Scam o' the Day

When I answered the phone and heard a perky prerecorded female voice tell me how I could get my interest rates lowered with Credit Services, I knew it was a scam.* The canned voice even assured me that, while I wasn't having credit problems, they could get me better rates.

I let the canned message run until the end, when I had two options: press 1 to talk to a representative, or press 2 to have my number removed.

What the heck, I figured, I'll press 1. As a humor writer, I'm always on the look-out for more material. I've been known to keep phone scammers on the line for 10 minutes or more until they get disgusted with me and hang up. ("Let's see if I have this correct—you want me to rip out my perfectly good windows and you'll replace them with your replacement windows even though my windows don't need replacing? How will I keep my cats from escaping while you have the windows out? Won't insects fly in?" is one I've used in the past.)

I pressed 1. It took a while for a guy to answer, "How can we help you?" In fact, it took so long, I was getting bored.

I plunged in. "You can tell me what kind of scam you're running," I said.

Then he told me to do something unspeakable with my phone. I hung up.

Yep, a scammer through and through. Wonder how many people gave their credit card information in hopes of getting lower rates?

*How did I know Credit Services was a scam? 1. I don't have any credit cards. 2. I don't have any debts of any kind—and haven't for decades. 3. I'm on the National Do Not Call Registry.