Phone Scammers

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Not phone scammers per se...but recently I've been looking for a truck topper for the Maverick as I want additional space...and these things are effing expensive.

There's one ugly contractor one still potentially available, but horribly ugly. And DIY...well I don't think I have the skills for it.

But I've reached out to a few 'used' sellers for these things on FB and they look legit, quick to answer, potentially available and very easy to deal with.

Digging deeper...some red flags that showed up. Immediate considerable discounts (i.e.: 'ok I'll wait as it's a bit more than I'd like to spend'...'no problem let me know if you can do 'PRICE - $500 discount' in immediate conversation'.

The scam goes as follows. You send e-transfer (shocking a guy in Tennessee takes CAD e-transfer) and then they provide you with a 'shipping notice'. Then the shipper contacts you that there's not enough money in to deliver it all the way so they'll hold the package until you pay an exorbitant amount.

So what does one do? Either forfeit your initial pay, or pay the additional fees and hope that the package actually exists and leaves the location.

Dug deeper and the companies (both the TN and an AB one) don't exist outside of FB. Both are super eager for your business. Soon as you show any hint of doubt they block you because they need a sucker to just blindly follow through.

Scams everywhere, maybe I should just buy that one next door or the Alibaba one for $1600.

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How the eff does an ATV fit into that thing?
 
This does not help for texts and emails...

I have the disconnect triple tone as my voice mail message on our home phone. The calls have pretty much stopped. Depending on how they are set up, many/most autodialers remove disconnected numbers from the rotation--no point in wasting cycles calling dead numbers. I have done this on and off for years, usually when the volume starts to creep up, mentioned it here before as well. I used to like messing with them and wasting their time but now some are using AI to capture and reproduce your voice for nefarious reasons.

It does confuse some legit calls but people who know us also know the deal. Years ago when I did it, I got a letter from our mortgage company/bank that our phone number was disconnected and we are required to update them...lol.

PS, blocking numbers does not help as they use "random" spoofed phone numbers (same method as SWATing), so it is unlikely you will be called twice by the same number. I got really nasty with one messing with them years back and for a while they must have just kept using my number as I was getting nasty calls from ****** off people that thought I was the caller....

Also, if you do pick up by chance, remember Benchod...
 
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I don't get many on my Pixel, even fewer since I switched from Telus to Freedom. My wife had a lot of problems with her iPhone, significantly improved when she went to a Samsung despite keeping her number. Not sure if that was linked or coincidence.

A new one that seems to have cropped up, though, is a missed call from what seems to be a UK cell phone. It doesn't ring, just shows as a missed call. From what I understand, the game is to get you to call back to what is essentially a toll line, racking up charges accordingly. Seems crazy that that couldn't be easily stopped by the providers, but that applies to so many things here...
 
Literally moments after saying I don't get many telemarketers on Pixel, I got a call from a duct cleaning scumbag. I guess Big Bro Google is always listening/watching, even for crap...
 
GreyGhost said:
Well we know for damn sure the CRA hasn't hired anyone named Mike is at least a decade.
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Joking aside.
We have received legitimate calls from CRA during after hours, meaning after 5.
At first we were suspecious but looks like they operate till 8pm EST or so.
The first time we declined to provide info and called back ourselves and confirmed that it was CRA.
 
Lightcycle said:
Have you looked into a whitelist app which blocks all incoming calls and text unless they're on an approved list or your contact list?

Other helpful apps are spam filters which update their database constantly to check for known spam numbers as well as spam content like, "Nigeran Prince" in the body of the text.

And then there are other more complicated apps which actually asks the sender or caller to verify their message and/or number in real-time, and that gets rid of the bulk of automated spam. But that can get pretty time-consuming and annoying for legitimate callers.
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My phone is set up to shunt unknown numbers to voice mail and advise me of any left messages.

One such message was from Toronto Police, asking me for more info on a collision I had witnessed. Fortunately the timing was irrelevant.

However, what if a loved one had been mugged and their phone stolen? If a good Samaritan let them use theirs, the call wouldn't go through.

Someone is making money on this and our politicians ignore it.
 
How much time loss does your phone cause you?

Yes having a phone saves driving to see a person when you only need to ask a simple question but:

You're on hold due to a high volume of calls. Translation = Understaffed. It's an issue if they have to pay for more staff time but if that means you sit glued to the screen, your lost time or productivity is irrelevant.

At least CRA warns you of the length of the wait, sort of.

The XX minute or two useless distractions per day.

Having people and FB let you know what they had for lunch when a generation ago they could have died and you wouldn't find out for a week.

Random emails and texts to be cleared
 
I get a few VM in Chinese cause I don't answer unknown numbers. I get some random texts but i just delete/report/block. I figure most of the texts are just phishing to start up a slaughter (pig butchering scam)

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