Someone tried to scam me today, anyone heard of this?

[wisco]

So today I received a call from a "relay service". The number came from Virginia, and the woman on the phone was speaking rather poor english. She had no accent, but she just wasn't saying things right.... and seemed somewhat hesitant.

She told me someone had requested an operator assisted call to speak to me. I have received a call like this once in the past from a deaf person (they type into a computer, which the operator relays to me, and then the operator types my response.) so I agreed to take the call.

The person on the other end inquired about my supply of laptops, and that he was looking for several "Dell" or "HP" laptops for $800 or more. He had no specific models. He said he needed them for his son. He then asked if I would accept a credit card "through email". I asked where he was calling from, and he said he "lived in the states" but was "in a hospital in Texas" and could "send his fedex driver up there".

At this point I realized the call for what it was. On top of all the bizarreness of it, there is no reason for a guy in a "hospital in texas" to be calling a small company like mine in Wisconsin.

I cannot find any legitimate information on the number that called me from Virginia, so I suspect it's probably fake as well. I said "I'm speaking to the operator now, not the caller, this is a scam and...." and the operator cut me off, stating she was not allowed to speak to me. Uh huh.

I reiterated that this was a scam and a waste of my time, I was over a thousand miles from Texas, and I was hanging up. That was the end of it.


Sooo.... anyone heard of anything like this before or is it something new?

[wisco]

Well I have a bit more information.

The company that placed the call to me is a legitimate company - i711.com. They have a number to call to report (attempted) fraudulent transactions using their system. They are a federally funded service for the hearing impaired.

I called them to inform them of the attempted scam. The gentleman I spoke was well aware of these incidents and was very apologetic, saying he deals with this ALL day. Unfortunately it appears their hands are tied in these situations.

By law, businesses are required to take these calls. Also by law, FCC Regulations do not permit the operators to offer any opinion on the calls being made - they must connect them and are not allowed to speak to the caller or the business except to relay the conversation. Hence, even if they KNOW it's a scam, they have to relay the call. That would explain to me why the operator seemed hesitant.

He informed me that the FBI has launched an investigation into these calls, and that I could file a fraud report @ ic3.gov. However he told me that the traces almost always coming from overseas so there isn't much that can be done about it.

He told me that if/when this happens again, tell the operator that I/we do not accept credit cards and that usually results in the caller immediately disconnecting. That appears to be their only defense at this point.

Just thought I'd share.

[mcsap]

Dont accept credit card or relay calls. I am sure your business will not suffer.

[MikeG]

Do you think he would have emailed the credit card number? It would be good to report them to visa to get them shut down. Maybe make up a story that you'll need a CC number for each computer and get a bunch of them cancelled.

[retdetsgt]

Dont accept credit card or relay calls. I am sure your business will not suffer.

I bet it would if he quit accepting credit cards. I put everything I buy on one, pay it off at the end of the month and get a check for 50 to 75 bucks each month for using their credit card.

[MikeG]

I bet it would if he quit accepting credit cards. I put everything I buy on one, pay it off at the end of the month and get a check for 50 to 75 bucks each month for using their credit card.

Me too. The best part is there is also at least a 30 day grace period. They have bill pay so I get the 2% in cash and 30 days worth of interest (not much nowadays but better than the alternative). Stuff I bought in February shows up on March 1 bill, not due until April 1.

[1depd]

Gotta love the float.

[retdetsgt]

Gotta love the float.

One of my co-workers told me that when he was going through a divorce and having hard times, he learned that if you run your personal checks through on of those things that erase magnetic tapes, the bank's computer kicks it out. They then have to enter it by hand so you have an extra day or so before it clears.......

[MikeG]

One of my co-workers told me that when he was going through a divorce and having hard times, he learned that if you run your personal checks through on of those things that erase magnetic tapes, the bank's computer kicks it out. They then have to enter it by hand so you have an extra day or so before it clears.......

Now all he needs is a second bank account to complete the kiting circuit. It kinda worked better before computers.

[marinepilot]

One of my co-workers told me that when he was going through a divorce and having hard times, he learned that if you run your personal checks through on of those things that erase magnetic tapes, the bank's computer kicks it out. They then have to enter it by hand so you have an extra day or so before it clears.......

That trick probably won't work anymore as they don't even need the actual check anymore to cash it, just a picture of the front and back of the check.

[retdetsgt]

That trick probably won't work anymore as they don't even need the actual check anymore to cash it, just a picture of the front and back of the check.

If that works like the ATM's, then write barely legible. My ATM can't read my father in law's writing and always asks me to enter the amount.