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Gone Phishing
updated: Mar 10, 2013, 7:24 PM

By Edhat Subscriber

Yesterday afternoon my elderly mother-in-law received a phone call from a man asking for my husband (who has never been at that number). The man proceeded to say that he had run across our wedding announcement and wanted to reconnect. The man did not give his name but was "very friendly" and went so far as to ask about me and whether my parents were still alive (mentioning them by name). The man said that he was in his 70s. My MIL did give out my husbands phone number but we haven't received any calls. We are pretty sure that this is some kind of information-gathering scam (?) but to what end? Has anyone else received any calls like this? We have been married for decades, so this would take some crazy research! And, yes, my MIL has a listed phone number - landline.

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 383425P	2013-03-10 10:07 PM
Every kind of scam imaginable is going on now. A guy waved me down in San Roque a few days ago to tell me his car had just been broken into and he needed help. He was trying to get $20 from me to "get back to Temecula." Yah, right. I think anyone with elderly friends or neighbors should warn them in no uncertain terms about the scams going on. It could be that the guy who called your mother-in-law was really trying to find out if she lived alone. That is scary. Why do we even answer our phones to strangers anymore?
PAMSB	2013-03-10 10:18 PM
425P: My sister and brother-in-law were taken by a "respectable" guy with a believable story in Lexington, KY recently. They gave him $30 and he even asked for their address so he could mail it back. Later they had our niece who is a detective do some checking and found out the guy is a known scam artist and thief (they ended up seeing his mug shot!) and now they are afraid he will break into their house. What a world this has become!
COMMENT 383442	2013-03-11 06:54 AM
Phishing is not exclusive to strangers. My uncle, a professional man, supported his first wife until she earned her Masters. Then he thought they would buy a home and raise a family. Instead he got a " thanks very much and bye- bye" as she skipped off with her teacher. His second wife he thought was working hard on her Doctorate so he put up with frozen plates or bringing home take - out after work for years, nor did he object to doing the laundry, shopping and house cleaning - hey she was toiling all day too. Until he discovered she spent her days at the Gym, mall shopping ( with his credit cards), and talking on the phone with her friends. Now he is dating a Doctor and they both seem happy, while the ex we hear is happily phishing some other poor guy.
COMMENT 383443	2013-03-11 06:55 AM
My 84 year old mom is PARANOID! But she is so smart when it comes to these calls. If folks ask for phone numbers, she responds "give me yours and if they want to call you they will". Another guy wanted account information and she told him she doesn't give out personal info over the phone. He called her a grumpy old women. Made her day!
SEEDLADY	2013-03-11 07:12 AM
as far as digging up family info, it's pretty simple if you subscribe to one of those white pages services on the internet. They list relatives' names, your town, spouses, etc, all for $19.95! So basically, all your info is out there but for the CC#'s! Remain vigilant! Those who live alone without family are probably the most vulnerable, so if you have friends or neighbors who fall into this category, please watch out for them and give them the "talk", too. Get them an answering machine for their landline (many seniors hang onto these because of the superior audio) and teach them how to screen calls. It takes a village!
CLAWMARKS	2013-03-11 07:23 AM
OP here. I know...like you say SEEDLADY...you can really get MORE information on us by just doing a google search. I was even a little horrified to see that I could find my address on there even though we have always been unlisted phone-co-wise. And it is good that MIL doesn't live alone (BIL is the one who alerted her to perhaps giving out too much info). For 80, MIL is still pretty savvy and we've already talked about the grandkid call scam and such. I'm really more curious than worried...wondering what catch this phisher was looking to get. Do they really go through 20+ year old newspapers looking for wedding announcements?? Seems like way more work than it would be worth!
COMMENT 383455	2013-03-11 07:36 AM
Any information you give out, no matter how innocuous, will come back to haunt you. It's a bit like those exchange students selling books door to door, but using the names and ages of your children (which they got from neighbors) to further their sales pitch.
COMMENT 383481	2013-03-11 09:21 AM
I visited a vet for the 1st time on Friday and they asked for my driver's license number and SSN. Needless to say, I left those fields blank on the new patient form. If they are worried about going after me for nonpayment of my bills, I am more than happy to give them cash. But that means that they will have to have cash to give me change, something that is getting rarer these days.
COMMENT 383483	2013-03-11 09:30 AM
Any and all info regarding your age, your income, your race, your address, how much your home is worth is all available for free on the internet. To take it a step further anyone can google your address and see Street Scene and actually see a picture of your house and your neighborhood. It also lists all people in your family and even their spouses names. Gee, you can't even lie about your age anymore and get away with it:-)
COMMENT 383503P	2013-03-11 10:40 AM
It's surprising there's not more outrage over the invasion of privacy. The younger generation doesn't seem to mind, especially.
COMMENT 383508	2013-03-11 10:57 AM
I agree 503.....think about people who are in a situation where their safety is at stake, for instance someone trying to avoid an abusive person or the vulnerable, as previously stated, especially the elderly or single women living alone. What about the creepy guy you met at a bar who found out your name and now can find your address. So many scenarios that could be dangerous with all the internet info. I think a lot of it is gathered when you apply for phone service and even electric service. I don't know if there is a way to have info. removed from the internet, but I doubt it. Spokeo is one of the most invasive I have seen so far.
COMMENT 383573	2013-03-11 02:35 PM
When someone says: "I know, I know...", actually they might!
COMMENT 383608P	2013-03-11 04:09 PM
A neighbor was contacted by phone from someone who claimed to be the FBI. She has a helpful heart and did what they asked and mailed $12k. She had another $28k in the mail when her family was notified of her unusual behavior and, fortunately, they were able to intercept the second package before it left town. Oddly, local police weren't interested in this but encouraged the family to call FBI.

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