Fun with a Medicare scammer

Thread Starter

BobTPH

Joined Jun 5, 2013
8,816
I got a call yesterday from someone, supposedly from Medicare, wanting to "update my profile". I often try to have some fun with them. Usually they hang up at the first false note. But this one just kept going no matter what I said. He was really determined to get me to tell him my Medicare number, presumably to file false claims with.

This also shows some unexpected sophistication in their approach.

Here is, from memory, some excepts, the full call has much more, going on for maybe 20 minutes.

Scammer: Have you had you Covid shots?
Me: You should know that, you paid for them.

Scammer: We need this to update your profile.

Me: Prove that you are from Medicare. Give me my Medicare number.
Scanner: I can't do that, but I can give you the sequence.

Me: What do you mean.
Scammer: The sequence of letters and numbers. Your number starts with a number, then a letter, then 2 numbers, right?

Me: Yes, that is correct, but I think everyone's is the same.
Scammer: No, I give you the sequence.

Me: Okay, what is my full name.
Scammer: Robert <correct last name and address>

Me: and my birthday
Scammer: <correct birth day> (this is a getting a bit scary)

Scammer: so give me your Medicare number.
Me: No, I can't do that. Medicare tells me I should not give out my number to callers.

Scammer: But I am from Medicare. It is true!

Me: And I am from the CIA, it is true! I am keeping you on the phone so we can locate you.
expect to see our agents in about an hour.

Scammer: laughs. (I guess he is beginning to get it at this point, but he still persists)

Me: What part of China are you in?
Scammer: laughs. I am in Florida.

Scammer: Give me your doctor's last name.
Me: You should know that.

Scammer: I do, but I need to verify.
Me: Okay, give me her first name.

Scammer: If you give me the last name, I will give you the first name.

Me: (making it up) Simmons.
Scammer: spell it. (I do)

Scammer: Okay her first name is Jessica. (and her address, which is the hospital two blocks from my house, I looked it up, she is real, though it was Simons instead of Simmons)

Me: Can you get me some equipment I need?
Scammer, with renewed enthusiasm: Yes! What do you need?

Me: A 9mm semi-automatic pistol. It is dangerous around here. I need it to protect my health.
Medicare will pay for it right?

Scanner: laughs. I need your number.

Me: First, give me your email address.
Scammer: Why?

Me: So I can send you a link to the recording of this call I am posting on YouTube, it is very funny.

Scanner: I guess you are not serious. hangs up.


Bob
 

Thread Starter

BobTPH

Joined Jun 5, 2013
8,816
I forgot the part where he said if I gave him my number he could put me on the no-call list!

Bob
 

SamR

Joined Mar 19, 2019
5,032
No call list is a joke and probably a good resource of valid numbers for call centers. If you call me, the phone company put a "tool" on my number that before my home phone rings, opens the call and informs the caller that this number does not accept calls from solicitors and to continue the call to press 1. Since most call centers are autodial, they can't get past press 1 and the call is ended before my phone even rings. Can remember back in the modem days a utility that you could run on the computer that would brute force call every possible number in a prefix and log which numbers answered and which connected to a modem. That was and probably still is how scammers get lists or buy them from list sellers who do so.
 

KeithWalker

Joined Jul 10, 2017
3,063
You have reminded me of a very persistent advertising company that autodialed my home every evening just as we sat down to dinner. It was in the early 1980s and I had just built a speech synthesizer using the new Radio Shack chips. I had it hooked up to my Vic-20 printer port. I also had a simple program that looped and printed random sentences from a look-up database called "Porn". It was not crude but it did put together some really funny situations.
When the phone rang and the advertising started, I realized that it would keep the line open as long as it detected a voice at the other end, so I turned on my porn program and propped the phone receiver up next to the speaker. The line was still open when I was ready for bed, so I finally hung up the phone. We never got another call from them.
 

schmitt trigger

Joined Jul 12, 2010
872
There is this British comedian James Veitch, who has dozens of YT videos scamming the scammers.
Some of them are a riot.

There are also internet services which you can connect to scam calls, and they keep the scammer busy with total nonsense.
 

SamR

Joined Mar 19, 2019
5,032
India does seem to be somewhat active in raiding scam call centers. But they are like cockroaches and would probably also survive even after nuclear deterrents. US not so much it seems. The Fed no-call list is a joke. Typical call centers are run on the principle of "you want a job" and even with huge turnover can still hire people to fill the seats. Squash one call center and they just scatter and start over. And if that's not bad enough, I get ~a dozen email scams daily clogging my inbox even with all the filters enabled.
 
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