This group of scammers is at it, again! This is another “10-percenter” charity - out of $16M they’ve managed to collect from the unwary, only 10K has gone out for the academic programs they supposedly sponsor. They’ll call you at some unexpected time, and try to high-pressure you over the phone - only “serious” donors are sent requests through the mail. NEVER give out donations over the phone, and always check with the BBB to make sure the charity is legit!
Absolutely, there’s so many, it’s sickening. There’s even FOP scammers. I admit, I have fun playing with them. They usually hang up.
I have an app on my cell phone called “Robokiller” and I have for the answer that they called AREA 51. There ia also one that tells the caller that they called a number that is registered with the National Do Not Call Registry. And that they can be fined $26k for calling the number. And most of the time they just hang up without leaving a message.
I don’t pick up my phone unless I recognize the number. Cell set to do not disturb, and I check it at my convenience. My message simply says “hello” and I let the scammer babble on a bit, and usually the call ends with “hello, are you there…hello” lol
Yeah, police group called today.
Big issue lately is some home improvement group/ national funding blah blah…
Home phone, I use Ooma VOIP, and block everyone not on my contacts list.
Scammers literally victimize tens of thousands of individuals each year and steal tens of millions of dollars. In 2020, the FTC reported losses to scammers of more than $1.2 billion for just imposter scams (e.g., someone claiming to be from social security or Medicare). These are crimes where criminals know there is little or no likelihood of being caught or prosecuted.
Law enforcement rarely investigates scam calls, even more rarely prosecutes them and they rarely, if ever, go to jail. Kick in a door or sell drugs or break the speed limit, and the cops will come after you. Steal from someone by using a phone and nobody cares, even if you claim to represent a law enforcement charity.
My cell is set to send all calls to voice mail, unless the caller is in my contact list. I have yet to get a voice mail, which is rare to begin with, that was not a legitimate call. My home phone it has a built-in call blocker. It states this phone is using a call blocker and the call will go to voice mail unless the # key is pressed to ring through or that number is in the telephone’s directory.
I have only had one voicemail that was from an unknown caller (spam) and one that rang through - an actual person, not a bot call, and subsequently added the number to the block list. It has a caller ID list of all the incoming calls. This may not be true, but I feel as though I am getting fewer spam calls now than before I got this phone. The best part is that the phone is not ringing, unless it is someone you know - much quieter now.