Messing with a scammer

[AC0TX]

I will admit right now this is not radio related...

I receive an E mail from my mother-in-law about being stuck in England without funds cause somebody robbed her. Obvious scam

So I replied back saying I gave Western Union $7500 and here is the reference number- the money is waiting for you.

Maybe if the scammer replies back, I can somehow make the scammer make multiple trips to Western Union

Of course my E mail address does NOT reflect my actual name

I will report back if there is any progress

[AC0TX]

Well I asked the scammer if he received the funds yet. However my second E mail to him did not go through because Yahoo blocked it.
Oh well, This is what you do to scammers

One time my mother received a telemarketing call, she said to him, "I have to pull the cake out of the oven i will be right back" then we waited to see how long the fool would hang on the line.

[AB3RI]

I received one of those "stranded and robbed in a foreign country" emails, too! It was from a friend of mine, who was sitting right next to me in the car when I received the email. Very funny. I wonder how many people actually fall for stuff like this.

As far as telemarketer's go, I love 'em! I talk and talk and talk to them until they hang up. It's like another hobby for me....that doesn't cost any $$$. Now, the FTC has a contest on how to deal with telemarketers that use automated calling (or something along those lines). Personally, I hope they continue to call me. I used to use a sound board that used a russian guy speaking, but I've gotten so good with it that I no longer use the sound board and just speak using a Russian accent. One time, I started to speak Spanish, but to my surprise, the English speaking telemarketer started to respond in Spanish! Oh no! I'm screwed! But, I just kept saying "No me siento bien". She was very concerned about me. Fun times!

[WA6MHZ]

"Dear Friend!
I have been stranded here in the country of Crest way up in the Mountains. The Town car has a dead battery, and there are no services up here. I put a solar panel on the battery, but it may take WEEKS for it to charge up enough to start it. Was calling DX on the Icom 706 too long last night and killed the battery!

So I need $6100 to get off the hill and back to civilization. $6000 for a FTdx5000 and $100 for a new battery. Please send it to my paypal account. Till then, I am STUCK on the mountain.
73, WA6MHZ"

[KF5FEI]

Got a similar email from a classmate's husband. So I played along and finally asked him to confirm his identity by answering a question only he and his wife would know. Got a couple of more begging replies, then crickets...

[KI4NGN]

You can thank the social sites for them being able to use this kind of information. Yet another reason why i don't post my life on the net for all to see.

[K8ERV]

Till then, I am STUCK on the mountain.
73, WA6MHZ"

The mountain has my sympathy.

TOM K8ERV Montrose Colo

[N4UP]

Back in June I was on holiday with my daughter in Barcelona and robbed of $1500 and credit cards while riding the metro. Stranded without any money. But I did not send any emails. Lucky for me my passport was in a different pocket. So I just borrowed some money from my daughter, cancelled my credit cards, bought a new ticket home with my daughter's credit card, and headed for the airport. But of course most emails like that are just scams. I have a pretty good scam-spam filter so no problem.

I did have a problem with telemarketers. Being on the FTC do-not-call list just doesn't work. So someone here on QRZ.com recommended the Digitone "Call Blocker" ... and it works. Fantastic. Blocks all calls from private numbers, out of area calls, etc., and you can set it to block all 800-like numbers. You can also block individual numbers, specific prefixes within an area code, or even entire area codes. So when any of them call they just get a busy signal and then the Call Blocker hangs up. The phone doesn't even ring. So whenever a telemarketer calls with what looks like a real number I just press one button and they go into the void forever.

Or you can even block all calls except from numbers on your approved list. I haven't done that, but it's nice to know I can if I want to.

[KW4MW]

Answer the phone and start sending a fax - or a recording of a fax.

[KC0W]

Too bad some people just don't have the gonads to tell unwanted phone callers to hit the f'n road..............We really are turning into a nation of pansies.



Tom KCØW