FBI Calling

[momrek06]

This really is the same scenario as the OP. Since you didn't call them back, you don't know tht it was a scam.

Honestly, I don't understand why people don't return these calls. It's not as if the mere presence of you on the phone is going to cause you to be scammed.

I 'think' because DD told her that she (DD) would know if she (DSis) was wanted or needed by the FBI that she (DD) would be calling her not a random call as the one she received. (As I am recalling the convo.)

In any event, its been sometime and no one has called her back.

BUT I think you are right, I think that the OP should attempt to call them back. I mean, essentially my DSis did indeed call them back because she called her DD who works for the FBI.

 

[Ginny Favers]

OP here. The reason I do not call back the original number is this: The line they called me on is not hooked up to a phone... it's just a line I don't use. I got the message online. If I called them back, I would have to do so from my cell phone. I really don't want some scammer having my cell phone #.

SO I did the easier thing--I called the main number, which I know is the FBI. If they need me, they now know how to find me. But they haven't called me back, so something tells me there was something shady about it.

 

[Coconut36]

Why not? If someone from Air Force One (or the White House) rings my phone, I'm going to answer.

I agree. Once you've verified that the call did come from the FBI, I don't see the problem with calling it back (assuming that you haven't been bad).

But she didn't verify it was the FBI calling..a reverse look up simply said it was an FBI number but those can be "spoofed" by bad people who are phising.

The appropriate thing to do is exactly what she did..look them up and call a number you find for the organization/entity/company and ask about it. If it is genuine they can find out about it and direct you to the appropriate resource. She did the right thing.

 

[TDC Nala]

Don't call that number back. Call the local office (which the OP did). Give them the number you were given. They can find out if someone there called you or not. There are a lot of scams out there where the scammers pretend to be FBI or other government agency representatives.

 

[bigredbill]

I am pretty sure that I read recently that hackers are getting more sophisticated and can make it look like a call came from a certain number, even when it does not. The number the caller gave me to call was a similar, but not identical, number.

Absolutely true. We use this technology in our work and can pass any number we program to your caller ID. I have three family members in the FBI, and a fourth that is a police officer. This sounds fishy to me.

 

[crazyme5kids]

I wonder if they would call people whose names are given as references, or if they just show up in person?

When the Feds did a background check on my son for his military position, they showed up and knocked on doors to speak to people in person. I don't know if they were FBI, but everyone said they were in civilian clothing, not uniforms.

 

[ctinct]

Absolutely true. We use this technology in our work and can pass any number we program to your caller ID. I have three family members in the FBI, and a fourth that is a police officer. This sounds fishy to me.

I'm curious- what business would use this technology? I have heard that some collection agencies will do this, but I thought it was illegal for them to do so. Is it a call center? Can call centers legally do this, perhaps depending on what client they are representing?

 

[Phil'sFrontier]

If they tell you to go to ammyy.com tell them to shove it....popular phone scam.

 

[sissy_ib]

I wonder if they would call people whose names are given as references, or if they just show up in person?

When the Feds did a background check on my son for his military position, they showed up and knocked on doors to speak to people in person. I don't know if they were FBI, but everyone said they were in civilian clothing, not uniforms.

Both. For my background investigation they showed up at most peoples homes but they just called a few others. And no, they will not be in uniform but the very first thing they will do is show their ID and give you their name.

 

[asta]

I wonder if they would call people whose names are given as references, or if they just show up in person?

When the Feds did a background check on my son for his military position, they showed up and knocked on doors to speak to people in person. I don't know if they were FBI, but everyone said they were in civilian clothing, not uniforms.

We had a neighbor who was up for some sort of legal position in the government and agents actually came to our neighborhood and knocked on doors. It was a little odd but there were two individuals in business suits, one knocking on doors and another standing on the corner observing.

 

[Imzadi]

Honestly I would call it back - if the number appears to be from the FBI office in your state then why not.

Calling the direct line - its like calling Disney's direct line when someone in accounting at Disney has called you because you have a refund. The standard direct line is going to have no idea why whatever more specific idea called you....well they might if you are on the most wanted list but aside from that I think you are being overly cautious and need to call back the line that called you. Heck the line that called you may not even be located in the same area as the direct line that called you.

Liz

Are you serious? The Federal Bureau of Investigations isn't going to know how to route her call? They can cross-checking which phone number, IF it's from the FBI, a call originated. They also have computers & technology and personnel which would be able to help figure all that out. I would hope they have their act together better than Disney.

 

[DebbieB]

My aunt's close friend in her 70's has been having issues with her sister's daughters. They are wicked. The sister is in a nursing home with dementia and there have been arguments over her care. Somehow they left a caller ID from a niece that lives in Alaska but no message. She was concerned so she called the niece's mother (sisters daughter) who raised a big stink saying she was lying and trying to cause trouble. My aunt's friend found out the daughters have pulled this before, they have some kind of computer program that calls phones with a different caller ID.

 

[dngnb8]

Strange but yesterday I got this from my mom's work - their security people put it out. Snopes has it as real but older and still active. I don't know if this applies to you since how would they get the FBI number to show up on caller ID, but then again, technology is great these days. I just thought of you since you mentioned FBI.....



Please pass this on as appropriate. It is spreading fast so be prepared
should you get this call. Most of us take those summonses for jury duty
seriously, but enough people skip out on their civic duty that a new and
ominous kind of fraud has surfaced.

The caller claims to be a JURY DUTY coordinator. If you protest that
you never received a summons for jury duty, the Scammer asks you for
your Social Security number and date of birth so he or she can verify
the information and cancel the arrest warrant. Give out any of this
information and bingo, your identity was just stolen. The fraud ha s
been reported so far in
11 states, including Oklahoma, Illinois, and Colorado, AZ and more.
This
(swindle) is particularly insidious because they use intimidation over
the phone to try to bully people into giving information by pretending
they are with the court system. The FBI and the federal court system
have issued nationwide alerts on their web sites, warning consumers
about the fraud.


Check it out here:

(didn't know if I could list a link...google FBI jury duty scam and it will take you to the FBI's site)

I was hit by this. Anytime someone asks me for SSN and DOB on phone where I was not the initiator of the call, I chuckle.

I said no way and they did get threatening. Then I ask,

"You do realize you're talking to an attorney... right?"

Click.

Too funny, and no, Im not an attorney

 

[Imzadi]

I was hit by this. Anytime someone asks me for SSN and DOB on phone where I was not the initiator of the call, I chuckle.

I said no way and they did get threatening. Then I ask,

"You do realize you're talking to an attorney... right?"

Click.

Too funny, and no, Im not an attorney

Funny, I'll have to steal that line.

I had to call my bank back. They like to flag & freeze my credit card whenever they think there are unusual charges. I usually call the number on the back of the card and let them figure out where to route my call to the right department.

They go though a list of security questions to ask me. This last time she asked for my password. I said, no way am I giving out my password. When ever you set up a password any where, people are instructed never to give out their passwords even if employees ask for them.

It took a while for us to figure out that she meant a security code I had added to my account when calling about my account, as other people know my SS number. Whereas, I thought she meant my Internet password to check my account online. They had never used the term password for the security code before.

 

[bigredbill]

I'm curious- what business would use this technology? I have heard that some collection agencies will do this, but I thought it was illegal for them to do so. Is it a call center? Can call centers legally do this, perhaps depending on what client they are representing?

Usually this technology is used by companies that make outbound calling -- call centers, collection agencies, etc. They will pass a number through caller ID that will go to either an automated message, specialized group, or ring-no answer.

Technology is there, so someone could easily use it in a scam.

 

[mom2boys]

I'd be surprised if calls from the FBI actually show FBI on the caller ID. One of my closest friends works for the IRS. His nubmer shows up as "unknown" on caller id. All of their phones are programmed that way, he can't change it.
FBI probably works the same way.
Your "FBI" is probably some other business that intentionally took the same initials as the FBI..

 

[mdsoccermom]

I wonder if they would call people whose names are given as references, or if they just show up in person?

When the Feds did a background check on my son for his military position, they showed up and knocked on doors to speak to people in person. I don't know if they were FBI, but everyone said they were in civilian clothing, not uniforms.

We often have people showing up at our door doing background checks for people applying for federal jobs. A friend of mine also has a job conducting them. They are not FBI, but civilians working for a contractor.

My husband and I have background checks done on us every 5 years due to the nature of his job. They're done by his agency, however.

 

[crazyme5kids]

We often have people showing up at our door doing background checks for people applying for federal jobs. A friend of mine also has a job conducting them. They are not FBI, but civilians working for a contractor.

My husband and I have background checks done on us every 5 years due to the nature of his job. They're done by his agency, however.

Interesting. Just curious, but do the civilians identify themselves as federal agents, or contractors working for the federal government?

 

[mdsoccermom]

Interesting. Just curious, but do the civilians identify themselves as federal agents, or contractors working for the federal government?

They are not federal agents. They identify themselves as doing a background check on so-and-so and show their ID.

 

[kamik86]

Interesting. Just curious, but do the civilians identify themselves as federal agents, or contractors working for the federal government?

For my job anyway (although I don't really work the public much) I just say that I work for a DoD contractor. It is possible that at some point people will be contacted for one of my security checks I had to give a ton of references to get it, but I'm not sure if they actually called many of them. However I know many of the higher levels of clearance and special projects will require you to take a polygraph and they will interview others.

I also know someone that went for a job like mine and because his mother was not a US citizen they had to interview her first so he could get the job.