I’m be completely honest, I have no idea what this fits under, so I’ll throw it under General Discussion.
I’ve been getting calls from an unknown number that changes their phone via (probably) a VOIP service every so often (as I have blocked their number every time but they’ve managed to make their way through on a new number). The call starts out where the caller, a man with a deep southern voice (if I were to make a guess on region I’d say maybe Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi or Alabama. Hell, maybe Louisiana; my regional “twang senses” aren’t that keen) asking for a person named Kevin always in the same way “Hi, is Kevin there?” I say “no” and then he leads into a sales pitch of “oh, then maybe you can help me” before speaking on his charity, some kind of First Responder, Police/Firefighters fund. It’s been a hot minute but since I’m active again on the site after like a month break I can’t exactly remember the charity name. I tell them every time that I’m not interested they try and guilt-trip you with the “oh it’s only x per month” or “if you only want to give a one-time gift,” something along those lines. It’s really scummy.
Now to the odd thing. It’s always the same guy. I mean it, the same one every time, says the exact same lines in the same tone of voice. I don’t know if this is a legit charity or if this is some grifter playing off bleeding hearts with a fairly advanced bot to dial as many people. The last time they called as soon as I heard “is Kevin there” I sort of blew up at them and demanded that they remove my number from whatever call list they have me on. I haven’t heard anything since but there has usually been a month or two between these kinds of calls when I block them.
Has anyone heard of anything like this or any (alleged) charities that act like this? This would be US based as my number is US based.
Legally questionable, it’s sort of hard to say if it’s a scam or not. If they refuse to remove you from their call list it violates the TCPA. It’s hard to say though if they’re a real charity or making something up. If they’re not a real charity that’s obviously wire fraud - if it is a real charity, well, this is a really annoying way to fundraise.
I guess we’ll have to see if they call me again, this time I’ll definitely have to get the charity name specifically.
Yea, if they call it again then they’re at least violating TCPA (although I’m not sure if there’s an exemption for charities). If you get the charity name, we can see if people have had a similar issuse.