Possible Telecom scam or something...

**-df-** · 24th January 2007, 15:48

Hey,

Just to send out a warning if you get the same phone calls I have in the last 2 days.

Some person who says they are from Telecom rings and says you owe them xxx amount of money (in this case a grand) on a really bad phone line (crackles and stuff). Happened twice in 2 days to me. First person said they were after Tom Green (thought that was funny...if you know who he is) and said he had the wrong number and I hung up. Second person rang today saying I owed money at this address from 2004 (funny...I've only been at this address since 2005) and when I said that to him he said (and I quote) "Don't F#*king lie to me" and which point I just lost my cool and abused the shit out of him for a while and then hung up telling him to go f$%k himself. He also wouldn't say who he was after, just the owner of this house (which is a rental).

Rang Telecom afterwards thinking, better make sure there isn't an error on there system but they said it was all clear and sounded like some kind of scam and gave me a number to ring if the person (well...pretty sure it was 2 different people) again so that they can trace the call and see who it was etc etc.

Just thought I'd get the message out there just incase someone fools for it or something.

There are some dodgy people out there...thats for sure!!

Anyway...back to your regular scheduled program...

**McJim** · 24th January 2007, 15:56

I used to be a debt collector...in Glasgow...I realise that might not mean much out here in the colonies but I'd invite the fucker to come and collect it in person.

I hate scams...and I hate people that give debt collectors a bad name...self loathing is a pain in the arse.

**rwh** · 24th January 2007, 15:59

Sounds like a pretty lame scam.

Telecom aren't about to swear at you down the phone.

And even if you did believe them - how are you going to pay? I'd be doing it via the usual direct credit or whatever - so how is the scammer going to get his hands on it?

I guess there may be some people who'd say "Oh really? What's your address so I can post the cash cheque? Oh ok, I'll meet you at the pub then" ... but I'd hope there's not too many.

[Edit after reading McJim's post: Ok, I've never dealt with debt collectors. Maybe that is how they work ...]

Richard

**Beemer** · 24th January 2007, 16:10

Originally Posted by rwh

Sounds like a pretty lame scam.

Telecom aren't about to swear at you down the phone.

And even if you did believe them - how are you going to pay? I'd be doing it via the usual direct credit or whatever - so how is the scammer going to get his hands on it?

I guess there may be some people who'd say "Oh really? What's your address so I can post the cash cheque? Oh ok, I'll meet you at the pub then" ... but I'd hope there's not too many.
Richard

That's what I was thinking - "oh wait, give me your internet banking details so I can transfer the money immediately" - yeah, right!

And as for Telecom not swearing at you down the phone, I did provoke one enough to have her hang up on me once! I'd been without a phone line for three days, got it restored for one then it went down again, and no phone line meant no internet, and no internet meant no work for me, so I was rather irrate. Most of them are really polite and helpful, but I was getting nowhere with this cow, she told me she couldn't credit me with a month's rental (standard procedure if you are without a line for more than 24 hours) until the line was restored, meaning I would have to ring back when it was. I was so wild I wrote them a letter and ended up getting about three months' instead, so it wasn't all bad!

**-df-** · 24th January 2007, 16:30

I've only meet one debt collector...nice guy...except he took my very first motorbike away from me (a ZXR250C about 8 years ago...I'd bought it second hand without doing a VIR....learnt that one the hard way!!). I was gutted until I found out the finance company had made a mistake and never entered it into baycorps DB or something, can't remember the exact details now so got to get the bike back without paying any money...I went down to hamilton to collect the bike...and it was the best ride back from Hamilton I've ever had.

Yeah its pretty obvious its a scam of some kind, didn't get to the point of finding out how he wanted me to pay the money...was to busy abusing the bastard.

**mitchilin** · 27th April 2007, 21:47

Yeah it's bullshit.I work for a contactor for Telecom and all calls are screened.I've had to sit in on calls as part of my job and that would be grounds for dismisal if it was real.Its crap.Get Callminder so you know who it is.

**K6K** · 27th April 2007, 22:58

I was working at a corporate bank in Auckland a couple of years ago and we had a dodgy bastard that would ring the trading desk and ask to be transfered to extension 10170. That is, 1 to dial out and 0170 for the international operator! He did this to us quite a few times and he only used the traders because they were the busiest. Most of the idiots on the desk transfered him no questions. It didn't matter that our internal extensions were only 4 numbers and started with a 9. When somebody did ask questions he got abusive and either got transfered to get rid of him or he hung up. It turned out after a bit of investigation with telecon he wasn't even in NZ, they suspected he was in the UK. He would call the free number for the UK office, use internal extensions to get to another country and find a chump to let him run up huge (and I mean huge) phone bills to the Ukraine!

**JimO** · 28th April 2007, 07:19

Originally Posted by K6K

I was working at a corporate bank in Auckland a couple of years ago and we had a dodgy bastard that would ring the trading desk and ask to be transfered to extension 10170. That is, 1 to dial out and 0170 for the international operator! He did this to us quite a few times and he only used the traders because they were the busiest. Most of the idiots on the desk transfered him no questions. It didn't matter that our internal extensions were only 4 numbers and started with a 9. When somebody did ask questions he got abusive and either got transfered to get rid of him or he hung up. It turned out after a bit of investigation with telecon he wasn't even in NZ, they suspected he was in the UK. He would call the free number for the UK office, use internal extensions to get to another country and find a chump to let him run up huge (and I mean huge) phone bills to the Ukraine!

thats called inginuity

**NighthawkNZ:Me** · 28th April 2007, 07:38

Originally Posted by jimjim

thats called inginuity

thats what I would call it to...

**Skyryder** · 28th April 2007, 11:39

I use to get calls from a debt collector who claimed I owed this and that amount etc. The other 'me' was a property developer who has since died. The calls have now stopped.

There was one particular indavidul who was a right pain in the arse. After a couple of calls and me trying to explain he had the wrong guy I invited him around so that I could prove it. Dumb fucker turns up at the aproved time. In those day I had a real mean Dobie. I came around the back and up behind with the dog on the leash. Rharn was a mean dog. Bared his fangs at me on occasions. One word and the dog was snarling with his fans bared. "Here's the proof fucktard. You have the wrong guy." Well there was a bit more banter but to cut it all short I chased him off the propertey. Never heard from him again but two month later another call. I just hung up. This sort of thing went on for years until the other me died.

Skyryder

**mitchilin** · 28th April 2007, 12:05

Originally Posted by Skyryder

I use to get calls from a debt collector who claimed I owed this and that amount etc. The other 'me' was a property developer who has since died. The calls have now stopped.

There was one particular indavidul who was a right pain in the arse. After a couple of calls and me trying to explain he had the wrong guy I invited him around so that I could prove it. Dumb fucker turns up at the aproved time. In those day I had a real mean Dobie. I came around the back and up behind with the dog on the leash. Rharn was a mean dog. Bared his fangs at me on occasions. One word and the dog was snarling with his fans bared. "Here's the proof fucktard. You have the wrong guy." Well there was a bit more banter but to cut it all short I chased him off the propertey. Never heard from him again but two month later another call. I just hung up. This sort of thing went on for years until the other me died.

Skyryder

I used to have a German shepard that would do the same thing.One word and some fucker would be wearing him.I miss that dog.Staff's just run up to people for a pat.