The days of sitting around the Mansion like a wallflower are over for Mrs. Hillbilly Mom! She has, over the past fortnight, developed a popularity only read about on super-secret blogs. Her phone is ringing off the hook. Okay. There's no hook. But Mrs. HM does still have a landline. Unlike the majority of Hillmomba residents, who stopped their service, and no longer contribute tax money to the county 911 services. I guess a more accurate statement (nod to The Truth in Blogging Law) is that Mrs. HM's Panasonic is ringing out of its little charging platform.
That doesn't mean Mrs. HM has been tricked into actually answering her phone. Only once did she take the bait, and that was last week. Sweet Gummi Mary! Was she ever fished in! The phone display said it was the University of Oklahoma. Of course, with The Pony there, such a call will not go unanswered. Even though the university has Farmer H's cell phone number as an emergency contact.
Imagine my surprise when the caller said they were taking a HEALTH SURVEY. They got a piece of my mind, which showed them how healthy my voice was! With a decree NEVER to call back, and a pointed jab at the audacity they had to identify their number as the University of Oklahoma. You see, we'd gotten other calls purporting to be from the University of Missouri. Unanswered, because nobody here is attending the University of Missouri. They left a message to call them back about a health survey. Which we did not.
Anyhoo, lest you think Mrs. HM is stewing over small potatoes... she has had 26 calls today! [Tuesday, June 11] I don't have a picture, but to prove it happened, I am putting out all their numbers. As well as the time of the call(S).
09:02 715-227-8617 DBENEFITSCHOICE
09:08 318-242-8555 LALTERNATIVESER
09:25 254-271-2793 SSENIORMED
09:29 573-242-2081 out of area
10:04 913-294-1417 ACENTERHEALTH
10:15 859 712-9192 CENTERMEDPLAN
10:54 573 227-6637 out of area
11:18 940 302-1053 DBESTOPTION
11:52 859 495-1080 INDEPNDNCEKY
11:55 701 404-5299 THEBENEFITSCOVE
12:08 913 294-1431 ACENTERINS
01:12 254 271-2800 SSENIORBEST
01:24 641 243-5688 VSENIORBEST
02:19 573 242-2050 out of area
02:22 737 201-9876 DPOLICYALTERNAT
02:33 956 338-5510 SENIORCHOICE
02:52 402 999-7679 THEBENEFITSMEDI
03:18 573 240-6379 out of area
03:25 918 219-1924 THESENIORHEALTH
03:51 636 324-6625 CENTERALTERNATI
03:57 573 242-2081 out of area
04:33 402 892-7367 DMEDBENEFITS
04:55 254 271-2795 SSENIORSOLUTION
05:09 641 243-5688 VSENIORBEST
05:11 719 249-2383 out of area
05:27 913 294-1455 ACENTERCHOICE
THAT IS 26 CALLS!
This was a good day, though, because they stopped by 5:30 p.m. Of course, we didn't know that. So it's like you're always waiting for the other shoe to drop. Especially after hearing the OTHER 26 shoes drop all day long!
It seems to be a concentrated effort to scam the elderly (that's FARMER H ! ), probably by offering "free" knee braces or medical supplies that will come with an invoice, or insurance policies. Just guessing, from what I've read on complaints about other scammer calls. I didn't even bother to search these. The worst part is that some of them stay on until the machine picks up, which only records a couple seconds of dial tone, but necessitates going in to delete the "message" so they don't fill up the answering machine, or keep that annoying light flashing on the phone.
As you can see, only a couple numbers are duplicates. My phone
gives me no option for blocking these numbers. I am not going to answer
and demand to be on their no-call list, because that will only reveal
that my number is a working number, and elicit even MORE scammer calls.
Though I don't quite know how that is possible. It's almost to the point where the next scammer gets a busy signal, due to the previous scammer.
3 comments:
Women who make their money using the phone--you know the kind of phone work I'm talkin' 'bout--make lots of money... AND they do it while they're in their jammies in front of their computer, sipping their diet sodas and scratching off lottery tickets. (At least I've heard they make a high salary. I've never inquired. I've always been satisfied with the low wages made as a teacher. ;)
All they have to learn to say is, "Uh huh... Yeah, that's the way I like it... Ummmm." You could even become a phone surrender-matrix (the term's disguised like your CeilingReds) and just treat your clients like you do Farmer H when Farmer H is misbehaving...
I keep giving you ideas about how to make some extra money, so you can afford to go on extra excursions to casinos, but you don't jump on them.
I'd be getting a new number and only telling immediate family what it is. Or you could answer and repeatedly yell hello but louder each time and then hang up. Don't give them a chance to speak. or you could answer with "Fraud squad, how can I help you"
Sioux,
I don't need a JOB, job. Not even as a surrender-matrix. I'm going to become a PENNYILLIONAIRE, by cracky!
***
River,
They would still find out the new number somehow. Friday there were 32 calls! One left an actual message: "Please hold for the next available representative." That's a lot of nerve, calling ME and telling me to HOLD! So the hello-yelling would be wasted on their recording.
I did that once with the Windows Computer scammers. Screamed into the phone, "OH NO! NOT MY WINDOWS COMPUTER!" The Pony told me never to do that again, heh, heh. But I would have. They didn't call back for about 3 months.
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