Thursday, June 30, 2022

Scammers

 A couple of times each month I get a phone call from some sincere sounding guy who wants me to donate to a police/firefighter fund.  I usually just hang up on them.  But this time I let him get through his script that ends with him telling me I can donate whatever amount I want. 

So this time I asked if I could just donate to my local police.  He didn't seem to like that idea.  So I said that my uncle and my cousin were both officers on our local police force and it would be much more convenient for me to just write a check and give it to my uncle.  (He lied to me so I lied to him.)  The caller didn't like that idea either.

I spent another few minutes coming up with ways to avoid sending him any money until he finally hung up on me.  Made my day!

More serious information will follow in a day or two.  Right now I have broccoli in the dehydrator.  I have a couple of experiments I want to try involving dehydrating cooked pasta and rice.  So when that is done, I will be back with the results.

Keep on prepping!

14 comments:

  1. Vicki, you just made my day! Thank you. Keep on prepping and praying!

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    1. CW...Prepare and pray - Yes! But we sometimes have to take our fun where we find it. :)

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  2. Vicki~ I had a few calls like yours over the last few weeks. Please donate to **** and an offer for a new upgraded glucose meter for my blood sugar. I'm not diabetic. Grrr. Red

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    1. Red...Some days the ornery runs deep in me and I just can't resist messing with them some. I figure the time they waste on me is less time they have to con some poor soul who actually believes them.

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  3. Brilliant!
    We call screen with the answering machine.
    "Please listen closely as our menu has changed.
    If you are trying to extract money from us or promote a political position, please press 'end call'."

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    1. I love your method of dealing with scammers, Ed...Me - sometimes it just amuses me to mess with them for a while. :)

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  4. I get so many of those types of calls. I'm not so creative.
    I just talk over them and tell them to stop calling, or take me off their call list.
    Then I hang up and block the number.
    You all be safe and have a blessed weekend.

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    1. LindaG...Mostly I just hang up on them, but once in a while they will irritate me enough to get me to waste their time. I'm kind of ornery that way. :)

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  5. I was getting calls from obviously "English-challenged" people claiming to be from the IRS. To the last one that called I said "You're from the IRS?" The guy said "Yis. I em from d' I RdddRS." I said "Really? Because I AM an IRS agent (I lied), and your number has been successfully traced..." All I heard was "CLICK." I've never gotten another one of those calls...

    A maybe little known secret; most "cold calls" are initiated by a computer. Once it hears a live voice, your call is transferred to a live agent of a recorded message. If you get a call from a number you don't recognize, go ahead and pick up, but don't.say.anything. If it's a live person on the other end you'll invariably get something like "He-... Hello? At that point you can interact if you wish. If it's a robot initiating a call, it'll most likely hang up. It's either trying to get you to a "helpful agent" or is trying to "mine" phone numbers connected to warm-blooded units to sell to someone else.

    A word of caution; if you get a call asking something like "Is this (insert your name here)?" Respond with "Who is this?" Don't say "Yes." Scammers can use their question and your "Yes" answer as a verbal OK to make a purchase or sign you up for something under your name!

    God bless!

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    1. Pete...The 'English challenged' people haven't called me for a while. That may be because with them, I act like I am an old lady with dementia. (These days I'm not so sure that isn't close to the truth. grin) That persona is capable of wasting a significant amount of their time. :)

      I did not know about the computer initiated cold calls, but I certainly will use your method of answering them.

      I did know about not answering with "Yes." Oddly enough, many of the calls ask for my husband by name. I generally tell them that they will have a hard time getting money from someone who has been dead for nearly 15 years. Doesn't stop them, though. They are happy to try to talk me out of some cash.

      Sigh.

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  6. I'm wondering if all is well with you and do understand that you are busy. Just want to be sure as I miss 😕 you when you don't write for a few weeks.

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    1. Sorry that I have been AWOL. With my grocery bill going skyward lately, I decided that I really need to inventory what I have stored and organize it all better so I am not buying what I don't need and missing what I do need. Since I can only work at the speed of a herd of turtles, this takes more time than I would like. But I am close to being done and will be back to the regular scheduled program soon. Thanks for your concern. It is truly appreciated.

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