Scam Artists Will Say Anything

Scam Artists Will Say Anything
There's nothing scammers won't say to get you to hand over

your cash
by Doug Shadel, AARP The Magazine, April 2, 2018 | Comments: 11
Actual audio recordings of scammers captured in mid-con provide a useful window into
tactics used to take your money.
Did you ever hear of someone who fell for a seemingly preposterous scam and wonder what got
him or her to fall for it? AARP researchers, working with law enforcement and other sources,
have collected hundreds of undercover audiotapes of con men making their pitches. We thought
we’d share some excerpts so you can see exactly what scammers say to make people fall prey.
Be prepared to be offended.
The bottom line: Phone scammers will push any button they can to get you to say “yes.” They
will threaten, praise, act like the consummate expert, or speak like your best pal—whatever
works.
The one correct reaction when you get an unsolicited phone pitch: Simply hang up.
“Take the handcuffs off me, Jim. Let me go to work for you. You are holding me back .... Give
me 1 percent of your confidence, Jim, and I will earn the other 99.”
— Financial investment pitch
"We have a coin that was minted in 1860. It’s a $2.50 gold piece. This coin is currently trading
at $3,135. There is no doubt in my mind that by holding on to it for the next three years ... you
will see this coin trade somewhere in the $6,000 range."
— Scammer who later admitted to authorities that the coin’s value was roughly $300
“Most of the big boys can put $150,000 in the fireplace, burn it and not lose an ounce of sleep.
And this is a big-boy game, so if you’re going to play this game, you’ve got to be able to just
lose money and not think twice about it.”
— Oil-and-gas investment pitch
“Listen, why don’t you pick up the phone. I know you are there. Pick up the phone and stop
playing games. Want me to come over there and set your home on fire?”
— Scammer talking to a victim who had lost $75,000 to fraud and had stopped sending
money
“Are you stupid? I’m not trying to in- sult you, but are you mentally ill? ... I’m going to pass you
to my manager ’cause you are making me sweat, and if you were in front of me, I would have
slapped you by now, OK?”
— Scammer talking to an undercover state agent who was asking questions
“Ma’am, it’s illegal to hang up on a verification. Do you understand this? This is the law
President Bush passed himself, ma’am. You cannot hang up. We have to go through with this.
We have your information. We just have to verify it, OK?”
— Scammer trying to “verify” info he doesn’t have but wants
Target: “What agency did you say you were with?”

Scammer: “I’m with the Consumer Protection Agency.”
Target: “Which one?”
Scammer: “The FBI. I’m an FBI agent.”
— Scammer talking to an undercover agent
“This is officially a final notice from IRS, Internal Revenue Service. The reason of this call is to
inform you that IRS is filing lawsuit against you. To get more information about this case file,
please call immediately on our department number ...”
— Classic IRS scam; the actual agency never calls consumers about back taxes
“Marine phytoplankton is helping to treat or fully reverse over 500 health problems.... We’re not
supposed to say ‘cure for cancer,’ but my wife is a survivor because of the marine
phytoplankton. I believe that 100 percent.”
— Bogus health-supplement pitch
“Well, God bless you, ’cause you know we’re both blessed today ’cause the good Lord woke us
up. ’Cause you know, Zora, ever since Vietnam, I learned to take nothing for granted. Each day
is a blessing.... Thank you and God bless you.”
— Scammer pitching bogus products, ostensibly for disabled veterans
“You’re going to your grave a loser. A big loser. I think you are terrible.”
— Scammer to a woman who had already lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in a prize
fraud
“The more I talk to you, the more you remind me of Ben Franklin. Ben Franklin was one of the
smartest Americans we ever had. If it was the right thing to do, he wanted to do it, and if it was
the wrong thing to do, he didn’t want to do it, and you feel the same way about this investment,
don’t you? ... So let’s get a piece of paper and let’s put down all the reasons why to do this.”
— Classic “Ben Franklin” close to a financial scam pitch
“This treatment will prevent you from getting cancer. Because here’s what it does. It is a process
that has actually been proven to kill cancer cells, okay? And that’s why so many people love it
because they had cancer, breast cancer, and they get on it and they have no reoccurrence.”
— Scammer selling a bogus Human Growth Hormone treatment
“My name is Betty Owens. I am an inspector at U.S. Customs in Platts- burg, New York. We
have a package here containing $850,000. The reason why Customs held the package is there is
an unpaid balance of taxes. Until they can be paid to the Canadian govern- ment, we can’t
release the package for delivery. It’s a tax of $2,000.”
— Customs fraud pitch
More on Scams
 10 biggest imposter scams list

Scam Artists Will Say Anything

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Scam Artists Will Say Anything

There's nothing scammers won't say to get you to hand over

— Financial investment pitch

— Oil-and-gas investment pitch

— Scammer talking to an undercover state agent who was asking questions

— Scammer trying to “verify” info he doesn’t have but wants

Target: “What agency did you say you were with?”

— Scammer talking to an undercover agent

— Bogus health-supplement pitch

— Scammer pitching bogus products, ostensibly for disabled veterans

— Classic “Ben Franklin” close to a financial scam pitch

— Scammer selling a bogus Human Growth Hormone treatment

— Customs fraud pitch

 10 biggest imposter scams list

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