Beware! High Profile Phone Call Scams Targetting Indian Decent People

Dear Sangat Jio,

Just wanted to bring this to everyones attention that there is big phone call scam going on in U.S. Some unknown people from third world countries trying to scam you over the phone using threats which sounds legal. They have full access to you basic information like home telephone number, cell phone and home address and some of the family member names. They can call your cell phone from your home telephone number, make a terrible story with a group of different fake government officials including IRS, Department of justice and even police officers to make you believe this is a real.

Daas experienced something last night and after local police intervention discovered they have targeted many other Indian decent people. Scamers has Indian, American, African American other accents you name it.

Anyway take some precautions when answer someone. Points to consider:

1) From last night's firsthand experience Daas learned that if you receive a phone call on your cell phone with your home telephone number or vice- versa, don't take it guaranteed that this is your real loved one calling, it could be some malicious person. We learned that your phone number and caller ID can be hacked very easily after seeing the demo.

2) Always make sure when answering someone on the phone you recognize him fully.

3) None of the above departments give any threat or official information over the phone.

4) Don't provide social security number, bank account number or even CC number (only if you are purchasing from a genuine source) over the phone.

5) Beware scam-er could make up threat stories like you have sent money to India and there is case against you by US government and you will be deported soon blah blah. There are other stories as well which sounds legal.

6) Always contact your local police when you find a dubious call.

PS: While writing Daas just learned that a gullible person got trapped with them and lost good sum of money. Please spread the word and aware your family, relatives and all the Sangat in North America.

So, anyone got any ideas of how to troll the scammers?

Ask for their details and say you will check with your local police and get back to them.

I forwarded this message to a bunch of my friends and 2 confirmed they had received such calls as well. In one case my colleague's mother was on the phone with a supposed FBI agent talking to her in Gujarati and scared her so bad that she cried bitterly! Fortunately they didn't give out any info. But these guys are professional thugs!

These guys call my house three to four times a day. When I hear their voice on the answering machine they sound more like Southern Indian then Northern Indian. A few weeks ago there was news about this on the local news channel. I think they are operating within the United States. The news mentioned something about them operating in Sacramento , California which is the capital of California.

I received one too, and replied he sounds more like the crook, instead of family member he is accusing of being in FBI probe, he began giving kisses on phone...Waheguru,
my siblings advised to simply hang up phone...or not answer, if you have a caller id ji...

Report to police as many cases as you can. If you can judge from beginning of the conversation that these are crooks and claiming themselves a federal official then drag them into the conversation and have someone else in your home or work or wherever you are to call the local police to come over.

More police reports go into system chances of escalating FBI investigation increases.

From my experience I must say they are highly skilled thugs and know how to play with people's mind. They put you on the edge to make the money decision ASAP. For first several minutes, me and my senior director believed this to be a real. At one point during the conversation I was dealing with three persons, one who claims to be a cop (American accent), second one claimed to be an attorney at IRS (Indian accent) and third one a lady (African-American accent) she claimed to be a person from documentation department (never heard of such department). Although Daas could drag them long enough until local police came but generally they senses person's mentality very quickly.

This new gang must be exposed sooner than later as their actions are traumatizing gullible people, in some cases wealth lose.

VAHEGURU JI KA KHALSA, VAHEGURU JI KI FATEH

My father had received a similar call - claiming to be the IRS, threatening to send the police to his home if money wasn't wired in short time.

A) Always ask them to send everything by mail so you have it in writing.
Demand they provide their full name and ID number for your documentation.
C) Ask to speak to their supervisor (always interesting to see if they have one).
D) Inform the person that you will be calling the police yourself to report the person.
E) Note the phone number they call from with Caller ID.

In the U.S., governmental agencies will not ask you to wire money in 1 hour or else the police will be sent. They send written notices with copious amounts of paperwork. NEVER give out any information (get as much information from them though so you can report it to the police). You can do online searches for phone numbers and people will report what types of calls and what companies/agencies were at the other end of that call and if they were potentially fraudlent.

These scams have been going on for years in the UK, and consumers have lost billions through a variety of scams. Best advice and the old cliche is if something is too good to be true it usually is and never provide personal details unless you're certain the person on the other end is legitimate. Banks for instance do not call customers asking for complete card numbers.

Unsolicited callers end up tempting you with something for nothing are persuasive and rushing you into decisions and ask you to send money upfront etc

Remeber - Shred bank statements, card slips, copies of legal documents - yes these scumbags go through your trash as well and steal identities. You then have to prove who you are to the authorities!

Sometimes there are calls which inform you you have won something. two years ago I got a few of these calls. I could clearly tell the guy was a desi.

ਮੈਂ ਕੱਚੇ ਲਾਹ ਲਿਆ , ਚੰਗੀਆਂ ਰਸ ਭਰ ਭਰ ਕੇ ਸੁਣਾਈਆਂ. ਹਾ ਹਾ. ਫੇਰ ਕਦੀ ਨੀ ਆਇਆ ਫੋਨ.

My advice is: ਘਬਰਾਓ ਨਾ , ਸਗੋਂ ਉਲਟਾ ਅਗਲੇ ਨੂੰ ਪੈ ਜਾਓ. ਆਪੇ ਲੱਤਾਂ ਚ ਪੂੰਛ ਲੈ ਕੇ ਭੱਜ ਜੂ .

ਮੈਂ ਸੱਚੀ ਗੱਲ ਦੱਸਦਾਂ, ਪਿਛਲੇ ਸਾਲ ਮੈਂ ਬੌਸਟਨ ਏਫ਼-ਬੀ-ਆਈ ਦੇ ਦਫਤਰ ਫੋਨ ਖੜਕਾ ਦਿੱਤਾ ਸੀ, ਭਾਈ ਕਾਹਨੂ ਪਰੇਸ਼ਾਨ ਕਰਦੇ ਹੋ? ਓਹ ਭਾਈ ਕਹਿੰਦਾ ਬਾਬਾ ਜੀ ਹੱਥ ਜੋੜਦੇ ਹਾਂ, ਅਸੀਂ ਤੁਹਾਡੇ ਉੱਤੇ ਨਜਰ ਰਖ ਕੇ ਅੰਨੇ ਨਹੀ ਹੋਣਾ |

Mehtab singh jee -hahaha

Since Daas posted, almost everyday now hear story from near and dear ones.

In some cases call comes from number 202-241-0333 under caller ID Dist of Columbia. It seems like they are more active in calling New Jersey, California and New York areas where Indian community is densely populated.

So far scare tactics they use to start conversation is:

1) There is money laundry case on your name, you have sent money to India. There is a arrest warrant against you and police is at your door or coming to your home within 45 mins to pick you up. In your absence your family member will be picked.
2) There is open case against you from IRS, you have to pay the due taxes for such and such year. Police is coming to pick you up in 45 mins.
3) There is billing due for such and such utility, you disregarded all our previous calls now case is handed over to police and they are coming to pick you up.
and more of like these.

This gang is threatening to scam you unlike other ways that you have won a million dollar lottery or real estate. It is very much possible that some Indians are also involved in these acts.

Here is a another type of call story: