Phone Phishing?

[KabeRinnaul]

So about 10-15 minutes ago, I got a call from 978-570-2411 and picked up to hear a woman with a very thick Indian accent telling me I'd been selected to have a free GE home security system installed. I could barely understand her between the accent, bad connection, and background noise, and eventually just told her I wasn't interested and hung up. I got on Google and did a search for a few phrases from her spiel, and found this site:

http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-978-570-2411

Apparently they also advertise smoke detectors and heaters in their calls, and seem to be calling from out of country and spoofing the call info so it looks like it's a US call. Anyone else run into this?

[MadMike]

I certainly wouldn't volunteer any information about my security system to some stranger who called me out of the blue. Very bad idea.

I seem to remember that same name showing up on my Caller ID once or twice, but I never answer anything I don't recognize. I used to answer it if it appeared to be a residence, but apparently some of them are spoofing numbers of actual residences now. I'd hate to be those people, I'm sure they get all kinds of nasty calls from people who they think called them.

Sometimes I wish I could ban spammers from my phone as easily as I can ban them on the boards here.

[pitmonkey]

Hubby got one the other day but his was all in spanish. Same sort of thing.

[firecat88]

I got one of those on my cellphone yesterday. Some place advertising that if you call a certain phone number, they'll give you a "free" $100 gift certificate. Slightly-paranoid-about-this-stuff person that I am, I Googled the phone number. Turns out that this company, New Line, wants you to give them $5 and your credit card info before giving you the certificate.

Needless to say, I texted back 'STOP' to make the ads go away.

[Primer]

My security system? Smith & Wesson, Ruger, Colt, and a pack of dogs that does NOT like strangers!

[Lady Legira]

I got a call a few weeks back out if the blue from "A Computer Security firm" who said they were calling about a reported issue with my computer from Mircosoft. I was on Skype with my BF (A former Forensic Data Security type) so I muted the mic on his end and typed what was being said (touch typing FTW). I played the ditz for a while since I could barely understand the persons accent and they put on with someone else with whom I played the ditz for a while before throwing down the legality stuff my bf was feeding me. Funny how quickly they hung up...

[Cazzi]

I got a call a few weeks back out if the blue from "A Computer Security firm" who said they were calling about a reported issue with my computer from Mircosoft.

A friend of mine has had several of those. THe first time or two he had fun "playing" with them.. as in playing dumb, asking silly questions, repeating things before laughing & telling them to (not too politely) to go away, basically to try & run up their call charges a little.

He says the last couple of times however, they've refused to play

The good bit he's a confirmed Linux guy, refuses to have a Windows machine.

I'm still waiting for a call, I wanna play too!

[emax4]

They may have a call service set up so that it goes through another number which appears on the caller ID. Or they may just know someone at a PBX station that changes it for them (unlikely).