including me) misread that to mean what if I didn't live in Missouri/The US/America.



  • @PJH said:

    @Medezark said:

    @PJH said:

    @Medezark said:
    http://ago.mo.gov/nocalllaw/
    <Fines>
    Rhetorical question: What happens if the caller isn't in Missouri/The US/America?

    My specific response was directed by the information available at within the question -- The person asking the question did not provide location information within his question so I used his profile location (Missouri) to answer the question at hand as specifically as possible.

    I refer you to the post I made some minutes ago. The person asking the question is not the same person I refer to in my post.

    And once again I fail the reading comprehension test.  I apologize for that one.  And the other one.

    To answer your question, the callee's attorney general can pursue such matters across state lines and can refer the matter to a higher authority to cross national boundaries.  It may take longer, that's all.



  • Ok, let's just skip the debate over what was meant by the rhetorical question and make a 3x3 matrix of [in-state, out-of-state, outside-US] cross [caller, callee].



  • @Xyro said:

    Ok, let's just skip the debate over what was meant by the rhetorical question and make a 3x3 matrix of [in-state, out-of-state, outside-US] cross [caller, callee].


    But first, apparently, we have to make 3 equal to 2.



  • @mott555 said:

    Or if I happen to live in Missouri but have a cell phone with a Nebraska phone number?

    TRWTF using geographic numbers for non-geographic services!



  • @Scarlet Manuka said:

    @Xyro said:

    Ok, let's just skip the debate over what was meant by the rhetorical question and make a 3x3 matrix of [in-state, out-of-state, outside-US] cross [caller, callee].

    But first, apparently, we have to make 3 equal to 2.
    Er... then the cartesian product isn't what I mean ... uhm... what's it called...?

    Let's see what happens when I try to paste a table...


    caller in-state caller out-of-state caller-outside-US
    callee in-state state's DNC list nation's DNC list nation's DNC list?
    callee out-of-state nation's DNC list nation's DNC list nation's DNC list?
    callee outside-US nation's DNC list? nation's DNC list? does not exist (?)

  • Discourse touched me in a no-no place

    @Xyro said:

    Let's see what happens when I try to paste a table...


    caller in-state caller out-of-state caller-outside-US
    callee in-state state's DNC list nation's DNC list nation's DNC list?
    callee out-of-state nation's DNC list nation's DNC list nation's DNC list?
    callee outside-US nation's DNC list? nation's DNC list? does not exist (?)

    UK <->UK is covered by the TPS[1], so I'm not sure about that "does not exist" option.



    India(e.g.) -> UK, however, isn't covered by it, however, and pinning down the caller as to which UK company they been outsourced by[2] is usually difficult in order to bring it into TPS's jurisdiction.





    [1] "Telephone preference service." - UK version of DNC.

    [2] http://www.tpsonline.org.uk/tps/faq/##tbirteen [3]

    [3] And TRWTF is how someone fucked up the anchor refs on that page.



  • @Xyro said:

    Let's see what happens when I try to paste a table...


    caller in-state caller out-of-state caller-outside-US
    callee in-state state's DNC list nation's DNC list nation's DNC list?
    callee out-of-state nation's DNC list nation's DNC list nation's DNC list?
    callee outside-US nation's DNC list? nation's DNC list? does not exist (?)

    I think this is it:

    <COLGROUP> <COL style="WIDTH: 92pt; mso-width-source: userset; mso-width-alt: 4461" width=122> <COL style="WIDTH: 149pt; mso-width-source: userset; mso-width-alt: 7277" span=3 width=199>
    <FONT size=2>**</FONT> <FONT size=2>caller in-state</FONT> <FONT size=2>caller out-of-state</FONT> <FONT size=2>caller-outside-US</FONT>
    <FONT size=2>callee in-state</FONT> <FONT size=2>State Attorney General's Office</FONT> <FONT size=2>State Attorney General's Office</FONT> <FONT size=2>State Attorney General's Office</FONT>
    <FONT size=2>callee out-of-state***</FONT> <FONT size=2>Error#</FONT> <FONT size=2>Error#</FONT> <FONT size=2>Error#</FONT>
    <FONT size=2>callee outside-US</FONT> <FONT size=2>Check Your Local/National Laws</FONT> <FONT size=2>Check Your Local/National Laws</FONT> <FONT size=2>Check Your Local/National Laws</FONT>
    <FONT size=2>**All references assume Callee is on a Do Not Call List</FONT>
    <FONT size=2>*** If Callee is in the US, Callee is in a State, Territory or Protectorate, State (local for non-state entities) Attorney General's office will always be</FONT>
    <FONT size=2>    For Callee's State of Residence.  State Attorney General's Office will/should refer complaints to higher authorites </FONT>
    <FONT size=2>    if necessary.</FONT>



  • I imagined there'd be something about this on wiki, but instead I found a list of exemptions and some loophjoles, and this:

    @http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telemarketing#Negative_perceptions_and_criticism said:

    A recent trend in telemarketing is to use <FONT color=#0645ad>robocalls</FONT>: automated telephone calls that use both computerized <FONT color=#0645ad>autodialers</FONT> and computer-delivered pre-recorded messages in a sales pitch. These often include intentionally deceptive tactics, with computer recorded messages saying things like "Don't panic but this is your final notice" or "We have already attempted to contact you through the mail." These messages are often outright lies, intended to incite concern or fear in the potential customer.

    Telemarketing is evil. Yuck.



  • @b-redeker said:

    I imagined there'd be something about this on wiki, but instead I found a list of exemptions and some loophjoles, and this:

    @http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telemarketing#Negative_perceptions_and_criticism said:

    A recent trend in telemarketing is to use <font color="#0645ad">robocalls</font>: automated telephone calls that use both computerized <font color="#0645ad">autodialers</font> and computer-delivered pre-recorded messages in a sales pitch. These often include intentionally deceptive tactics, with computer recorded messages saying things like "Don't panic but this is your final notice" or "We have already attempted to contact you through the mail." These messages are often outright lies, intended to incite concern or fear in the potential customer.

    Telemarketing is evil. Yuck.

    That sounds about right.

    I wonder how they got my number. It's a cell phone so it's unpublished, so I guess one of the online businesses I typically buy from (Amazon.com, Newegg, ebay, etc.) must have sold my number. If only I could find out which one so I can delete my account and never do business with them again...



  • @b-redeker said:

    I imagined there'd be something about this on wiki, but instead I found a list of exemptions and some loophjoles, and this:

    @http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telemarketing#Negative_perceptions_and_criticism said:

    A recent trend in telemarketing is to use <font color="#0645ad">robocalls</font>: automated telephone calls that use both computerized <font color="#0645ad">autodialers</font> and computer-delivered pre-recorded messages in a sales pitch. These often include intentionally deceptive tactics, with computer recorded messages saying things like "Don't panic but this is your final notice" or "We have already attempted to contact you through the mail." These messages are often outright lies, intended to incite concern or fear in the potential customer.

     

    This fortunately stopped a couple of weeks ago, but the reprieve is temporary: the recorded messages would begin "This is Senator John McCain, urging you to vote to preserve the principles on which our nation was founded..." followed by a pitch for himself or any of the hundreds of candidates or ballot propositions he lent his name to.



  • @Xyro said:

    @Scarlet Manuka said:

    @Xyro said:

    Ok, let's just skip the debate over what was meant by the rhetorical question and make a 3x3 matrix of [in-state, out-of-state, outside-US] cross [caller, callee].

    But first, apparently, we have to make 3 equal to 2.
    Er... then the cartesian product isn't what I mean ... uhm... what's it called...?
    (table snipped)

    OK, so you did want a cartesian product, but of caller location: [in state, out of state, outside US] cross callee location: [in state, out of state, outside US].


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