Attention: Scammers on this website

[Chris Thauberger]

I have instituted white lists for both phone and email.

If contact info doesn't come up on a call I let it go to voice mail.
My voice mail then sends me a text of the message. Most of the time there is no message(text).

Email account is similar, if you are not in my white list you can't send me an email.
I scroll through all the 'spam' once in while. Very rarely does it catch a legitimate email but it does happen.

If the government wants to get a hold of me it is usually by mail.

[kjspeed]

Oh yeah, it's fun! Whenever my wife hears me doing this she just rolls her eyes. 

I've also been known to do the same thing when I'm with someone and we're surrounded by people speaking other languages (waiting in line at Disney for example). My wife will keep trying to shush me. I figure that if I have no idea what other people are saying, then how would they know what I'm saying? Someday I'll probably get busted by saying something in gibberish that is close enough to a legitimate foreign language and someone will try and converse with me. 

On the rare occasion that I take the time to answer a telemarketing call I speak gibberish. They ask a few questions and all they get is gibberish in return. Eventually they hang up. Hopefully they mark my number as: Language - Unknown.

That would have been fun to be a fly on the wall to hear that conversation.

[SFM5S000]

As much fun as it may seem to "mess" (I can think of a more appropriate term) with them. DON'T! Keeping them on the line is a bad thing. You are allowing them time to phish your system!
Do not answer with anything that is a confirming "yes" or "ok" reply.
I too get the robo calls. emails with links. DO NOT OPEN OR CLICK THOSE LINKS! No matter how inviting they may seem. Just delete them.
As for phone calls, if you don't recognize the number. Hang up on them. As for posting items for sale on this forum or CL and you get the reply Pete got. It's a scam.

Cheers,
~Earl J

[FL SAAC]

+1

As much fun as it may seem to "mess" (I can think of a more appropriate term) with them. DON'T! Keeping them on the line is a bad thing. You are allowing them time to phish your system!
Do not answer with anything that is a confirming "yes" or "ok" reply.
I too get the robo calls. emails with links. DO NOT OPEN OR CLICK THOSE LINKS! No matter how inviting they may seem. Just delete them.
As for phone calls, if you don't recognize the number. Hang up on them. As for posting items for sale on this forum or CL and you get the reply Pete got. It's a scam.

Cheers,
~Earl J

[kjspeed]

With all due respect Earl, I would like to clarify that it is impossible for a caller to "phish" a landline phone call. In this day and age it's possible many of us have eliminated landline phones and use mobile phones, which may be susceptible to external attacks. I never answer a call on my cell phone from a number I don't recognize. As Chris mentioned earlier, send the caller to voicemail. If they're legitimate they'll usually leave a message.

I used to work in the telecommunications field and I can tell you that time is the most valuable asset a telemarketer has. The longer they stay on a call that won't result in a sale (or scam) the more time they have wasted. That's why I do it. That, and to frustrate them enough that they may decide to choose another career. Unfortunately, one of the least effective government programs we have is the Do Not Call registry. It is USELESS.

Phishing emails and websites are another matter entirely and extreme caution is essential. Again, I spent years in the technology field and I'm pretty good at recognizing those things. I actually find them amusing and/or an impressive effort to deceive. However, not everyone shares the same skepticism or knowledge. Many of these ploys are so well constructed that you really have to look closely to see they are scams. Others are so amateurish they make me laugh. Best advice is: if in doubt DON'T click on it! Trust no one. Also make sure that your computer is protected from attacks and regularly update your security software.

As much fun as it may seem to "mess" (I can think of a more appropriate term) with them. DON'T! Keeping them on the line is a bad thing. You are allowing them time to phish your system!
Do not answer with anything that is a confirming "yes" or "ok" reply.
I too get the robo calls. emails with links. DO NOT OPEN OR CLICK THOSE LINKS! No matter how inviting they may seem. Just delete them.
As for phone calls, if you don't recognize the number. Hang up on them. As for posting items for sale on this forum or CL and you get the reply Pete got. It's a scam.

Cheers,
~Earl J

[madeulook]

This exact same thing occurred to me on a toploader sale.  They intercept a company's check in the mail, photoshop it, sent me way over what I was asking, with instructions to "pay the mover" who is picking up the transmission. I politely told them to GTH.

[SFM5S000]

With all due respect Earl, I would like to clarify that it is impossible for a caller to "phish" a landline phone call. In this day and age it's possible many of us have eliminated landline phones and use mobile phones, which may be susceptible to external attacks. I never answer a call on my cell phone from a number I don't recognize. As Chris mentioned earlier, send the caller to voicemail. If they're legitimate they'll usually leave a message.

You're right. I was going on the assumption that most folks have done away with land lines. Letting an unknown call just go to VM. If it were a legitimate call they would leave a message. At that point one could return the call or let that person call again.
I too come from a technology background on the development side. I have many colleagues in various stages of SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle) you'd be amazed at what some of these people can do regardless of platform.
But anyway in simpler best practices, it's just better to let it go to VM, hang up on them or hit the delete button and definitely don't click on unknown suspicious links.

~Earl J

[FL SAAC]

+ 1  landlines that's when people answered ahoy hoy

You're right. I was going on the assumption that most folks have done away with land lines. Letting an unknown call just go to VM. If it were a legitimate call they would leave a message. At that point one could return the call or let that person call again.
I too come from a technology background on the development side. I have many colleagues in various stages of SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle) you'd be amazed at what some of these people can do regardless of platform.
But anyway in simpler best practices, it's just better to let it go to VM, hang up on them or hit the delete button and definitely don't click on unknown suspicious links.

~Earl J