Telephone scams

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AltaRed
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Re: Telephone scams

Post by AltaRed »

To my knowledge and experience, CRA only puts things into writing... snail mail, or if you have opted for it, electronic in your Inbox on My Account. IOW, if it is not specifically written to me, it is bogus.
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Re: Telephone scams

Post by twa2w »

AltaRed wrote: 19 Dec 2017 17:48 To my knowledge and experience, CRA only puts things into writing... snail mail, or if you have opted for it, electronic in your Inbox on My Account. IOW, if it is not specifically written to me, it is bogus.
CRA will telephone you but they will clearly identify themselves, ask for you by name, and usually confirm the last 3 digits of SIN- ie they askif your SIN ends in these 3 numbers. They will then reference a specific tax return and what the issue is.
This happened to me last year when some figures were entered incorrectly for pension splitting. She asked me to submit a form then subsequently sent a reassassment notice and I paid on line.
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Re: Telephone scams

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This one sounds pretty well planned and executed, New phone scam dupes Torontonians out of $5.1M - Toronto - CBC News
CBC wrote:The scam starts with a phone call to a would-be victim's landline. The caller purports to be a retailer — in these instances, a jeweller, though police warned that could vary — contacting the victim to report that their credit card is being used for a fraudulent purchase.

The caller asks the victim to contact 911, or, in some cases, their financial institution, to alert them to the attempted fraud.

Now comes the crux of the scam. The victim believes the caller has hung up. In reality, however, the caller has remained on the line. The victim dials and believes they've reached 911 or their bank, when, in fact, they're still on the line with another scammer posing as a police or bank investigator.

<snip>

While it varies from provider to provider, there's often a lag time between hanging up and when a call is truly disconnected. According to Nichol, it can range from between 13 and 25 seconds. It is this lag that allows fraudsters to remain on the line while a victim makes a quick, panicked call to try to save their money. Nichol said some victims reported hearing a dial tone, which contributed to their belief that the call they were making was legitimate.

A key part of the pitch is convincing victims that secrecy is paramount to a successful investigation. Nichol said. In some cases, the scammers have communicated with victims over a course of several days and multiple calls.
Forewarned is forearmed. Be careful out there because the perps have clearly thought through how to operate this scam, particularly how your landline works when a call ends.
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Re: Telephone scams

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I'm so gullible. Fell into a Costco scam last month on facebook that promised a $41 rebate on my next purchase. It was to celebrate their 41st year of business. Took the hook, and after several pages where I inadvertently told them my life's story with Costco - they asked me for my Costco MC number,
That's when I finally woke up :-)
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Re: Telephone scams

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The FB scam has been going on for some time with a number of retailers, airlines, etc. Always go directly to your online account, e.g. Costco, to see if the offer is there for you, a loyal customer, to see directly from horse's mouth. Anything else can be a scam.
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Re: Telephone scams

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Well I should have known better:-)

Still get a least one call a year from Microsoft. They want to update the current Windows version. After a very bad experience with a guy from Pakistan who wanted to charge me $9.95/month for his updating service several years ago - I now tell them to call my cousin John Diefenbaker at 1-877-568-2495 in Seattle who works for Microsoft in customer relations ;-)
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Re: Telephone scams

Post by IdOp »

Peculiar_Investor wrote: 09 Feb 2018 18:57Forewarned is forearmed. Be careful out there because the perps have clearly thought through how to operate this scam, particularly how your landline works when a call ends.
Certainly a clever and sophisticated scam. I recall a few years ago one based on the same feature was discussed here, and it was an eye-opener for me. The discussion I recall recommended (a) waiting sufficiently long before placing a call to your FI, and (b) actually make a quick call, to say a friend or relative you know first, to ensure your line has freed up, and only then call the FI to check if there has been any suspicious activity. Definitely worth a reminder even for those who have heard about it.
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Re: Telephone scams

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beachcomber wrote: 09 Feb 2018 21:30 ...Still get a least one call a year from Microsoft. They want to update the current Windows version. After a very bad experience with a guy from Pakistan who wanted to charge me $9.95/month for his updating service several years ago - I now tell them to call my cousin John Diefenbaker at 1-877-568-2495 in Seattle who works for Microsoft in customer relations ;-)
Only 1/yr? I should be so lucky.
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Re: Telephone scams

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beachcomber wrote: 09 Feb 2018 21:30 Well I should have known better:-)
Still get a least one call a year from Microsoft. They want to update the current Windows version. After a very bad experience with a guy from Pakistan who wanted to charge me $9.95/month for his updating service several years ago - I now tell them to call my cousin John Diefenbaker at 1-877-568-2495 in Seattle who works for Microsoft in customer relations ;-)
I find that the easiest way to get rid of these people is to remove the reason for their call. When I get a call from "Microsoft", I simply tell them that all our computers are Macs and they immediately hang up.
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Re: Telephone scams

Post by Insomniac »

A couple of months ago I got a call from a guy who said he was from Microsoft and my computer needs to be upgraded.

So I told him that I have several computers and asked:
Which computer?
Do you have the IP address?
The MAC address?
The computer name?
Can you tell me anything that would identify this computer?

He told me that he was not calling to answer questions and one of my computers needed upgrading.

But you cannot even identify which of my computers needs updating!

He got angry and hung up.
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Re: Telephone scams

Post by zeno »

Hackster wrote: 11 Feb 2018 21:16
beachcomber wrote: 09 Feb 2018 21:30 Well I should have known better:-)
Still get a least one call a year from Microsoft. They want to update the current Windows version. After a very bad experience with a guy from Pakistan who wanted to charge me $9.95/month for his updating service several years ago - I now tell them to call my cousin John Diefenbaker at 1-877-568-2495 in Seattle who works for Microsoft in customer relations ;-)
I find that the easiest way to get rid of these people is to remove the reason for their call. When I get a call from "Microsoft", I simply tell them that all our computers are Macs and they immediately hang up.
Yes, when the fake Microsoft scammers call, I pretend to get all excited and ask if they know my friend Omid in the Zune division.
Sometimes I'll get them to try and ping my IP address (127.0.0.1). Eventually, I too tell them that I only have Macs or Commodore PETs.

I get quite a kick out of telling the duct cleaner guys that I don't have any ducts. Some of them don't believe there could be such a house.

On the other hand, I feel quite bad when the guy selling his organic venison and elk turns up on my doorstep and I have to tell him I'm vegetarian.

One day I mixed my scripts told the duct guys that I was vegetarian. This worked surprisingly well. They just hung up in confusion.
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Re: Telephone scams

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I haven't had the Windows call in some time (knock on wood). I had fun getting excited when they called, because I had a 2 1/2 story house and was too old to climb a ladder and the windows were dirty etc. etc. When they tried to clarify it was a computer program they were calling about, I tried to clarify when they could come and did they have tall ladders and insurance etc. For some reason they hung up on me. Sad.
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Re: Telephone scams

Post by patriot1 »

Got a credit card scam call this morning:

Red Flag #1: Took a few "hellos" into dead air until I got a response. Automated dialer.
Red Flag #2: Heavy Indian accent.
Red Flag #3: Caller asks me if I have card XXX. I had gotten a call from my bank previously about fraud on this card and the first thing they do is identify themselves as calling from bank YYY.

The caller then said my card XXX had been used for a fraudulent purchase on Ebay. I hung up.
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Re: Telephone scams

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I got a call a few days ago. A woman with a Canadian accent said "This is the Canada Revenue Agency calling." I said "No it isn't" and hung up.
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Re: Telephone scams

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Shakespeare wrote: 15 Aug 2018 10:19 I got a call a few days ago. A woman with a Canadian accent said "This is the Canada Revenue Agency calling." I said "No it isn't" and hung up.
Variations of that have been coming in regularly as well as a text message with a link in it. Egads!
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Re: Telephone scams

Post by Chuck »

Text message scams seem to be the new rage. A variety of b.s. about billing errors, refunds, illegal account access etc. All this trouble to rip people off and they still can't be fussed to use proper grammar/spelling.

Less intrusive than voice calls I suppose.
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Re: Telephone scams

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And it never seems to end. Last week I received a letter from ACC Accounting Solutions of Washington, IN indicating that I was possibly the beneficiary of a portion or all of the insurance proceeds from the estate of a same surname individual who passed away without a will (US$3.8 Million).

And yesterday I received an email from an outfit called Proterra in Burlington CA claiming I had an outstanding balance owing of $12,340.00 USD.

Thankfully I think I'm still a player - but when the MVB starts demanding a doctor's certificate every year or two - this aging process gets a bit scary ;-)
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Re: Telephone scams

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twa2w wrote: 19 Dec 2017 22:40
AltaRed wrote: 19 Dec 2017 17:48 To my knowledge and experience, CRA only puts things into writing... snail mail, or if you have opted for it, electronic in your Inbox on My Account. IOW, if it is not specifically written to me, it is bogus.
CRA will telephone you but they will clearly identify themselves, ask for you by name, and usually confirm the last 3 digits of SIN- ie they askif your SIN ends in these 3 numbers. They will then reference a specific tax return and what the issue is ,..
I wasn't around when CRA called so they left a short message that identified CRA as well as the CRA agent by name, who they wanted to talk to by name and that there was an issue (no details), with a phone number to call.

Being cautious, I called the number for my tax office to get confirmation it was a legitimate CRA phone number/agent. When it was confirmed, the call was transferred where a couple of confirmations were used before going into detail of what was missing from my T1213 plus how to fix it. Other years when I filed the T1213 earlier, letters were used instead of a phone call.


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Re: Telephone scams

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Interesting they would actually do that given the number of scams around. Regardless, I would have never responded to a phone call. I'd ask them to put it in writing as an email in MyAccount mailbox.
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Re: Telephone scams

Post by big easy »

How is it we can put a Tesla into orbit but we can't trace a phone call and bust some boiler room operation. The phone companies must be complicit in some way as they probably make a ton of money off these guys.
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Re: Telephone scams

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AFAIK, CRA has no reason to call me. My tax returns are simple since all the investments are registered and I'm not rich enough to be targeted. :wink:
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Re: Telephone scams

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big easy wrote: 15 Aug 2018 15:13 How is it we can put a Tesla into orbit but we can't trace a phone call and bust some boiler room operation. The phone companies must be complicit in some way as they probably make a ton of money off these guys.
It has something to do with VOIP. I called Telus at one time trying to block an annoying telemarketer and was told there wasn't anything they could do to stop calls from coming over the internet.
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Re: Telephone scams

Post by Eclectic12 »

AltaRed wrote: 15 Aug 2018 15:10Interesting they would actually do that given the number of scams around ...
Not sure why leaving such limited info (two names, some sort of issue and a phone number) would be an issue.

When I did get a hold of the agent, I explained the delay in calling back was due to my wanting to avoid said phone scams.
From what I recall, the voicemail was to a land line where I used a different line/phone for the follow up.

AltaRed wrote: 15 Aug 2018 15:10 ... Regardless, I would have never responded to a phone call. I'd ask them to put it in writing as an email in MyAccount mailbox.
Writing would have be possible ... but a longer delay. MyAccount wasn't setup yet at that point so it wasn't an option.

Had they managed to catch me live - I would have indicated that I would call back to a number I knew and that only after confirmation would I discuss teh matter.


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Re: Telephone scams

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deaddog wrote: 15 Aug 2018 16:09
big easy wrote: 15 Aug 2018 15:13 How is it we can put a Tesla into orbit but we can't trace a phone call and bust some boiler room operation. The phone companies must be complicit in some way as they probably make a ton of money off these guys.
It has something to do with VOIP. I called Telus at one time trying to block an annoying telemarketer and was told there wasn't anything they could do to stop calls from coming over the internet.
Yes it's a bit of a VOIP problem.

Can they do anything? Yes
Can they be bothered? NO
I don't intend to offend anyone, that part is just a bonus.

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Re: Telephone scams

Post by Peculiar_Investor »

AltaRed wrote: 19 Dec 2017 17:16 The CRA scam comes in many forms... both telephone and email. Must have seen 50 or more over the last few years.
Some progress to report on this, Police raid Indian call-centres linked to 'CRA phone scam' that has victimized Canadians | CBC News.

There are still whack-a-mole type operations so any celebration should be very small. A battle might have been won, but the war goes on.
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