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81-year-old man driven to death by phone scammers

q13fox.com

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Re: 81-year-old man driven to death by phone scammers

#31

Post by new299 »

Here's what I did to stop various scammers calling, I talked to them endlessly. They seem to almost never hang up, they'll just keep going and going. So I was bored one day and decided to see how the scam played out:

http://41j.com/blog/2015/08/phonecall-from-a-scammer/

They did call again, I picked them up on the fact that it was a scam and asked them how they justify their actions to themselves and ask questions about how the scam works. I'll see how it goes but I seem to have got myself on some kind of blacklist as nobody has called in a month (used to get some kind of scam call at least one a week). It's unfortunate that wasting their time is the most effective defense I can think of.

Re: 81-year-old man driven to death by phone scammers

#32

Post by linkydinkandyou »

ksherlock wrote: post #11
forgetsusername wrote: post #5

>" targets nearly 300,000 Americans a year, most of them elderly, and has enticed them to send an estimated $300 million annually " In this case, the scammers took advantage of an elderly man, inflicted with Alzheimer's and diminishing mental capacity. Sad. But that can't be the case for the majority. How on earth do "normal" people fall for this? I can see, maybe , when the internet was young and this was new. But i…

Why do people fall for the "work for a startup and get rich" scam?

This is probably the best comment in the whole thread. In fact, you can't get "rich" unless you're a founder in a startup. (And no, this isn't sour grapes! I've made money in Silicon Valley, and continue to work at age 53 in a new startup.)

Re: 81-year-old man driven to death by phone scammers

#33

Post by TazeTSchnitzel »

hippo8 wrote: post #24

Since the NSA is by default monitoring calls, I wonder why they cant do anything about this? (:p)

With all the data they have and considering the degree to which they have violated our privacy, it's a shame they do so little with it.

Re: 81-year-old man driven to death by phone scammers

#34

Post by jules »

There was a great TV show from Belgium called Neveneffecten a few years ago. One of the things they did was take the bait of email spam scammers. One of the scam gangs arranged an in-person meet in Belgium and tried to convince them to take a plane to Nigeria with a large sum of cash to buy gold. I don't know what the gang's plan was, but I doubt they would get a warm welcome in Nigeria.

Re: 81-year-old man driven to death by phone scammers

#36

Post by thehoff »

forgetsusername wrote: post #5

>" targets nearly 300,000 Americans a year, most of them elderly, and has enticed them to send an estimated $300 million annually " In this case, the scammers took advantage of an elderly man, inflicted with Alzheimer's and diminishing mental capacity. Sad. But that can't be the case for the majority. How on earth do "normal" people fall for this? I can see, maybe , when the internet was young and this was new. But i…

Where I work we have gotten emails claiming to be from IT, after constant reminders on what an official email would look like and how to spot a fake and to never click on links. Apparently some have fallen for it.

While not lottery scams you would think that in a work environment where there is constant education on what to look out for it still happens.

I wouldn't attribute it to stupidity. Just getting caught at the right moment.

Re: 81-year-old man driven to death by phone scammers

#37

Post by murbard2 »

The lessons is not to "be wary of scammers" or "hack your phone"... That's totally missing the crux of the scam.

The lesson is that, as you approach old age, and if at all possible, you should give a trusted relative or close friend a durable power of attorney over your finances. In addition, (or as a second best), put your money in an irrevocable living trust assigning yourself as a beneficiary, and laying out strict rules for retrieving money.

Re: 81-year-old man driven to death by phone scammers

#38

Post by andyjohnson0 »

new299 wrote: post #31

Here's what I did to stop various scammers calling, I talked to them endlessly. They seem to almost never hang up, they'll just keep going and going. So I was bored one day and decided to see how the scam played out: http://41j.com/blog/2015/08/phonecall-from-a-scammer/ They did call again, I picked them up on the fact that it was a scam and asked them how they justify their actions to themselves and ask questions ab…

I once kept a "Microsoft tech support" scammer [1] on the phone for over 30 minutes while I pretended to download and install some bit of malware he was trying to foist on me. When he finally realised what I was doing, I owned-up and politely asked why he was trying to rob me. He gave a loud scream of what sounded like pure frustration and hung up. I was laughing so hard I almost passed-out.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_support_scam

Re: 81-year-old man driven to death by phone scammers

#39

Post by wiradikusuma »

In Indonesia, a particular scam is calling people (esp. parents) very early in the morning, when people are still sleeping, "We're cops. Your son/daughter is arrested for drugs possession. Send us lots of money NOW or we'll send him/her to jail." followed by what sounds like someone crying in the background.

Since you're barely awake, and your son/daughter is indeed away (eg. on night shift or staying with friends), and the fact that some cops are corrupt, and somehow you can't call (busy line) your son/daughter to verify, make people fall prey to this scam.

The interesting part is: how do they know the relationship of the victims, and the location (i.e away from home) at that point in time, considering the scammers are sometimes from different island?

Re: 81-year-old man driven to death by phone scammers

#40

Post by saint_fiasco »

vinceyuan wrote: post #35

Similar things happen in China every day. Government, police, banks warn people many times, but there are still some people believing they will win a lot of money. They forget "No pay, no gain".

>They forget "No pay, no gain".

The problem is that they pay a lot.

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