a little fun with a phone scammer

Yesterday I get this phone call and the guys sounds so fishy with what I can only describe as a "not-from-around-here" accent that I assume it's an old friend playing a crank.

So I play along... kind of like a stare dare... just to see who is gonna crack up first...  and it just gets deeper and deeper... until I finally realize the guy really is a phone scam artists and he wants my credit card or banking info. He's accent is comically thick... which is why I thought it was a joke... but he's trying harder than most cold callers.

He's really insistent and I've already told him I very impressed that he is offering to give me so much money. When he says "I'll bet you want to know why you have been chosen" I choke back the laughter and reply "No, not really... I know I am special." and then immediately start grilling him about what kind of envelope the money is gong to come in. I made him work really hard to explain that he needs my info so he can transfer the money. I finally get act as if I understand and tell him that I need to look up my account number and I'll call him right back. He doesn't want to do that but I don't really give him any choice and I finally get his number and a "name". Like a good salesman going for a close he insists that I commit to a time to call back. I say 10 minutes. CLASSIC!

We hang up.

I do a little homework on the phone and forget about it.


He calls back about 12 minutes later and says "you never called me back"... and I reply.. "yeah I talked to my wife, she has all that info... you have to call her at her work and she can give you the account number."

So he asks me for the phone number and the extension.


he he he,  :-)


I wonder what he did when the investigator at the State Attorney's Office answered the phone?


:-)

Yes very... 100% true... I almost wet my pants with laughter... I was squirming.

I think he liked me.

:-)

That's awesome.

bapu


Great story Mic.

Is it true?

Only time will tell.
 
(Good job Mike!)

NICE!!!  

I answer my phone, like most people, and say, "Hello?". If it's a telemarketer I let them talk for 10 ~ 15 seconds then I say, "Hello?!". It totally throws them off and they usually start all over again. Then I say, "Hello?!?!" a little louder then I pretend I'm talking to someone and say, "Huh, I wonder who that was, the line was dead."

I had one guy say, "Aw come on man you can hear me" and he started laughing.

That's a really good idea Mike. I will do that if I ever get scammed. We were getting calls from the "Policeman's Association" for the longest time asking for donations over the phone. It was all over the news that they were targeting our state.

When I first moved out to CA, a room mate and I went to AT&T and got our phones at the same time.  As it turned out, we got consecutive phone numbers.  My phone was the lower number.  Every once in a while I'd get a call from some sales person.  I find out what the product was and politely hang up.  Then, I'd yell downstairs that it was a vacuum cleaner sales person.  In a moment, the other phone would ring and my room mate would say something like "I don't want your damned vacuum cleaner" before the sales person even had a chance to say anything.  We got a few laughs out of that, but nothing like Mike's idea. 

craigb

Old55


When I first moved out to CA, a room mate and I went to AT&T and got our phones at the same time.  As it turned out, we got consecutive phone numbers.  My phone was the lower number.  Every once in a while I'd get a call from some sales person.  I find out what the product was and politely hang up.  Then, I'd yell downstairs that it was a vacuum cleaner sales person.  In a moment, the other phone would ring and my room mate would say something like "I don't want your damned vacuum cleaner" before the sales person even had a chance to say anything.  We got a few laughs out of that, but nothing like Mike's idea. 

Oooo...  Lots of fun potential there!  I'd have had you lead the first caller on and get his name.  Then I'd answer the second line with "Thank you for calling the Psychic Hotline" and mess with their heads a bit (using information gathered during the first phone call).  "Excuse me, but I'm getting a really bad feeling... It's so strong that you'll have to forgive me if I get your name wrong, but are you Mike Smith?" (If yes, great, if not say "You do know Mike though, right?  Good.").  "Mike needs to get to the doctor immediately.  I can't stress enough how important this is!  This isn't about the sore muscle either." (A safe bet that he has one somewhere.) "Make sure to get tested for AIDS now - it's not too late, but only if the condition is addressed right away!"  "Sorry, but that is all the free help I can provide.  If you'd like to schedule a reading regarding other issues, I can take your credit card information and get you on the appointment list."

We did a few things like that but not quite as elaborate.