9 hours ago
Phone scam victim reveals clever tricks he now uses to stop thieves stealing his money
An elderly Nevada man outsmarted scammers by pretending to play along with their requests before hanging up when he'd wasted enough of their time.
Paul, a 69-year-old Las Vegas resident who asked to withhold his last name, was among thousands of Americans scammed over the phone after he mistakenly sent $300 to a thief posing as Microsoft several years back, KLAS News reported.
Now, he turns the tables - pretending to play along and keeping scammers on the line as long as possible, knowing they'll ultimately walk away empty-handed.
'I do mess with them,' Paul told the outlet. 'One time I just got to the point where I just said, 'How can you do this?' And of course, they'll hang up right away.'
'I just don't want to see anybody else get sucked into this,' he added.
In another call, the 69-year-old man recalled asking the scammer if they'd been on the ling long enough to be traced - a question that was met with a swift hang-up.
Unfortunately, Paul's experience isn't unique. He showed the outlet a flood of scam calls, often appearing to come from major credit agencies and law firms on caller ID.
In his most recent encounter, Paul remembered the thief casually asking his age.
The 69-year-old Las Vegas resident who asked to withhold his last name was among thousands of Americans scammed over the phone after he mistakenly sent $300 to a thief posing as Microsoft several years back
'Well, you called me, you tell me,' Paul responded on the line, as reported by KLAS.
'Most of the time I just do it to humor myself, Paul told the outlet. 'But past that, I just hate being getting taken (scammed).'
After receiving dozens more calls since first being scammed - most appearing to come from Medicare - Paul finally reached out to a local news station in hopes of helping other older Americans stay clear of thieves.
Several top government agencies, including the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), have warned that Americans with limited tech experience should be especially cautious of robocall scams.
The FCC also stressed that Medicare will never call unsolicited - yet that's the identity scammers most often use.
advises contacting them directly when setting up service or enrolling in a health or drug plan.
The agency also advises against answering calls from unknown numbers, and if you do, to never share personal information with unexpected callers.
'When you pick up, a scam caller usually starts chatting you up to engage you, asking you conversational questions to put you at ease,' the FCC advised.
'Whatever scam scenario follows, the caller is trying to get your personal information, such as your Medicare card number, your social security number, or other health insurance identification.'
'If a caller claims to represent a health insurance provider or a government agency, simply hang up,' it continued, adding that you should verify the caller's authenticity by calling back using a phone number from an account statement, phone book, or official website.
'I've got much better things to do than to pick up my phone and get mad,' Paul told KLAS.
While scams have existed for years, older Americans continue to be disproportionately targeted by fraud.
More than 101,000 victims over the age of 60 reported being scammed by thieves in 2023 alone, according to the FBI's website.
That year, elder fraud resulted in over $3.4 billion in losses - an increase of about 11 percent from the previous year. The average victim of elder fraud lost $33,915 to these crimes.
O2, a UK-based telecom company, has seemingly taken a page from Paul's playbook last year - deploying a gang of AI grannies designed to keep phone scammers talking as long as possible.
The 'scambaiter' software sounds exactly like an elderly woman, and hopes to keep them on the line and away from the general public.
This month, the FBI opened an investigation after thousands of Americans reported receiving messages about outstanding traffic tickets that must be paid in June , or risk losing their driving privileges or even face jail time
Known as Daisy, she has already kept scammers on the phone for as much as 40 minutes at a time, frustrating them going with long-winded stories before giving them fake bank details.
The old dear has been added to lists of vulnerable people's phone numbers from which scammers choose their next victims - with her voice playing into demographics they believe are easy to prey on.
O2 said that by tricking fraudsters into thinking they were scamming a real person, Daisy has prevented them from targeting real victims in the process.
She has also exposed the common tactics used so the firm can help customers better protect themselves.
It comes after research found seven in 10 people wanted to get their own back on scammers, but could not be bothered to waste their own time doing so.
This month, the FBI opened an investigation after thousands of Americans reported receiving messages about outstanding traffic tickets that must be paid in June, or risk losing their driving privileges or even face jail time.
The agency urged the public to delete all messages claiming to be from the Department of Motor Vehicles, noting that a government agency would never contact people directly by text.
