We normally ignore calls that are blocked/number unavailble etc.
If we have to be out we come home,and they are on our phone messager machine.
They demand to talk to my hubby,and insist that he get an attorney.
So next time we hear the specific caller [ very thickly accented voice] TxC' answers to see if we can discover who they represent what is up... etc.
They will not tell us anything...except call this number and you need to get an attorney.
We are trying to keep up w/ bills[pretty well all medical],and don't know why anyone would demand we get an attorney,and not explain who they work for,who they are...???
It is so frustrating, and I believe unlawful. Is this happening to any of y'all? I sure hope not.
Posted by randibear (Member # 11290) on :
hmmm, any way you can track it?
only advice is not to answer.
have you called that number?
sounds supicious...
Posted by Silverwolf (Member # 9196) on :
<<<<< randibear >>>>>,
TxC is going to try to reverse directory,from a number they left on message machine.
He is out at the moment...we both find it very suspicious in the light of the corrections work he used to do...among other issues.
We generally don't answer blocked name/number calls. TxC' tho't perhaps a problem had occured that we were unaware of...but if they don't give you the foggiest clue...????
Both of us are about fed up...
Harrassed and Harried Silverwolfi
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- Report it to your phone company. Really. They can help you in a couple ways. -
Posted by Silverwolf (Member # 9196) on :
<<<<< Keebler >>>>>, Thanks for the suggestion... we are cable bundled...so they may be able to track the calls.
It is getting really weird...
Jus' Silverwolfi
Posted by sixgoofykids (Member # 11141) on :
Maybe it's an attorney soliciting for business?
Posted by momindeep (Member # 7618) on :
Smells like a scam.
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- You should still be able to get your phone company to help if a crime is being committed over their phone lines. People who commit telephone harassment are subject to fines, prison or both. In many states.
Find out the options with your cable provider. If you've not yet done so, make a record of the times of call and all that you can hear. Hopefully, your cable/phone provider can get right on this.
First, though, I'll call the police or sheriff (depending upon your locale).
You said: "They demand to talk to my hubby,and insist that he get an attorney." (end quote)
That's personal. It's not just some school kid prank or a hopeful sales call.
I'd surely contact the police. Harassment is not to be taken lightly. It is a serious crime. The police may also be able to tell you if others have received similar calls.
Even if this could possibly be about an overdue bill or a collection group, they cannot harass. By not identifying who they are and the content and tone, that's harassment.
It may be important to know that hospital bills are often outsourced to collection groups, even if you think you have an arrangement with a hospital, they farm out collections and the rules change.
Still, the caller to you sounds out of these bounds. -
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
quote:Originally posted by Keebler: [QB] - Report it to your phone company. Really. They can help you in a couple ways. -
- Absolutely!! Do not call them back.
Posted by randibear (Member # 11290) on :
you can also contact the fcc
Posted by merrygirl (Member # 12041) on :
Change your number
Posted by BuffyFan (Member # 34679) on :
sounds like a scam to me, we usually don't answer if we don't know the phone number, we got rid of our answering machine years ago.
We actually just got a phone call yesterday that showed up as "phone scam" on our caller i.d.
Posted by Dogsandcats (Member # 28544) on :
are they still calling?
Posted by Marz (Member # 3446) on :
I've discovered if you just google the number itself you come up with a bunch of others reporting the same call and their experiences with it.
Maybe you said the number is blocked in which case it won't work.
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- On my local news tonight, a nearly identical story of a woman in the Portland, OR area who got calls daily, from a "credit card company" wanting her to refinance.
When she kept telling them to stop, they said horrible things about one of the other men then doing ___ to her sister. She told them she did not have a sister. "Then," the caller said the man was doing it with her mother.
Very upsetting.
She is on the "Do not call" registry but that did not keep her from getting the calls.
[same with myself, but they told me to go ___ myself when I told them I did not have a bleeping credit card and to stop calling]
Apparently, this kind of "personal" harassment call is fairly common but may have different triggers.
Advice was to tell them to remove you from THEIR do not call list, remind them you are on the national do not call list . . .
. . . take down the number, even if it is a fake number. Note the time and date of call. Turn over detail to the police.
What got the guy angry with me: Since I don't have caller ID, I asked for their number (so I would not have to pay my phone company to retrieve the last call, or find it was not listed).
Three times, same group, when I connect and ask for their number or tell them not to call, they get abusive, even obscene. -
[ 12-10-2011, 01:19 AM: Message edited by: Keebler ]
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- For those with cell phones, this could get worse. Something about a law that may go through, or may slip past and not go through - but the end result is that there would be no way to have a "do not call" registry for cell phones.
Sorry I don't have a like but a Google search for "cell phone" "do not call" might bring that up. -
Posted by Elaine G (Member # 20735) on :
Keebler, cells phones can be registered on the national do not call registry. See # 10 on their website:
We googled the number as <<<<< Marz >>>>> mentioned. One of these creeps left a return number.
There are hundreds of these numbers from the same prefix. They are even being called terrorist scammers.
So far they have finally quit caling, there were two, the number locals were in Oregon and New York. But they can be from anywhere,any prefix.
Thanks so much for the ideas info' and support for us/and others going thru this here!!!
Things are difficult right now...and both TxC' and myself were just about fried as the old saying goes.
<<<<< LymeNet Family >>>>>, Thanks for the continuing tireless work you do to help and support.
Jus' SIlverwolfi and TxCoord too.
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- Elaine,
The "Do Not Call" for cells could soon be VOID for ROBOCALLERS.
the news item just a day or two ago stated that, by law, some callers will be able get around that with cells phones.
Since I don't have a cell phone I did not pay attention to the action step, but keep your ears attuned to any news reports for the next few days as those are often recycled for a few days. -
[ 12-10-2011, 11:29 AM: Message edited by: Keebler ]
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- This is about a month old, I'm sure recent updates can be found through a search: ---------------------------
[U.S.] House considers allowing robo-calls to cellphones
-By Brendan Sasso
- 11/05/11
The House is considering a bill that would allow companies to make robo-calls to people's cellphones.
The House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Communications and Technology held a hearing on Friday to discuss the Mobile Informational Call Act of 2011, a bill sponsored by Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.) that would loosen restrictions on telemarketing calls to cellphones.
AG calls on Congress to reject 'robo-calls' to cell phones
By Sen. Percy Malone - The Daily Siftings Herald
Posted Dec 09, 2011
Arkadelphia, Ark. --
The Arkansas attorney general is one of 53 attorneys general from the 50 states and U.S. territories who have asked Congress to reject a federal bill that would allow telemarketers to make automated "robo-calls" to cell phones.
Robo-calls for commercial purposes are prohibited in Arkansas and many other states, but federal laws pre-empt state laws.
A robo-call is a tape recorded message, rather than a call from a live person. Computers can cheaply generate thousands of robo-calls in brief periods of time. When a person receives a robo-call on his cell phone, it costs in either minutes or money.
H.R. 3035 is in the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the U.S. House of Representatives.
It would open loopholes in state and federal "Do Not Call" statutes, under which people can sign up to prevent telemarketers from calling them.
H.R. 3035 is supported by collection agencies and financial service industries. -
Posted by Rumigirl (Member # 15091) on :
You MUST report this to your police dept ASAP, and to the phone co, too! You should not be fighting this by yourself.
Plus, as someone else said, you could change your phone number, and make it unlisted.
Posted by kam (Member # 3410) on :
Not able to read what others wrote. But, did read enough to google a number.
I have been getting a recorded msg for quite some time now.
It starts off with this is for (and then they do not say a name) something about your bank (again..no name of bank) and seeking council)
I don't answer my phone as it takes to much out of me and my brain isn't thinking clear enough to keep myself out of trouble.
So just let the msg machine answer the calls and listen to them when able.
I figured this is a bogus msg and if it were real they could send me something in the mail.
Posted by Silverwolf (Member # 9196) on :
Update :
The Culprits have been turned in to the proper authorities.
So far things have calmed down!
This has been happening to many many folks...
Thanks for info',Links,tho'ts and ideas!
Jus' Silverwolfi and TxC' too
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
YEA, Silver!! Good job!!
I swear I'm already getting robo-calls on my cell. Any ideas for stopping those recorded messages? Any way to block them?
even on my land line phone .. constant calls with computer messages . I don't pick up the phone on most of them. You'd think they would quit calling.
Posted by Silverwolf (Member # 9196) on :
New Update:
We tho't things were calming down after some e-mails and info'to and from our local *Better Business Bureau*, and from the **State Attorney General Consumer Protection Agency**.
Then the calls started in again... so we sent more e-mails and made some phone calls to *BBB* and **State AG CPA**.
They had us contact the FTC by e-mail, and then the groups have put the numbers and call back numbers we gave them on a national tracking list.
This is happening nation wide,and has hit hard in our area. We had a call before 7:30 this morning.
Advice: Do not answer any call of persons/groups you do not know.
Report the calls as they occur,BBB, State AG ,and so on. If there are computer and phone crime units in your local police you can contact them as well.
We have been asked to e-mail info on the harassing threat/terror calls after they come in... and we gladly comply .
The State AG,and BBB folk here are great... It may take some time to catch these criminals but at least we were able to do something.
So far the Threat Callers have called from New York, Oregon, Arkansas and Pennsylvania.
They often claim to be calling from a Federal Investigation Division, and speak w/ a very broken accent.
They have made claims that our name and SS# are under investigation,and a complaint has been filed...etc.
Anyways...we're keeping track of the calls turning the info in to the proper authorities,and waiting... sooner or later these scammers will get caught.
Jus'Silverwolfi
P.S. <<<<< Lymetoo >>>>>,
Not sure what all the procedure is for harassment cell phone calls. Perhaps similar to the regular phone...as to who to report it too.
The main suggestion we got, is on any phone, if you don't know the caller,do not answer.
We are even watching things closely computer/ Internet wise... recently we put up some info'/inquiry on the Local Craigs list,and got a very odd e-mail response.
Wont go into detail here...we just knew something was not right...so TxC' blocked the e-mailer.
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