A couple of folks have been coming on to this site posting numbers that none of us can work.
They're either:
- Legitimate debt collection agencies
- Spoofed Caller IDs (so if you call it you'll get a live victim who's CID is being used by a scammer on their outbound dialer)
- Other legitimate institutions who's number is being spoofed
It's aggravating to me and I am flagging your posts and if you keep doing it a mod could ban you. Scambaiters are only interested in numbers that they can work, not garbage.
When you post a number here:
- TEST IT FIRST. Did the scammer spoof the caller ID? Is it the scammer when you call the number or an innocent victim who’s had their number spoofed?
If it's a spoof, then STOP. We don't want the number. You can report the spoofed number on FindWhoCallsYou.com but we don't want it.
- Is this a debt collector, government agency or a legitimate company?
In addition I would like to point out that many users are posting debt collection agencies, in hopes that we can solve their problems.
Sadly, it doesn't work that way and is illegal for us to harrass such organisations in most States and Countries.
If you feel that you are being harassed this much, then I will advise you to invest in a call blocker. For mobile phones, many community driven apps exist at low cost. As for home phones, you can buy gadgets that connect to the FCC's blacklist (not to be confused with the Do Not Call list). Some other gadgets can also connect online and operate through a community driven database as well; such as, Call Control.
I recommend checking out your mobile app stores and Amazon.
I saw one guy posting his friends number here. I called it, his friend said that his asshole friend posted his number on Scammer.info he got spammed called 24/7. Looks like scammers are spoofing as relatives numbers.
When I don't hear an Indian pickup but an EU/US/CAN/MX person instead, my spidey senses tingle.
When I ask pointed questions about where XYZ's office is located and get back a clear, quick answer, they tingle more
When I ask for the mailing address of the firm and it's read back out to me instead of an angry hangup, they tingle a lot
And when I go to the firm's legit website and see the legit number listed there, alarm klaxons are going off and then I get mad.
I get it that spoofing a real firm is in the scammers best interests and they do that, but as an example one account that I reported kept posting Portfolio Recovery's DID numbers in here. I know they're real because you can go to any number of consumer law firms who specialize in suing debt collectors and they SEO the numbers so debtors can find them in search rankings.
And I know Portfolio's IVR by heart---they've gone after me for zombie debt that's out of statute. Another number posted here was of a local FBI field office, and I know that IVR as well and that number is as plain as day on the FBI field office's homepage.
Well, my post already got deleted. Don’t be racist. Americans are quite capable of being scammers. If your only criteria for determining a scam is accent, you should just ban yourself now.
I’ve also occasionally seen posts about tech support companies that are legitimate and it’s perfectly legal for them to sell tech support services even if they’re not the OEM. We may not like them and consider them a rip-off because they are often monetizing some peoples’ severe computer illiteracy, doing things people don’t actually need, charging far above FMV.
But that alone is not illegal unless they're directly lying and/or misrepresenting themselves or what exactly they're charging for. Shady? Yeah probably most of the time. A scam? No.
Like this one for example I found posted on here,
http://chawlatechnicalsupport.com/
Their business address is in Yuba City which is basically like Punjab in the middle of California Gold Country. So it's not surprising they're all Indian. But they admit they're a 3rd party and not affiliated with Microsoft, Google, etc and they don't cold-call people and/or use any of the normal scam tactics.
@urlaub14#79080 When someone is selling tech support that costs more than it costs to replace the computer, it’s a scam. Rarely have I seen these “tech support specialists” do ANYTHING of value to my pc (read vm). So, receiving what amounts to nothing for the low low price of $1000 is not operating within the bounds of the law. Sorry, but that’s bullshit. At least in this country (the US) you have to get some sort of value for what you pay for, or it is illegal. You can sue, and recover damages. But good luck suing these low lifes. On that note, please everyone, vet the numbers you post. Not everyone takes the time to vet them themselves before unloading on them.
@urlaub14#79080 Failure to adhere to FTC.gov regulations is unlawful. Cold calls and pop-ups are illegal. Legit 3rd party support will not be mistaken for a scam if they don’t make cold calls, pop-ups, or ask you to press the 4 flag key.
@myjackcity#79009 i can easily see if they’re a scam or not. Bad grammar, long texts introducing problems and how to fix them, and lots of phone number propaganda.
@Darrell64#79161 Dunno what to say about the exes/homewrecker posts and the sex workers on FWC…
But reporting debt collectors/skip tracers and the like is OK on the general call reporting apps b/c it helps people know who that predictive dialer is, since so many legit companies that call seem to be pretty aggressive about not revealing their nature of their call when they dial and many don't leave voicemails.
Even if they're spoofing the number at least when you google it you can see "ahh, scammer ok whatever". Unfortunately the reporting apps don't really give their users a clear cut path to determine whether a number is spoofed or not. I try to add to those reports when I've tested a number and determined it was a spoof.