OP-ED: Phone scammers need to be shut down
My wife and I recently visited a friend who, because of an accident, has no short-term memory. Without getting into the details of the myriad challenges this condition creates, let me focus on just one that we observed today – telephone scams.
During the approximately 90 minutes we were with her, her landline rang no fewer than 18 times. Because she has a wonderful, positive personality and an amazing sense of humor, she encouraged me to answer the phone on each ring. She explained that she can’t remember who spoke to her about what and because of that, she is constantly telephonically harassed.
The first call went something like this: “Hello, a package in your name has been confiscated that contains illegal contraband. You will be facing criminal charges. If you’d like to avoid jail time, please press one to deal with this issue.”
The next one was more fun. “A MacBook computer was purchased in your name, and $1,500 has been charged to your credit card for this purchase. If this was not your purchase, please press one to speak with a representative.” (She’s never owned a computer.)
Then this one came in: “Your Amazon card appears to have been compromised. You will be charged for the amount. Please press one to speak with a representative.” (She doesn’t have an Amazon card or any card.)
After that she received two calls asking her if she would like to sign up for a car warranty, and when I told her about those calls, she said, “I think I already did.” Yikes.
She then got a call to change her Medicare Part B provider, and another three calls within a seven-minute period that went something like this, “We are calling to let you know we have a special program for home security running in your area. We would like to come to your home to evaluate your needs and install our security system.” She told me she had bought this once and it was a total scam. Yikes again.
Immediately after that she received a call informing her that she was implicated in illegal activities and if she pressed one, they would tell her how to avoid prosecution. I pressed one but they quickly retreated and hung up when they heard a man’s voice.
After that, she got another few calls regarding health insurance and some others which were additional scams directed toward senior citizens, and most especially senior citizens dealing with some type of health or intellectual issues.
It didn’t take long for me to start having fun with the various callers. One asked me if I was the owner of the residence, and I replied, “No, I’m here to arrest her due to lack of payment on her home security program.” The Amazon and Apple calls were no fun because my pressing of the 1 numeral only directed me to another recorded message.
On one call, I did the Seinfeld thing and said, “Give me your home phone number and I’ll call you back.” And on another, I said, “I’m sorry but she is currently in prison for ordering too many MacBooks and not paying for them.”
We had previously signed up her phone number with the number that’s supposed to stop these harassment calls, but it certainly didn’t seem to have much of an impact. I also found an app that is intended to help, but it was a scam, too.
She has been taken a few times by these scammers. They have both scared her and scarred her. She can’t go without a phone. How do you describe these scams? They, in fact, don’t even qualify as savage capitalism.
These harassed folks need additional protection, and the scammers need to be shut down.
Nick Jacobs of Windber is a health-care consultant and author of two books.