Got one on my answering machine yesterday from “Law enforcement (pause) of Federal reserve system”. We have discovered suspicious activity on your bank account. A warrant has been issued for your arrest. Press 1 if you want to talk to a law enforcement officer. Of course it sounded like a robot talking.

I wonder what would happen if I did press 1? I suppose they would want all my personal info and a credit card number for dropping the warrant. This is a new one on me and I’ll bet a few actually press 1 and are willing to pay to get the warrant for their arrest cancelled, but not me. I have a hard time understanding how these scammers can get away with this kind of crap! Anyone else here ever received a robo call like this one?

This is the one I get every few months.

It's definitely my favorite and I look forward to it.

The scam itself isn't new, but leaving messages on your voice mail is (to me).

I actually derive a little joy from these thieving bastards. I will play along and take as much of their time as possible. I figure I am doing my part because they are not talking to another person. There are several models for this on youtube where people drag them out and use their time. I use this for entertainment on long commutes.

Here's an email I found in my spam folder. Considered calling and telling them yes, the subscription was ordered by my wife, no problem, it's great virus protection, then hang up. Obviously they would then have my # but I've got a good blocker

#GEEK SQUAD#

Dear xxxx.

Thank you for using #Protection #360.

This email is to notify you that your yearly subscription with Artemis is renewed.

This plan was confirmed your end. We have charged 349.00 USD.

Here are your #Order #Details:

#Your order number is: - PP-ZN-01236/458.

#Product name: #Protection 360

#Total amount: 349.00 USD

#Transaction date: 02/04/2021

To upgrade/cancel your subscription, please contact our customer service desk given below.


+1 (833) 966-1774

Sincerely,

Billing Team

IMPORTANT: Please do not reply to this message or mail address.

For any queries, please reach our Customer Contact Centre @ +1 (833) 966-1774

I think you misunderstood. They generally inform you of a "warrant on your arrest" . Specific details are important in these matters. On your arrest is much more serious than for your arrest. You have mere minutes left before they swat your house.

I've been getting a more-than-usual number of e-mails claiming that my "bank account is disabled," "credit card failed," etc.

I've had similar ones that claim to be from IRS etc and a warrant for my arrest was issued and to call them. Our office had one like this a few weeks to our Sgt's phone.. We had a good laugh and told him "sorry, but we have to arrest you now".

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:
I've been getting a more-than-usual number of e-mails claiming that my "bank account is disabled," "credit card failed," etc.

I got one the other day that said my PayPal account was frozen and I needed to resend my bank account info .

I have my iPhone set to route all calls from numbers not in my contact list to voicemail. Apple marks most robocalls as “probable scam”. The iPhone is my only phone.

Go ahead and press #1, wait for the Hindi or Nigerian to answer.
Then after he tries to scare you into paying just say:
" You got me, I give myself up "
" I am tired of running "
" Do I turn myself in or will you come get me? "

^^^ I've seen this done on the IRS-gonna-arrest-you-if-you-don't-pay scam.
They shit their pants.

I’ve answered a few of those calls myself

I usually respond with something like

‘Good afternoon. US Treasury Industrial Fraud Department. This is a recorded and traced line. Agent Berkowitz. How May I help you. ‘

quote:

I got one the other day that said my PayPal account was frozen and I needed to resend my bank account info

Yep, one of those too.

quote:

Originally posted by wingspar:
This is a new one on me and I’ll bet a few actually press 1 and are willing to pay to get the warrant for their arrest cancelled, but not me. I have a hard time understanding how these scammers can get away with this kind of crap!

Some people just aren't very smart and fall for it. But I bet most that get scammed are elderly and have impaired judgment. A client of mine was scammed with the "you must pay or your electricity will be turned off" scam. Then they hit him up for more money to "fix" his old meter. I've known the client for years and it wasn't something he would have fallen for five years ago.

Nothing pisses me off like people taking advantage of elderly vulnerable adults.

I’m a retired LEO, and I’ve discussed my career with my in-laws countless times. I’ve discussed phone scams to them, and the ones with family members needing help in particular on more than one occasion. My father-in-law had a lengthy career in the USA, and many years of that, he was in the intelligence community. He’s very intelligent and up on current events since he constantly watches FNC.

So, within the last few years, he received a call from someone claiming to be his granddaughter who had been arrested in another state for an accident involving an accident. She said she needed money and that she didn’t want her dad to find out. Then there was the ‘officer’ talking to him after that with instructions on how to purchase money cards at Walmart, etc etc. My in-laws followed the directions and provided them with the money card info.

My brother-in-law is a serious and very business oriented person who expects the best out of his family and employees. He is a decorated Vietnam Cobra pilot and he runs a chain of many stores. He is also a politically connected who’s who of the community. My in-laws, disregarding ALL that I had discussed with them regarding scammers and who has watched who knows how many local and national news stories on the subject, was scammed out of $3,000.00 to $5,000.00 (I don’t remember exact figure) out of the goodness and love in their hearts for their family. My father-in-law will be 92 on the 16th, and even though this happened a few years ago, this incident still causes great pain when he thinks about it. Now, he and my mother-in-law give the scammers and telephone solicitors hell.

This guy lost $190.000 to a scammer.

This story is from the Green Valley AZ News dated Dec 26, 2020.

The story is behind a paywall, but I think this link will take you to the whole story. LINK TO STORY

GV man loses $190,000 in scam; here's how to avoid that

Dec 26, 2020 Updated Dec 26, 2020

The caller on the phone told a terrifying story, but weeks — and several phone calls — later, a Green Valley man realized he'd been lied to and scammed out of $190,000.

The man agreed to speak to the Green Valley News as a warning to others; the newspaper does not identify crime victims by name.

The man, who'd recently moved to Green Valley from out of state, received a call Nov. 4 from somebody claiming to be from the Office of the Inspector General at the Social Security Administration. He told the man his money wasn't safe after his personal information, including his Social Security number, were found in a car covered in blood in Washington state. The OIG oversees Social Security programs and prevents fraud and waste.

"It really did happen," the man said. "From Nov. 4 to about a week and a half ago, when I finally woke up and said this is ridiculous."

Sheriff's logs show the victim reported the fraud to deputies in Green Valley on Dec. 17.

Lt. Derek Ogden, who oversees the Green Valley substation, said deputies forwarded the case to the fraud unit, where they'll look for similarities in other fraud crimes in Pima County and Tucson. He said the case would also go to the FBI because it involved money wiring.

Repeated calls
After receiving the initial call, the man looked up the caller's name on the internet to confirm his identity. The search showed somebody by that name was with the OIG's Western Field Operations office.

"I believed him. He was highly trained in the way he was telling the story, and how I was supposed to follow his directions and all of that," the man said.

The caller made six requests for money, one as high as $49,000.

Ogden said the resident sent money to several names and companies – DMT Software Solutions, Jeremiah Darnell Davis, Hiromi Sanders, Amaipe LLC and Arnaz Investments LLC.

The resident said the callers told him his funds wouldn't be safe in a bank because someone involved in the Washington crime could access his accounts with his Social Security number. He was told that the solution was to send his money to several people and organizations. The federal government would then provide him with a new Social Security number and a cashier's check to safeguard his money.

"What do I know about this (stuff)," the man said. "I'm just a boy from (out of state) born and raised on a dairy farm."


The victim also said he received an official-looking letter via email purportedly from an attorney saying that if he didn't cooperate with the demands he would be investigated as a suspect in the crime.

"I don't want to be held responsible for this particular issue, you know," he said. "Anyway, he scared me. He knew what to say, how to say it, and I just went along with it on six different occasions. But the last one, I didn't do it. I didn't go along with it."

The man didn't lose all of his money in the scam. But he said it's still hard knowing it was taken when he would have donated it all to people who genuinely needed it.

Be suspicious
The resident said he no longer answers calls from unknown numbers, especially those from out of state.

He said he was too embarrassed to tell his family but did tell friends in Green Valley who were shocked at the amount. One of them told him to contact the Pima County Sheriff's Department and the Scam Squad, operated by the Sheriff's Auxiliary Volunteers.

Ogden said he couldn't say if this was the largest scam in Green Valley, but the amount did stand out.

"If there's something they're not 100 percent sure, they can always reach out to us," Ogden said. "Before people are victimized, we can help them make sure it's on the up and up."

Scam Squad manager Sylvia Bencomo said she's been with SAV for six years, with more than four years working on scams.

"What we tell people repeatedly on the phone and during presentations – Social Security never calls you, you call Social Security," she said.

Bencomo said the Scam Squad often receives calls from residents about Social Security contacting them. And she said that's OK because they can typically catch a scam before the victim sends money.


After losing $190,000, the victim wants people to be on their toes. His advice on suspicious calls for money – hang up and report it to the Sheriff's Department, "so that people realize that this can easily happen," he said. "But don't be snookered in by way of somebody convincing you out of fear, out of stupidity or whatever. If it's over the phone, tell them to go jump off a cliff or something."