10 hours ago
Las Vegas man, 69, uses humor to outsmart phone scammers: ‘I do mess with them'
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — After falling victim to a phone scam, a Las Vegas man has taken it upon himself to have a little fun with the thieves attempting to steal from him again.
'He goes, 'Well, how old are you?' And I said, 'Well, you called me, you tell me,'' Paul, 69, who did not want to provide his last name, told the 8 News Now Investigators about one recent phone call involving a suspected thief.
'Most of the time I just do it to humor myself, but past that, I just hate people get taken,' Paul said.
Several years ago, a scammer convinced Paul to hand over $300, he said. A call he thought was from Microsoft was really a thief.
Paul contacted the 8 News Now Investigators to share his story after receiving dozens of calls, which appeared to come from Medicare. Several government agencies, including the Federal Communications Commission, warn older Americans to be wary of robocall scams targeting them.
'I just don't want to see anybody else get sucked into this,' Paul said, adding recent calls showed up on caller ID as coming from both a large credit agency and large law firm.
'I do mess with them,' Paul said. 'One time I just got to the point where I just said, I go, 'How can you do this?' And of course they'll hang up right away.'
He remembered another call like this: 'I go, 'Have I been on the phone long enough for this to be traced and to find out what's going on?' Click.'
The FCC warns Medicare will never call uninvited. The agency suggests not answering calls from unknown numbers and refraining from handing out personal information over the phone, especially to an unexpected caller.
'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 advises. '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. You can then call back using a phone number on an account statement, in the phone book, or on an official website to verify the caller's authenticity.'
'I've got much better things to do than to pick up my phone and get mad,' Paul said.
Paul's message is simple: Don't fall for it and just hang up.
advises calling them directly when setting up service or joining a health or drug plan.
On Monday, the 8 News Now Investigators first reported on a similar scam involving seniors. In that scheme, several young men are accused of running a so-called 'grandparent scam' where older adults are convinced a family member, often a grandchild, is in jail and needs money to post bail or pay a lawyer.
In May, the 8 News Now Investigators first reported that Metro police arrested 12 people as part of several investigations into the theft of millions of dollars. In that case, nearly two dozen victims handed over $3 million to fraudsters who posed as representatives from a financial institution or internet company.
Cyber crimes can be reported to the FBI at Local police advise filing complaints through the FBI.
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