419 SCAM?

Shawnee123 · 09-02-2010, 02:32 PM

I keep getting phone calls to my cell where the caller ID only shows "419". I don't answer, and I don't think there has ever been a voice mail.

I googled it and found this, so I think it's a scam. I keep getting recordings about my Chase account which I don't have so that must belong to the girl who had this number before (I've also gotten some hilarious drunken dials intended for her.)

Has anyone else heard about this 419 bullshit?

Can I block it from even coming through?

I HATE cell phones, btw.

Pete Zicato · 09-02-2010, 02:40 PM

It is illegal for telemarketers to call personal cell phones.

jinx · 09-02-2010, 06:19 PM

For the longest time we got calls for this woman named Carmen Something. She didn't pay her bills, and her kids were bastards in school. For YEARS we heard about this woman's life thru our answering machine....

sweetwater · 09-04-2010, 07:14 AM

Not "419", but I've had 123456 or something close. It was simply a known associate calling me via Skype. I wouldn't pick up the 419 until the originator is identified and you feel like talking, though. Numbers can be blocked, but last I checked, it was at a cost.

xoxoxoBruce · 09-05-2010, 11:58 AM

Here, on regular phone lines, you can punch in a code (shown in the phone book) to block your number from being shown. You can also punch in a code to block calls from any phone with a blocked number.

I haven't checked to see if you can do that with FIOS or Comcast, but with caller ID, I just don't answer calls that don't identify the caller.

kerosene · 09-05-2010, 02:15 PM

I get texts from pre-pubescents, chiding me for my choice in boyfriend and calling me Sonny. It does no good to tell them I am not her, either. They try to make friends with me.

xoxoxoBruce · 09-05-2010, 08:36 PM

Well that's handy, if you get the urge to make pre-pubescent stew.

mbpark · 09-05-2010, 10:40 PM

<ChrisHansen>
Why don't you have a seat over there.
</ChrisHansen>

tw · 09-05-2010, 11:37 PM

System Signal 7 is the international standard for interconnecting calls via phone systems. (AT&T fought it all the way because it was not invented in AT&). The calling phone company is responsible for attaching the caller's phone number to the data packet. This worked because all phone companies did this cooperatively.

But something new is being attached to the system. Internet calling. Calls that originate on the internet can be missing that information because the call originator telco does not provide that code. Some internet companies are being setup just to service phone scammers and unsolicited sales calls.

I submitted one such violator to he authorities. They traced the call to one of those internet sources that originate overseas. Expect more sales scammers to use these internet call services until international standards (or Federal law) do something.

419 could represent numerous sources such as Telecordia (the CLLI), a connection through an Ohio code, a mobile code from Kuwait, a network identifying code for Qualitynet, or a called originating in Switzerland.

xoxoxoBruce · 09-06-2010, 12:46 AM

Calls I get from people using the Frontier phone company, out in Lancaster County, PA, never have the caller ID information available.

mbpark · 09-06-2010, 09:41 AM

TW,

There have been spoofcard services for years, and there are many unscrupulous VOIP providers that will let you pick your caller ID number. The second that places like Boca Raton, Moscow, or Las Vegas got the Internet and VOIP, it was bound to happen.

The Internet only adds to it because scammers in Nigeria can now afford to get a US phone number and caller ID spoofing for next to nothing.

Lamplighter · 09-06-2010, 09:47 AM

So what is the payoff for them... just free calls ? or $ if you return the call ?

mbpark · 09-06-2010, 10:07 AM

the payoff is disguise and getting people to reveal information they normally would not by gaining false confidence.

Lamplighter · 09-06-2010, 10:46 AM

Then they should just join The Cellar

tw · 10-25-2010, 05:08 PM

419 is the Nigerian penal code that prosecutes those Nigerian 'princes' and 'finance ministers' for scams.

09-02-2010, 02:32 PM	#1
Shawnee123 Why, you're a regular Alfred E Einstein, ain't ya? Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 21,206	419 SCAM? I keep getting phone calls to my cell where the caller ID only shows "419". I don't answer, and I don't think there has ever been a voice mail. I googled it and found this, so I think it's a scam. I keep getting recordings about my Chase account which I don't have so that must belong to the girl who had this number before (I've also gotten some hilarious drunken dials intended for her.) Has anyone else heard about this 419 bullshit? Can I block it from even coming through? I HATE cell phones, btw. __________________ A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones who need the advice. --Bill Cosby

09-02-2010, 02:40 PM	#2
Pete Zicato Turns out my CRS is a symptom of TMB. Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Chicago suburbs Posts: 2,916	It is illegal for telemarketers to call personal cell phones. __________________ Talk nerdy to me.

09-02-2010, 06:19 PM	#3
jinx Come on, cat. Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: general vicinity of Philadelphia area Posts: 7,013	For the longest time we got calls for this woman named Carmen Something. She didn't pay her bills, and her kids were bastards in school. For YEARS we heard about this woman's life thru our answering machine.... __________________ Crying won't help you, praying won't do you no good.

09-04-2010, 07:14 AM	#4
sweetwater lives inside a Mobius strip Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 1,120	Not "419", but I've had 123456 or something close. It was simply a known associate calling me via Skype. I wouldn't pick up the 419 until the originator is identified and you feel like talking, though. Numbers can be blocked, but last I checked, it was at a cost. __________________ I knew I shoulda taken that left turn at Albuquerque! - Bugs Bunny

09-05-2010, 11:58 AM	#5
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	Here, on regular phone lines, you can punch in a code (shown in the phone book) to block your number from being shown. You can also punch in a code to block calls from any phone with a blocked number. I haven't checked to see if you can do that with FIOS or Comcast, but with caller ID, I just don't answer calls that don't identify the caller. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

09-05-2010, 02:15 PM	#6
kerosene Touring the facilities Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: The plains of Colorado Posts: 3,476	I get texts from pre-pubescents, chiding me for my choice in boyfriend and calling me Sonny. It does no good to tell them I am not her, either. They try to make friends with me.

09-05-2010, 08:36 PM	#7
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	Well that's handy, if you get the urge to make pre-pubescent stew. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

09-05-2010, 10:40 PM	#8
mbpark Lecturer Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Carmel, Indiana Posts: 761	<ChrisHansen> Why don't you have a seat over there. </ChrisHansen>

09-05-2010, 11:37 PM	#9
tw Read? I only know how to write. Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 11,933	System Signal 7 is the international standard for interconnecting calls via phone systems. (AT&T fought it all the way because it was not invented in AT&). The calling phone company is responsible for attaching the caller's phone number to the data packet. This worked because all phone companies did this cooperatively. But something new is being attached to the system. Internet calling. Calls that originate on the internet can be missing that information because the call originator telco does not provide that code. Some internet companies are being setup just to service phone scammers and unsolicited sales calls. I submitted one such violator to he authorities. They traced the call to one of those internet sources that originate overseas. Expect more sales scammers to use these internet call services until international standards (or Federal law) do something. 419 could represent numerous sources such as Telecordia (the CLLI), a connection through an Ohio code, a mobile code from Kuwait, a network identifying code for Qualitynet, or a called originating in Switzerland.

09-06-2010, 12:46 AM	#10
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	Calls I get from people using the Frontier phone company, out in Lancaster County, PA, never have the caller ID information available. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

09-06-2010, 09:41 AM	#11
mbpark Lecturer Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Carmel, Indiana Posts: 761	TW, There have been spoofcard services for years, and there are many unscrupulous VOIP providers that will let you pick your caller ID number. The second that places like Boca Raton, Moscow, or Las Vegas got the Internet and VOIP, it was bound to happen. The Internet only adds to it because scammers in Nigeria can now afford to get a US phone number and caller ID spoofing for next to nothing.

09-06-2010, 09:47 AM	#12
Lamplighter Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Bottom lands of the Missoula floods Posts: 6,402	So what is the payoff for them... just free calls ? or $ if you return the call ?

09-06-2010, 10:07 AM	#13
mbpark Lecturer Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Carmel, Indiana Posts: 761	the payoff is disguise and getting people to reveal information they normally would not by gaining false confidence.

09-06-2010, 10:46 AM	#14
Lamplighter Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Bottom lands of the Missoula floods Posts: 6,402	Then they should just join The Cellar

10-25-2010, 05:08 PM	#15
tw Read? I only know how to write. Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 11,933	419 is the Nigerian penal code that prosecutes those Nigerian 'princes' and 'finance ministers' for scams.

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