😱 Here Are 7 Top Scams You Should Watch Out for in 2023 (AARP Article)

[OneStepAtATime]

🗣  January 04, 2023 by Patrick J. Kiger, AARP.

👉 LINK TO ONLINE AARP ARTICLE 

[OneStepAtATime]

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[nctarheel]

I get scam calls every day. I really don't know how people can fall for these scams. These calls emanate from the same country. The callers all have the same accent. Regardless of the subject of the scam, the hold music and the hold message are exactly the same. I jerk these people around, getting them so mad that they curse me in their primary language. I have learned a few choice words of their primary language to call them when they call. When I use those words, they usually hang up immediately.

[GailL1]

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@nctarheel wrote:

I get scam calls every day. I really don't know how people can fall for these scams. These calls emanate from the same country. The callers all have the same accent. 

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Well, DON’T keep us hanging - what country?

If you find yourself in the presence of someone from that [whatever] country - are you suspicious?  What about if they are your neighbor?

Criminals have a lot of ways to disguise phone calls and emails and even fake websites - shut down one and another pops up -  Trying to ID them by country or accent is useless.  

[nctarheel]

@GailL1,

I believe that @zapatero did their homework.

Read their links and you will see the same pattern I have seen.

[GailL1]

@zapatero links show several countries and one state in the (6) listed - and that was almost (3) years ago - they certainly don’t all speak with the same accent - ever try calling a valid company for info - many times the calls are answered by a person with some accent - even then, many are stateside.

So it is difficult for one to know if the scam calls are originating here or somewhere outside the US.  

There are bad players everywhere - 

[nctarheel]

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@GailL1 wrote:

So it is difficult for one to know if the scam calls are originating here or somewhere outside the US.  

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@GailL1,

As is noted on a couple of @zapatero's comments, there is a connection to INDIA on many of these scam operations.

This is a well known fact.

The accents of the scammers that call me are definitely INDIAN accents. It doesn't matter whether the scam has to do with my power company, my cable company, the FBI, the Border Patrol, a nephew in trouble, free equipment from Medicare, the IRS, or the plethora of other scams out there.

The hold music is the same for all of them. If there is a voice thanking you for holding, it too, is the same.

The preponderance of evidence indicates that these calls come from INDIA.

[GailL1]

Well it is definitely a BIG and populated country.  Poor one too.  

The data seems to change based on the source one uses.  

Guess we should be happy that they also educate doctors to care for us.

[zapatero]

How International Fraud Rings Operate and Target Older Americans

https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2020/international-fraud.html

Scroll down to 6 Hotspots for Fraud Slideshow.

[zapatero]

https://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch/transnational-elder-fraud-strike-force

[zapatero]

https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga/pr/multiple-india-based-call-centers-and-their-directors-indicted-...

[Travis55Chevy]

you are causing a great disservice to the readers of this site.These calls are NOT coming from the same country. I have been in law enforcement for 40 years  computers can change voices phone numbers and music your suggesting that there are no other countries doing this but far from the truth. I have seen loads of people arrested for these crimes and they are in the states not over seas. I have seen and read FBI reports about this and your statements are not true. I apperciate your opinion but facts are fac ts. Have you ever been with an elderly person scammed out of thousands of dollars and there is nothing you can do about it. The US has just as many scammers and internet  thieves please dont assume that just because these criminals dont have an accent that your safe  just hang up or dont click on internet links you could slip up and say something that really costs you . Finally these criminals know you after all they  contacted you  can you say the same about them.  They have all your vital information  wanna play

[nctarheel]

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@Travis55Chevy wrote:

I have been in law enforcement for 40 years 

I have seen loads of people arrested for these crimes and they are in the states not over seas.

I have seen and read FBI reports about this and your statements are not true.

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@Travis55Chevy,

It might help me more fully understand your point of view if I knew in what branch of law enforcement you had your 40 years experience.

I worked for a public agency that people tried to defraud regularly so spotting fraudulent information was part of the job.

You are stating that my facts are untrue based on your 40 years experience in law enforcement.

It is only fair that I know in what branch of law enforcement that you served.

It seems that we have divergent opinions of fraud and scam perpetrators even though we are basically on the same side of the law.

[nctarheel]

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@Travis55Chevy wrote:

you are causing a great disservice to the readers of this site.These calls are NOT coming from the same country.

I disagree on both of your points highlighted above. Nowhere do I say ALL scam calls are from the same country, I said that the ones I receive seem to be from the same entity and the same country.

I also said that all the callers have the same specific country's accent regardless of the subject of the call.

The hold message voice and script is exactly the same regardless of the subject of the call.

The hold music is the same regardless of the subject of the call.

If they say they are calling from an American city, they cannot identify anything about that city when I quiz them about it.

It doesn't matter if they are trying to pull the power company scam, the phone company scam, the Border Patrol scam, the FBI scam, the IRS scam, the nephew in trouble scam,  the lottery win scam, the burial insurance scam or the multitude of other scams out there.

And, of course, they have information on you as it is easy to find on the internet.