[Allen In Texas Hill Country]

Wasn't sure where to throw this bit of scary vanity.

[cherry]

we rarely answer the phone either, only if we know for sure who is calling....we figure if its important they'll leave a message...

glad you caught on before they really harmed you.

[MamaB]

I have not received these but everyone in my email account got an email saying I was robbed and was stranded in Lomdon. This was 4 or 5 years ago. A cousin’s wife got one and knew it was fake due to some wording in it. Some people need to get a real life.

[SamAdams76]

There is a solution to these phone scams:

1. Disconnect and cancel your landline (it's 2014, guys)
2. Program numbers of friends and family into your cellphone address book
3. If your phone rings and a known name doesn't come up on the screen - don't answer and have it go to voicemail
4. Unless voicemail is from friend or family, delete it

Enjoy your peaceful and stress-free life.

[Star Traveler]

Since you say that you recognized the family member, I’m taking that to mean that your family member was “in on the scam”.

[Mastador1]

This kind of thing is usually directed at elderly people with the caller saying they are a grandson or nephew, etc. and are in jail, they’re scared, and need money right away, please help me grandma. Someone tried this on my mom and was very convincing, but as soon as she told them “ now you know I can’t spend that kind of money without talking it over with your grandpa” they hung up.

[EDINVA]

This one has actually been around for a while. These scammers are vultures.

All they have to do is keep changing their phone number, rent a place cheap, collect checks from vulnerable people, usually older.

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

My sister-in-law’s Mom got taken for $1800 on this one.

[Jed Eckert]

Received a new type of phone scam call the other day. Woman with a heavy Hispanic accent calls claiming to represent Microsoft.

Says my computer has been infected with a virus and I need to get online right away and they will walk me through the steps to remove it.

My response: Oh my God! Sure, hang on. Then go pour a cold beer and go work in the garden.

Caller ID showed the number as 505-349-4654 which I now blocked.

Normally wouldn't even have answered it but I was running an ad on Craigslist. Craigslist has turned into a major scam magnet but I did eventually sell my goods at my price (yes it was for cash).

[RetiredTexasVet]

I have a neighbor with a lot of grandchildren. When these scams started he made each one of them make up a code word to be used if they were really in trouble.

A couple of months later I was talking to him and sure enough he had one of the scammers trying the scam using one of his grandchildren’s name. Didn’t work.

[Bigg Red]

Thanks for the heads-up.

[trebb]

The proper response to such a call is , “Let’s meet”....

[pax_et_bonum]

When he was about twelve years old, my younger son picked up the phone and it was a salesman of some sort.

Instead of responding to the sales pitch, my son relentlessly tried selling bananas to the salesman.

Finally the salesman hung up on him.

:-)