The Horse has an Insight! (about telephone scams)
By The Horse
@TheHorse (238356)
Walnut Creek, California
December 5, 2019 12:43pm CST
I'm on hold with the IRS right now. No biggie--I'm just getting help filling out a form I forgot to send in with my taxes.
When I first got through to the IRS (it's an 800 number), I recognized the voice of the menu lady, and a (slight) chill went through my spine.
It was the same voice as the bot lady who has called a few times telling me that the IRS is "suing me."
That scam is easy to detect, as there are grammatical errors, and the IRS does not call people or sue people anyway.
My "insight"? What the scammers must have done was recorded the voice of the IRS menu lady and then digitally cut and pasted it to create their scam message.
Perhaps the errors come from the fact that there were certain words they could not "harvest."
Have you received a telephone IRS scam message? Which scam messages do you most often get on the phone?
15 people like this
14 responses
@1creekgirl (44560)
• United States
5 Dec 19
Yes, I've gotten the IRS scam calls. The one I get the most (among so many others) is health insurance enrollment plans.
3 people like this
@lillywriter (1143)
• Lithuania
5 Dec 19
I get many scam messages but I already do not open them.
3 people like this
@wolfgirl569 (135966)
• Marion, Ohio
5 Dec 19
I havent got any from them. The one I get the most wants to help me manage my pain. I keep telling them it is in my rump. 
2 people like this
@wolfgirl569 (135966)
• Marion, Ohio
6 Dec 19
@TheHorse Most just keep blabbering about helping back or neck. A couple have hung up on me and one guy played along. I told him a nasty way that I go that pain there. 
He stumbled at first but then went with it. Before hanging up I told him if he hadnt been trying to scam me I could have liked him.
He stumbled at first but then went with it. Before hanging up I told him if he hadnt been trying to scam me I could have liked him.1 person likes this
@TheHorse (238356)
• Walnut Creek, California
7 Dec 19
@wolfgirl569 Nice! This was an actual live individual? That's pretty rare.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (222726)
• United States
5 Dec 19
We have Nomorobo which stops a lot of the scam calls in their tracks. There is only one ring; and then it stops and the scammer gets a recorded message. We don't answer any calls anymore where we don't recognize the number or caller. We have caller ID on our TV which is a real help.
2 people like this
@lovebuglena (52208)
• Staten Island, New York
27 Dec 19
I remember my father-in-law was bombarded with scam calls. Caller ID would show calls from different countries. And it would be crazy how many calls he'd get in one day. He even had to turn his phone off at night because he'd get calls in the middle of the night. He'd block the numbers but they'd just keep on calling from other numbers. It was very frustrating.
2 people like this
@TheHorse (238356)
• Walnut Creek, California
27 Dec 19
@lovebuglena Had he done that thing where you block "all" scam calls? I have, and it worked for awhile. But no more.
@samysotelo18 (7743)
• Mexico
5 Dec 19
Scammers are everywhere...I've been close to falling for it
2 people like this
@moffittjc (128840)
• Gainesville, Florida
7 Dec 19
I like the one where they tell me my social security number will be suspended if I don't call them right away. Like, how exactly does one suspend a social security number anyway? I'd really like to know.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52208)
• Staten Island, New York
27 Dec 19
I have not gotten those in a long time thankfully. What I get bombarded with is those Chinese messages.
@ScotMac (1335)
• Edinburgh, Scotland
6 Jan 20
Telephone scams are usually easy to pick up on. There's always something not quite right that alerts me to a scam - often the grammar is all wrong!
