Monday, March 09, 2009

General Revenue Corporation

I just received a call from a live person who asked asked for me by name, and then wanted to confirm the last four digits of my SSN (which she had wrong).  I asked who she was and she said “General Revenue Corporation.”  I told her that I wasn’t going to confirm or deny because I didn’t know who she was and I don’t do business with the General Revenue Corporation.  At that time, she wanted to confirm my date of birth (which she also had wrong).  I wished her a good day and signed off. 

In any case, the call had all of the hallmarks of a scam.  Be warned.

(11) Comments
Posted by Owen at 0744 hrs
Off-Duty

  1. That’s a good reason to have caller ID and not answer the phone if you don’t know who’s calling - everyone else can go to the answering machine.  Of course, that doesn’t work so well for business phones - you kind of have to answer every call, even the clunkers. 

    But, here is evidence that the stimulus bill is already working as intended:

    http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-stimscams5-2009mar05,0,5672912.story

    The FTC is warning against Web ads that promise you a chunk of the federal stimulus package—for a fee or your personal information.

    “It’s taken scam artists no time at all to exploit headlines” about the stimulus package

    “We started seeing these ads pop up online, promising people could get $10,000, even before the stimulus package was passed,”

    This is my favorite part of the article:

    Several of the ads used pictures of Obama, including one distributed on Facebook that appeared to have him offering up a check in the manner of a car salesman.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 09, 2009 at 0913 hrs


  2. Thanks for the heads up….

    We get called twice a day from a “Mr. Phillips”....same drivel.

    Posted by GAMazy on March 09, 2009 at 0915 hrs


  3. I see GRC (a collection agency) has been regularly sued for violations and also has a history of not admitting they have been calling the wrong phone number. You should call JB Van Hollen and ask him to do something.

    Posted by Huckleberry Dumbell on March 09, 2009 at 0944 hrs


  4. Or - drop your land line and you don’t have to worry about such crap.

    The silence at my house is bliss.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 09, 2009 at 0948 hrs


  5. I accepted delivery on a company car in 2006 from a dealership that has since gone out of business.  Apparently they sold all their phone lists to telemarketers, many of them scam artists, and it has been hell to try and get off the lists; the National Do-Not-Call list doesn’t seem to work very well once your number is out there.  The number of calls has decreased, but the email scams I get on a daily basis are incredible (throw away address).  Somebody must be falling for it for them to continue to solicit folks.

    Thanks for the warning.  NEVER, EVER, give or confirm your Social Security # over the phone!

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 09, 2009 at 1042 hrs


  6. that is the little scam.  the big scammers, Doyle and Washington already have all of those facts and are taking advantage of having them.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 09, 2009 at 1114 hrs


  7. Trusting CallerID is a very, very bad idea, mht. There are numerous sources on the Internet that will allow you to places calls with arbitrary CallerID information. Heck, various sites would let you place a call appearing to come from “Obama, Barak” for free.

    I never accept ANY calls for personal or financial information. If there’s an issue with a credit card, for example, I ask for the person’s name and then call back to the number on the card and get the person who called that way. If it’s someone I’ve never dealt with and they ask for ANY personal information I tell them to put me on their do not call list and to never call me again.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 09, 2009 at 1334 hrs


  8. I agree, Nerdbert - I only answer the calls from people I know - everyone else can go to the answering machine.  I used to get calls from the Police Dept when I was a “key-holder” for a facility - they would come through as “private” - I didn’t answer them either until they left a message. My family & friends aren’t going to call and ask me for information like credit card #‘s, etc.  I don’t even pick up from my bank anymore - if they need to tell me something, they can write to me.  I am well aware of the concept of “spoofing” - we have a local bank (which just changed it’s name) that was being “spoofed” because it had the name of the City in it. 

    My own personal “policy” (which I developed when I had to answer business phone) is that “I conduct no business over the phone (unless I make the call) - no sales, no donations, no surveys, no nothing”.  I am very firm on that, and it has worked wonders.  When I get calls, I just say Thank you for calling - when I have said it for the 3rd time, I hang-up.

    I am afraid that with the economy the way it is, more people are going to be willing to take telemarketing jobs, so we may see more of this.

    Another thing is, I google the numbers (if shown) & a lot of times it will take you to sites that report who is making the calls.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 09, 2009 at 1354 hrs


  9. Apparently they sold all their phone lists to telemarketers, many of them scam artists

    I have no problem labeling all “telemarketers” as scam artists.  I tell them they should get an honest job, like being a hit man for the mob.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 09, 2009 at 2059 hrs


  10. Or, for fun, you could simply answer “yes” to every question they ask…

    See how long it takes them to figure out you’re stringing them along.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 09, 2009 at 2103 hrs


  11. Seventy plus percent of our GDP comes from service jobs.  How can people bitch out one side of their mouths about how nobody works, and then whine out the other side about how they don’t like it when people do the only jobs available.  Jesus.  Unbelievable.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 10, 2009 at 1131 hrs


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