Phone scams hitting Madison

Within the last 24 hours two phone scams called my house. The first was a new one. He claimed to be from the Federal grant department of Health and Human Services. Although this department does exist, they do not call you stating that you have been selected for a grant by the federal government. Having been in local government for a few years, I know this is not how it works. Imagine if Madison didn't have to apply for grants with pages upon pages of documentation, citing motions and approvals, documenting tests, surveys and schematics. All we need to do is wait by the phone and hope that we are the chosen ones to receive a grant - if only we could be so lucky!

After several minutes of having the gentleman on the phone try to convince me to either give him my bank account number or talk to an agent with the Federal Bank to give them various forms of ID, I confronted the caller, explaining that I was part of the government and I knew this was a scam. He actually challenged me, asking me where I worked and that it wasn't a scam and that I just didn't understand how it worked. I asked him to take me off his call list and hung up.

That was yesterday. This morning I received a call from Microsoft support. This is not the first time that I have received a call from this particular scam but this was the first time that they asked for me by name. This angered me and I tried to cut the caller off but he would not stop talking. I think the people calling may get paid by the word. Anyway, I kept asking him to stop talking and that I needed to say something. He kept right on talking, so I talked over him. Explaining in a very loud voice (which woke up some of my household) that I have a company that is actually a Microsoft provider and that the phone call was a scam, and to take me off the list. The person kept on talking, actually yelling that he had been monitoring my computer and once again I did not understand. I replied that I was going to call the police - this did not stop him. Finally I started to hit the number pad on my phone as if I was transferring the call and he finally hung up.

What drove me to write this article was the determination that turned very aggressive on other side of the phone. It was 8:30 in the morning on spring break and when I got the support call. One time, when I was visiting my dad, they called at 7:30 in the morning. The only calls that happen that early are not good ones. These calls are becoming less of a scam and much more harassing as these scammers are determined to get our personal information. Here are some tips:

1. If you answer the phone and it starts and it seems that no one is on the other end of the phone, it is either a phone poll or a scam.
2. If the caller ID is from a city, it is usually either a poll or a scam. If it is not poll, ask the caller where they are calling from. If it does not match with the caller ID, it is a scam.
3. If someone calls telling you that you are getting free money, it is a scam.
4. If someone calls telling you that your computer has a problem, unless it is from a firm that you have hired to monitor your systems, it is a scam.
5. If the IRS calls and tells you that you owe them money, it is a scam.
6. If it sounds too good to be true - it probably is and it is a scam.