Scammers Are Spoofing Their Numbers! Here's How.

Just because you get a call from a number that looks official, doesn't necessarily mean that it is! Scammers are using VOIP software to spoof their numbers. I'll show you how, and then get a little revenge :)

[LowTide]

The IRS keeps calling me for back taxes. I’m gunna just ignore them. Even though I haven’t done taxes in a decade it’s gotta be a scam!

[JFGaddyJr]

I wondered how these jerks call me from a local number. This is messed up because if someone in your family needs to use someone else's phone in an emergency, you don't know if it's legit them or someone trying to scam you and/or getting a sample of your voice to use AI to call your family pretending to be you. And these people are everywhere, sadly. Great work putting them out there!

[scottb.]

I once got a caller ID spoofed as my OWN number. That was awkward for them. I actually answered just to have fun with them. After confronting them, they never spoofed me again. But wow, they weren’t the brightest bulbs in the pack 🤦🏻‍♂️

[johnFlordelis]

As a retired combat Marine, I want to acknowledge the significance of your work. You're fighting a crucial battle against cybercriminals and terrorists, protecting the vulnerable in our society. Your efforts are just as important as any warrior on the battlefield. Keep up the great work, *EXELASUPPORT* Your dedication to defending others in the digital realm is truly commendable!

[Quake]

I got an IRS scam call many years ago when it was the predominant scam. I was at work and put it on speakerphone and had half of my office laughing because of the shenanigans I put them through, one of which was I had a co-worker pull up a zip code in the middle of absolutely nowhere in Nevada and pretended like all I had was a bicycle to get there. I then said "I think I need to call Walmart before I ride all the way over there to make sure they have the gift cards I need" much to the annoyance of the scammer who was screaming at me that I was going to be arrested.
I called Walmart (really a co-worker pretending to be Walmart) who told me that it was a scam and that I should hang up. The scammer said some choice 4 letter (and Hindi) words at me and hung up.

That was 45 minutes of that scammer's time he will never get back! It was great fun.

[pointreyes]

Here is how to disrupt the scammers who call: Once you say "hello" you instantly hit the mute button. They typically stay on the line for 20 seconds to one minute. You can even come back on the line after 10 seconds and say "hello" and hit mute again. I have had the scammers on for five minutes. Put them on your speaker mute so you can hear them but they can't hear you. One person doing this will make no difference, but if everyone put them on mute instead of hanging up we could seriously disrupt the scammer networks. Thanks Ben for all you do.

[balkanvenom]

Makes me happy that the wife saved her husband from getting scammed. Pleasant Green, I love your new office!!!

[thfloordreams]

Pleasant Green's ability to blend engaging storytelling with accurate portrayals of scams deserves commendation. Their work contributes significantly to public awareness and preparedness.

[junkboxxp]

I love that just a handful of youtubers have disrupted the entire call center scam community. Good work!

[a]

Here in Norway that was a huge problem for a while... Also a scammer had chosen by accident the local police number so the police station started to get more and more calls from people asking the police why they had called them. After some investigation the police found out their number was being used by scammers from outside Norway.

[reanukeevesk]

Shamefully I fell for the banking scam. They called me using my bank’s number and they were a native English speaker too. Luckily I didn’t lose any money as the bank blocked the transaction. Boy did it shake me up though. I’ve never fallen for a scam in my life.

[MrLefthooker]

Brilliant, that moment when he said Hi Pierogi (I watch Scammers Payback too ;-) ) just shows how the impact you guys are having on these scammers. Please please keep up the good work. What is, for the most of us, entertainment, is pure evilness if you are a victim. It is so pleasing to see the good guys win sometimes. Stay safe "Ben" .. like myself, there are people all over the world admiring your crusade.

[TonyaR]

They can scam you, but when you scam them, they get an attitude or run. I love it when they get payback it's awesome 😂😂😂😂😂

[howiieb]

In the UK, there's a lot of scammers that spoof the numbers of other random people in their database. If you call the number back, you'll get someone on the other side who is thoroughly confused by why you're calling: and I've been on the other side of this conversation too, being called by someone asking about a call I know I didn't make. This makes it very hard, and very confusing in fact, to track down missed calls!

[mattcharvat]

If you call the "irs" and they answer right away, it's not them😂 they don't ever answer quickly

[crazyskml]

So from now on just let all calls go to voicemail. If it is an actual call they will leave a message. This is becoming insane! Ashton and Arts faces were priceless! 😂 ❤

[JJCanDes]

Scammers spoofed my number last year. I have this number for 12 years and I wasn't ready to give it up. So I endured weeks of constent calls and messages of people asking me, why I called them. After about 4 weeks the calls stopped and I had peace and "my number" back.

[readytogo]

I started telling the sales scammers that call, after hearing their spiel, that I don’t have any credit cards or bank account, but I do have checks. It’s hilarious how many don’t right away catch that I don’t have a bank account but am willing to pay with a check. 🤣🤣🤣

[TheCarCrazyGuy]

I had a tuner shop that had my car that wouldn’t answer my calls on a regular basis, so I spoofed their fax number and called their regular business number. They answered immediately and sounded perplexed. I then continued my call with them while they were scratching their heads. It was hilarious!

[drbettyschueler]

One of my friends was hit with this type of scam a few days ago. She asked, in FB, what she should do and we all told her not to click on the link as it was a scam. Hopefully, she listened to us as she's been hacked numerous times in the past.