The Perils of ChatGPT

[iris lilies]

This reminds me of a scam call we got a couple of days ago. It has nothing to do with AI.


DH was targeted by a “FedEx “employee who claimed they couldn’t deliver a package because they didn’t know where we were. This is ridiculous because we get regular shipments via FedEx.


But I can’t figure out what the scam is. The caller kept asking DH for a better directions to our house, do we live in a one story house, was it a house or an apartment,etc..


Finally, I grabbed the phone and told him just deliver the package, but the FedEx guy said he couldn’t talk to me, he had to talk to the recipient of the package, DH.

I can’t figure out this scam was about other than testing DH to see how open he is to answering personal questions. Any ideas anyone?

[catherine]

This reminds me of a scam call we got a couple of days ago. It has nothing to do with AI.


DH was targeted by a “FedEx “employee who claimed they couldn’t deliver a package because they didn’t know where we were. This is ridiculous because we get regular shipments via FedEx.


But I can’t figure out what the scam is. The caller kept asking DH for a better directions to our house, do we live in a one story house, was it a house or an apartment,etc..


Finally, I grabbed the phone and told him just deliver the package, but the FedEx guy said he couldn’t talk to me, he had to talk to the recipient of the package, DH.

I can’t figure out this scam was about other than testing DH to see how open he is to answering personal questions. Any ideas anyone?

Yeah, I think you're right. Those definitely are sketchy questions for a "FedEx guy".. I don't have any answers for what he was trying to get out of it, though.

[happystuff]

I recently came upon my wife screaming obscenities into her phone. She was unhinged by an unholy union of AI and telemarketing. Over a period of a week or two, she got over a hundred calls from multiple numbers selling a Medicare gap policy she wasn’t eligible for or interested in. The system kept taking different tacks trying to get her to buy, apologized and promised to take her of the list, but kept relentlessly calling back.

Was this on a landline phone? We have recently put the following message on our answering machine:

"Friends and family, please listen to this entire message. Due to the increase in telemarketer and scam calls, all calls to this phone are now being screened. That said, please speak slowly and clearly, leaving your name, number and a message, and your call will be returned."

Almost 100% hang-ups! Blood donation centers will leave a message. LOL.

[iris lilies]

Was this on a landline phone? We have recently put the following message on our answering machine:

"Friends and family, please listen to this entire message. Due to the increase in telemarketer and scam calls, all calls to this phone are now being screened. That said, please speak slowly and clearly, leaving your name, number and a message, and your call will be returned."

Almost 100% hang-ups! Blood donation centers will leave a message. LOL.

No, it was a cell phone.

We don’t have a landline.

[Tradd]

Frankly, with all the spam and scam calls, you shouldn’t even be bothering to answer the phone unless you know who it is. Change the settings on your mobile phone to only ring for contacts. I know plenty of people who constantly complain about the calls, but still pick them up. They have no reason to complain if they’re still answering the phone. Older folks need to get out of the mindset that you HAVE to pick up the phone if it rings.

[rosarugosa]

We still have a landline, and we had switched from Verizon to Oona phone service last year. We recently had to replace our cordless phones, and the new model had a smartscreen feature. I programmed all our regular callers into the system. If a caller is not in the system, they are prompted to state their name, the system announces it to us, and we can answer or not. Spammers and telemarketers just hang up. It's a beautiful feature.

[iris lilies]

Frankly, with all the spam and scam calls, you shouldn’t even be bothering to answer the phone unless you know who it is. Change the settings on your mobile phone to only ring for contacts. I know plenty of people who constantly complain about the calls, but still pick them up. They have no reason to complain if they’re still answering the phone. Older folks need to get out of the mindset that you HAVE to pick up the phone if it rings.

I am on 8 different boards and do board business regularly. While I don’t get a lot of calls since most contacts are via email, I do get them occasionally from people who are not in my contacts.

but I don’t carry my phone. I pick up about half the time mainly because it rings in on a iPad that I’m on but very often do not pick up whether text or phone.