Community Newsletter: Q&A: Are they phishing over the telephone now?!
- 4/25/08 4:05 PM
Yes, Car warranty calls
by edericks - 4/28/08 10:27 AM In reply to: Are they phishing over the telephone now?! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I've now received 2 calls from a recording stating that my car warranty may have expired (my car is 9 years old...duh!) I hung up both times so never connected through to see what answers they would ask. The number showed up on my caller ID both times, 2 different numbers. i called one back and it is not a working phone number
DONT call the number THEY gave you!
by teclogik - 4/28/08 1:55 PM In reply to: Are they phishing over the telephone now?! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
idk if anyone else said this but, I think the best thing to do is, if they call about your card, call your bank! And about your "warranty" on you car, call you manufacturer. DONT call the number THEY gave you. call directory assistance to get the number of your bank or manufacturer. also try tracking your calls or recording them for evidence...idk. that's my 2 cents
Federal Do-Not-Call List
by rborgner - 4/30/08 12:05 PM In reply to: Are they phishing over the telephone now?! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I'm a compliance officer at a brokerage firm, and I can tell you that if a company is found to have violated the do-not-call laws, each violation is punishable by a fine of $11,000 per violation. Not all violations will result in a fine (accidents happen), but the law definitely has teeth...which is why our telemarketers may only call businesses (which can't register on the national list). They can request to be put on our internal dnc list, but only residences can register on the state and federal lists.
Federal do-not-call list
by zammer8 - 4/30/08 12:19 PM In reply to: Federal Do-Not-Call List by rborgnerPlease cite the source of $11,000 fine per violation. Do you know of any case where a company has been fined? My experience in reporting abuses has been that the information was "entered in a database" and no action taken unless a sufficient number of other complaints against them were entered.
I have read some of the messages
by lucasbro - 5/22/08 6:17 PM In reply to: Federal do-not-call list by zammer8I have read some of the messages that have been posted and if you believe for a moment that the government isn't actively destroying peoples lives and homes in the name of someone elses " privacy" you are so terribly blind and quite simply naive. Let me run it down like this. There are alot of people out there with less than admirable goals in mind and those should be the ones that should be shut down, and should not be able to contact me or you, but the problem is this. If you have put yourself on the DNC either state or federal than YOU have cost someone a job and for that you should be ashamed. At what point did all americans get so soft that they had to give the government the responsibility to help me not answer my own phone? You know why don't we just simply let the government do everything for us? They can tell me when to use the bathroom, or go outside and mow my grass, whatever. That is what all of you socailist want isn't it? America today is so worried about their own comfort that they have completely given up on their neighbor who is probably working his butt off to get by, because someone doesn't want to be bothered. Let me say it like this so I can be as clear as I possible for those of you that need flashcards to understand. If you have your name on the DNC you have forfeited your right to complain about the state of affairs in our economy today, and why you ask? Because you are one of the problems! You have cost someone a job! You know that person probably didn't like their job to begin with, but it provided them a way to actually make a living wage rather than living off of my tax dollars, They where able to do things like pay their own bills, and buy their own food. Does anyone remember that this is a capitalist society? We have an economy based on American workers, WORKING, AND BUYING AND SELLING GOODS AND SERVICES FROM AMERICAN COMPANIES? I have never been and will never be on the DNC, and yes I get calls I don't want, but I excercise my own ability to not answer the phone or to simply say I am not interested. I always wish them luck, and move on. I never forget that that person in many cases is making an honest living.(please understand that my argument does not pertain to scammers). It is un-American! You must remember DNC people if you have actively taken part in the loss of another Americans legitimate job, or you and your actions have aided in shutting down an American company than you simply do not deserve the things you have. All in the name of your comfort, and your lack of intestinal fortitude to simply not answer your phone! I am really not trying to be harsh but look around at our economy and think to yourself "HuH" "this is partially mt fault!" Whats even more aggravating than that is the fact people turned this over to a government that loves it, because they can now suck tons of money out of more American business owners as taxes and shut them down all in your name. HOW DO YOU LIKE $4.00 A GALLON GAS? WELL JUST KEEP DOING EVERYTHING YOU CAN TO RUIN OUR DOLLAR AND THAN GO COMPLAIN ABOUT IT. THE NEW AMERICAN WAY! Well at least that pesky phone isn't ringing at your house, because now its at the un-employment office
They are phishing over the phone
by Rabbit_Wang48 - 4/30/08 4:15 PM In reply to: Are they phishing over the telephone now?! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
In China we have a lot of this kind of phone-calls. The best way not being traped when you've received a call from a person that you don't know, is calling your bank or plolice to check the message. But, dial the real telephone numbers, not the numbers the caller tell you.
Phone Phishing
by pzebleckis - 4/30/08 5:13 PM In reply to: Are they phishing over the telephone now?! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Phishing is very big these days and can cause a lot of headache for a victim. Being a credit card fraud investigator, I see this stuff all the time and there are ways that you can protect yourself. First, when you receive a call from your credit card company asking you to verify information, listen carefully to the questions that the rep is asking. A rep should never need to ask you for your account number, social security number, or mother's maiden name/password. They already have this information. The only time that these things are verified is when you call them. They may ask things such as your address or date of birth. This is standard. If you do feel suspicious, hang up. You can then call the phone number listed on the back of your credit card or on your billing statement. Once you reach a rep, ask them if someone just called to verify information. They should have a record of all the calls made to you in their system. Also, not all calls made to you about your credit card are phishing scams. There are systems set in place to help detect fraud on your credit cards, but it really can only be confirmed for the cardholder. Just remember, a true caller from the credit card companies won't usually be pushy about verifying information right then and there. They understand that people are weary about providing information over the phone. A true representative will most likely offer a way for you to contact them so that you feel comfortable with the conversation. Also, if you don't want to call the number on your card, there are usually multiple phone numbers on your billing statement you can call. Hope this helps. 
re: phone "vishing"/phishing
by gremlin984 - 5/1/08 12:28 PM In reply to: Are they phishing over the telephone now?! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
This was forwarded to me from a friend (thank you...). This is unfortunately true.
I've been working for a credit card company at a call center and I handle many phone calls from customers who have received such phone calls. Unfortunately, it IS difficult to discern the actual 'fraud early warning' call (which is a service provided by most credit card companies to let you know that there just might be some questionable charges on your account that need your attention) vs. the vishing / phishing phone call.
If you DO get such a call, I agree: do NOT provide any information, but do call your credit card company by using the customer service number on the back of your card to ensure that all is all right with your account. If it is true, depending on the company, your card might be blocked if you don't respond anyway: which means you won't be able to make a purchase. If that happens, use the number on the back of the card immediately and find out what is up.
Credit Card
by WayneHW - 5/2/08 5:43 AM In reply to: Are they phishing over the telephone now?! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Any phone calls given with alarms to your credit card history and then asking for all the info, is bogus. There is a fraud organization that you can call after someone has used your card fraudulently but not before. To avoid these conversations you can change your phone number or make everyone call into your phone recorder, and call back on the relevant ones. I know of no other alternatives.
Some additional recommendation and experience from members
by Lee Koo (ADMIN) - 5/2/08 10:00 AM
In reply to: Are they phishing over the telephone now?! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Here are some recommendations from members who posted to the wrong thread.
Are they phishing? by stiefr - 4/25/08 11:06 PM
Two links for reporting suspected fraud or phishing incidents.
http://www.consumerfraudreporting.org/index.php
http://www.consumerfraudreporting.org/cfr.php?URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.secretservice.gov/field_offices.shtml
The second link opens a page that leads to regional offices of the secret service by State. When submitting your incident try to gather as much information as possible from the individual you are speaking to. If it is in the form of an e-mail copy and paste the message if possible along with senders address and any other pertinent information.
Bob
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Vishing
by telephonics - 4/25/08 4:34 PM
I continouously get calls advising me that the warranty on my car is about to expire and that I need to take i8mmediate action to extend same. If I engage the live operator I ask him to tell me which car and get told Caddillac 2004. I laugh because that car was totaled in anaccident in 2006. I reported these cal;ls to the FCC and DOJ buit got no respoinse. The crowning blow what my receipt of a post card with the same message that was an exact copy of the p[hone call. WQhen I called the number given on the post card they swore they never make phone calls. Wanna bet????
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are they phishing over the telephone now
by johnlira - 5/2/08 6:57 PM In reply to: Are they phishing over the telephone now?! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Ive been getting the same identical calls. Ive received at least 10 calls since I recently got my land line back at home. I asked to be put on the due not call list, but I still get the same calls almost everyday. What do you propose?
A way to foil computerized telemarketers/phishers
by zepper - 5/2/08 8:52 PM In reply to: Are they phishing over the telephone now?! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I get a couple of these calls a month and just hang up. We use only debit cards here. Credit cards are the event horizon to a black hole of debt.
What you need is an answering machine and a recording of the three tones that precede the announcement of the "The number you have dialed is out of service" message. You add this recording of the tones the the very beginning of your outgoing message. Computerized dialers are programmed to listen for those tones and to remove the associated number from the dialing list. Voila - the last call you get from that one.
. There are more complete instructions around the web for this as well as MP3 files of the needed tones.
.bh.
credit card fraud
by rcjapan - 5/2/08 9:27 PM In reply to: Are they phishing over the telephone now?! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
As a business owner, I have been a victim of credit card fraud. I sell items over the internet and use PayPal to accept payment.
I sold items to a customer in Singapore who gave me the credit card number and 3 or 4 digit security code. Of course their mailing address in Singapore did not match the billing address on the credit card, but I was able to process the card and receive payment. I was offered three different credit card numbers to complete the payment ($5,000 USD).
A few weeks later I received a charge back from the credit card company because the owner of the card said they did not authorize the use of their card. This credit card was registered to an American address.
I do not know how the people in Singapore obtain these credit card details, but I am sure that the phone phishing is one way and I believe that rummaging through people's garbage may be another way. (Please shred all personal information when throwing away.)
I have reported the incident with documentation to the FBI on-line credit card fraud department. I have received further contact from the Singapore police department a year later. So it seems that they are trying to crack down on these people.
Please be careful with your credit cards and credit card information, logging the information into website and storing with companies such as e-bay, etc. And never, never give your information over the phone.
Scams and Phishing
by Ivan Thomson - 5/2/08 9:46 PM In reply to: Are they phishing over the telephone now?! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I receive the car warranty calls you describe all the time along with about 20 others a week.
The National DO NOT CALL list is a scam in my opinion. Ever since I joined the list the number of calls has increased. All they seem to do is get the list and then use it as a call list.
Also, with VOIP such as Skype, these scammers could be calling from anywhere in the world and your chances of figuring out their number are pretty slim.
The best solution I have found is to screen every call through an answering machine the old fashioned way.
The best $6.45 I spend monthly
by pamelad - 5/2/08 11:38 PM In reply to: Are they phishing over the telephone now?! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I have a little-advertised service, billed as "AIN-Solicitation Call Blocking Feature" on my Qwest bill for $6.45 per month. I forget what "AIN" stands for, but perhaps your local phone company also provides the same service. It's great.
The caller gets an automated message that says something to the effect that "You have reached a number that does not accept unsolicited calls." Then the caller has to simply dial "1" to make the phone ring. It tricks almost all the bots, and even the dumbest telemarketers know they're wasting their time and hang up before the phone even rings, so I don't have to listen to all those annoying rings during dinner. No rings, no voicemail messages.
I have NEVER received a phishing phone call and perhaps only two unsolicited calls a year since signing up for this service about eight years ago, and I have NEVER had a friend trying to call complain about getting through.
It's the greatest $6.45 I spend a month. Before that, I was getting three or so nuisance calls a day during dinner, etc. The service is even more valuable today, considering the potentially dangerous phishing threads -- not that I'd likely fall for phishing, but I just don't want to deal with those people in any way, even answering them and hanging up. It's nice to not hear the phone ring unless it's a friend.
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