Cell phone scamming- it's getting SCARY.

 I just got a call from my best friend, Jessica, so I answered it worrying that she was in trouble (considering that it's 2:00 am and hardly the best time for a casual phone call). When I picked up, some thug demanded why I hit his car, that I left my number on a note on his windshield, and that he was "losing his patience" with me. He proceeded to demand my insurance company and information, which I refused to give him (hence the "losing my patience" line). He then started calling me a B-word, and continued to yell at me over the phone.

I had just woken up in a daze, worried that Jess was in trouble. I was extremely alarmed when this guy answered when I said, "Hello." Because of the fact that I could barely think straight in light of the manner of my answering the phone and my fear knowing that it was Jessica's phone number (and thinking that some guy jumped her and stole her phone to call me), part of me almost gave up my insurance company's name. However, I didn't, and that was lucky. This was probably THE scariest phone call I have ever received, because it came with a personal threat over the phone!


THIS IS A SCAM! Don't let it happen to you. In my case, it appears that the guy was working on committing what's called "Hard Insurance Fraud." This fraud entails faking an auto accident, taking insurance information from someone, and filing a claim to get money. The thing is, if you give up your information, they can claim pretty much as much money as they want, because you are basically admitting that you participated in such an incident by giving out that information. You know what that means if they win- you're insurance hits the roof!

What's scarier is that this guy/company/whatever or whoever it was not only demanded confidential information, but they hacked my phone records and my contact list to #1- Find out who my top contacts were and #2- hack their identity through my phone to ensure that I picked up. What the heck?? I had no idea that people could do that! Beware--This is a multi-million dollar industry in auto alone. Get educated on what's going on to avoid it.

 Who knew that fraud could get so dang scary!!!!  Here's some basic tips that can help you figure out if a call you are receiving is a scam.

1- You receive a call or multiple calls (after hanging up or ignoring once) from any number you don't know. I had this happen about 20 minutes before "Jessica's" call. I woke up to a 208 number calling me, and I know plenty of people with that area code. I ignored it the first time, but they persisted to call twice more, so I finally answered. It said something like, "Thank you for answering. Goodbye." I was like, "Ohhhhh great. Now I'm in for it." I really didn't connect the dots. In fact, I fell asleep again (since it was 1:30 am) until the next phone call awoke me. That brings me to my next point....

2. You receive an odd call at an odd hour. That's what scared me the most- Jess called me at 2 am- so unusual for her unless she's in trouble. I answered outright because of my worry. However, you can imagine my fear and my surprise when J-Quizzy answered me. Talk about scary! I envisioned her in a dumpster in some dark alley and some guy having stolen her phone to call me up!

3. You have a personalized ringtone for that person, and it doesn't go off when they call you. Jess has a VERY distinct ringtone, and my normal ringtone went off when "she" called. I figured it was a phone error and thought nothing of it, but it should have alerted me that the call was not genuine and certainly not from Jessica's phone at all.

4. Someone calls you demanding personal information over the phone. This is a classic case of fraud. NEVER give out pin numbers, IDs, Social Security numbers, or, in my case, Insurance information of any kind.  They'll milk you for everything your worth! My good friend was conned by a message telling her to update her credit card information and saw $300 withdrawn in California the next day. Look out. Yikes!

5. Some unknown number leaves you a message and requests that you call them back. These scammers are typically from out of the country, even though the number is a US number. They are often from Canada or Africa, and they hire US workers to do their dirty work. When you call that number back, they charge you upwards $100 dollars a MINUTE, beginning the second you dial the number. Talk about a painful bill that month.

If any of these happen to you, don't give in to the demands for money or information. It's the scariest, most intimidating type of fraud I have EVER come across in my life, and I can see how they are backing people into a corner virtually and getting information because of intimidation and fear! What a sad a scary use of technology!

Contact your phone company if this happens to you. This will help everyone in the long run, and the phone company will help keep you safe by looking into it. Just be aware that it's happening, and people are going to great lengths to steal your identity, the identity of others, and everyone's money. The more aware you are, the less likely you'll get scammed or damaged from such activities.