About six years ago, I had a bill in collections in Beloit. I obtained a money order and paid that debt. That night, I received a phone call from a cell phone number and the individual claimed he was from this collection agency. He informed me that my check did not clear and he needed my routing information again. I informed him that I had paid with a money order and told him I was calling the police. He hung up on me.

Another time my ex's girlfriend worked at a collection agency. She was able to find my social security number and my credit report without my consent. I could not prove that she did this but she told mutual friends.


It is scary to think that individuals employed at these collection agencies have access to all our private information. I now use that Credit Lock. The small fee is worth it.

I'm happy when I see these warnings in the paper. Speaking as someone with a grandmother who lives alone, I know how often she is preyed upon by these bottom-feeders in our society.

She (my grandmother) is very intelligent, but the skills some of these scammers have, to persuade folks of their legitimacy, are out of this world.

My grandmother will actually save numbers on her caller ID and messages on her machine, to have me listen to and look at them. She is never quite certain of which calls are real, and which are not - and these calls only increased after my grandfather passed away.

When she sees these warnings in the paper or on the news, it makes her feel better, that she isn't neglecting an important call.

Warnings are needed as to most of these scams are against elderly and they scam artists are pretty convincing as stated in previous post.

419

"Good day, Comrade (insert name here). I am needing bank accounts information for security reason. Please to provide me with your account numbers."

Why do we have to warn people?

Because these scam artists have honed their skills of persuasion and the gullible fall for it hook, line, and sinker.

On a personal note, I swear my mother's gullibility has been on the upsweep since the minute she retired. I don't know if it is that whole "lived through the Depression" stuff that makes them cheap and willing to jump at something "too good to be true" just to save a couple bucks or get a chance to "win" money, or what it is. They keep falling for it though. Kind of like the dodos that keep leaving their kids in cars on hot days. There will always be somebody out there lacking basic common sense so warnings are a good thing. : )

The thing about a scam like this is that you only need a very small percentage of victims to give out their info. The investment can be as little as a prepaid cell phone.
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Next week they'll just move on to somewhere else. Cody, Wyoming, say. It's very possible they aren't even in the US themselves, as these scams commonly involve money transfers to Eastern Europe, especially Russia.

In that case, it is even more disgusting. I would suggest they just pop out a kid and apply for welfare instead of preying on an elderly person. lol But, they probably already did that and the kids have grown up.

Foofoo.. "WHY on earth do we need to warn people against these things in this day and age?"
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Most scammers target the people who were born a long time before "this day and age"... way back when you could trust most anyone.
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Greed is killing this country and I wish I knew the magic elixir cure it. I could make a lot of money selling it. LOL

These scammers should have just taken the bus to texas!

WHY on earth do we need to warn people against these things in this day and age? I am serious! Are people truly that dumb? If so, maybe they deserve to get scammed....(not really but jeez!)

wow..
people these days do some crazy stuff just to get some money..