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Too soon old,
Too late smart
posted
Twice over last month I've gotten calls from scammers who say they're my TV provider and I need to turn on the tv because changes have been made in the operating system and if I don't turn it on my programming will be affected. Obviously a scam but assuming that I turned it on what would they do?

This time I acted concerned and said you're calling from Dish? Guy said yes. Told him that's strange, I have Verizon and hung up.


_______________________________________

NRA Life Member
Member Isaac Walton League

I wouldn't let anyone do to me what I've done to myself
 
Posts: 1509 | Location: NoVa | Registered: March 14, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of 4MUL8R
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https://consumer.ftc.gov/consu...and-internet-company


-------
Trying to simplify my life...
 
Posts: 5244 | Location: Commonwealth of Virginia | Registered: January 15, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Get my pies
outta the oven!

Picture of PASig
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Again...why are you answering calls from companies or people you don't know?


 
Posts: 35003 | Location: Pennsylvania | Registered: November 12, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Oriental Redneck
Picture of 12131
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Curiosity. The need to know is irresistible for many. Scammers thrive thanks to this.


Q






 
Posts: 27984 | Location: TEXAS | Registered: September 04, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
always with a hat or sunscreen
Picture of bald1
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by PASig:
Again...why are you answering calls from companies or people you don't know?


Concur. You simply need to add a call blocker to your phone which will silence anyone not in your contacts list. If it is someone not in your list who is legit they'll leave a voicemail for you and you can go from there.



Certifiable member of the gun toting, septuagenarian, bucket list workin', crazed retiree, bald is beautiful club!
USN (RET), COTEP #192
 
Posts: 16595 | Location: Black Hills of South Dakota | Registered: June 20, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
The success of a solution usually depends upon your point of view
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by bald1:
quote:
Originally posted by PASig:
Again...why are you answering calls from companies or people you don't know?


Concur. You simply need to add a call blocker to your phone which will silence anyone not in your contacts list. If it is someone not in your list who is legit they'll leave a voicemail for you and you can go from there.


Some people get work related calls from people not in their contact list. As a first responder at work, anytime someone gets injured, I get a phone call from someone.
Just because you can ignore calls does not mean everyone else can.



“We truly live in a wondrous age of stupid.” - 83v45magna

"I think it's important that people understand free speech doesn't mean free from consequences societally or politically or culturally."
-Pranjit Kalita, founder and CIO of Birkoa Capital Management

 
Posts: 3926 | Location: Jacksonville, FL | Registered: September 10, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Ugly Bag of
Mostly Water
Picture of ridgerat
posted Hide Post
If your TV provider makes revisions, it can do them without you, or your TV, being involved. Your TV, or DVR, or computer, or devices, are just receivers and have no effect on the signal.

If you get a call from any provider, just hang up.



Endowment Life Member, NRA • Member of FPC, GOA, 2AF & Arizona Citizens Defense League
 
Posts: 2882 | Location: Tucson Sector | Registered: March 25, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
His Royal Hiney
Picture of Rey HRH
posted Hide Post
I don't think it's a scam. I got the same call and it was all professional. I turned on the tv. then he had me strip down to just my socks while I press the mute button. My next bill will reflect the lower rate I'll be paying.



"It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life – daily and hourly. Our answer must consist not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual." Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, 1946.
 
Posts: 20187 | Location: The Free State of Arizona - Ditat Deus | Registered: March 24, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
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It’s always amazing to me how successful these must be otherwise you wouldn’t get 4-5 scam calls a day. Who is like “omg if I give me cable company a gift card they’ll save me money?”
 
Posts: 1317 | Location: Arizona | Registered: January 31, 2014Reply With QuoteReport This Post
thin skin can't win
Picture of Georgeair
posted Hide Post
quote:
You simply need to add a call blocker to your phone which will silence anyone not in your contacts list.


In my vision of retirement in a few years, this is one thing I most look forward to. That and having my phone silenced at night.

Alas, for now I can't screen calls in my current role.



You only have integrity once. - imprezaguy02

 
Posts: 12839 | Location: Madison, MS | Registered: December 10, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Min-Chin-Chu-Ru... Speed with Glare
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by Kskelton:
It’s always amazing to me how successful these must be otherwise you wouldn’t get 4-5 scam calls a day. Who is like “omg if I give me cable company a gift card they’ll save me money?”


Actually they are not successful by volume of calls made, but making the calls is so cheap to do that the rare scam call that pays off provides an excellent return on investment. The ridiculous call to action -- for example, government agencies demanding that payments be made in gift cards -- works to qualify the mark. If the mark is credulous enough not to question "why gift cards?" the scammer knows he/she has a "live one" on the hook.

As to the OP's original question of why he was asked to turn on his TV: the scammer is trying to establish his/her authority over the potential victim. The person who will go along with the scammer's initial harmless commands is demonstrating their tendency to do what they're told, and also, remain on the phone. These two behaviors also indicate that they are a good mark for the scammer's call to action.
 
Posts: 1280 | Location: MA | Registered: December 24, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Slayer of Agapanthus


posted Hide Post
Average income of India is $2,150 per year. Pretty strong motivation.


"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye". The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupery, pilot and author, lost on mission, July 1944, Med Theatre.
 
Posts: 6024 | Location: Central Texas | Registered: September 14, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Back, and
to the left
Picture of 83v45magna
posted Hide Post
There are a myriad of good responses to such a call:

"My TV is already on"

"I have 5 TV's that are all on right now"

"I don't have a TV"

"Sure, just give me the PIN number ya'll gave me for verification"

"Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?"

"Are you taking any prescription medication?"

The ever popular....
"What are you wearing?"

...and so much more.
 
Posts: 7458 | Location: Dallas | Registered: August 04, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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