Anyone else getting this annoying phone call?

[steve s]

Let me say up front that I just bought a new car a few months ago, so the warranty on it is good for the next few years. And the car I just got rid of was 14 years old, so its warranty expired a looooonnng time ago.

For about the last two years I've been getting this annoying recorded phone call saying that my car's warranty is about to expire and I should buy their extended coverage. But they can't even identify the manufacturer of my car, nor do they mention what company they are. It's an obvious scam.

Has anyone else gotten this call?

Steve S.

[JoeEllison]

No, but I get 2-3 letters a week about my car, and almost one letter a day containing one scam or another regarding my home.

[Fnord]

No, I built a call-blocker out of a caller-ID box and a Rabbit controller module. Nothing gets through more than once if I don't want it to.

[bruto]

Let me say up front that I just bought a new car a few months ago, so the warranty on it is good for the next few years. And the car I just got rid of was 14 years old, so its warranty expired a looooonnng time ago.

For about the last two years I've been getting this annoying recorded phone call saying that my car's warranty is about to expire and I should buy their extended coverage. But they can't even identify the manufacturer of my car, nor do they mention what company they are. It's an obvious scam.

Has anyone else gotten this call?

Steve S.

We got one such call recently on my wife's car, which actually had just ended its warrantee period. I think these outfits are mining state registration databases, or some other database, but not sure which one. Similarly, I often get flyers from car dealers offering fantastic deals and tradeins on my 1988 Chevy truck, or my 1995 Jeep, which has over 250 thousand miles on it, and rust holes you could pass a football through. They kindly offer to arrange for transferring the payments.

[BPSCG]

Are you on the national do not call registry (https://www.donotcall.gov/)?

[Juustin]

I get these calls. I always press the button to be connected, and they say "what make and model are you calling on?". I usually just spit and sputter and say I can't remember, don't they have it on record from the call? Eventually they just get mad and hang up.

[alfaniner]

!!! I just got this last weekend myself. Especially hated because it was the first time I'd been able to relax with a nap in quite some time, and I had forgotten to turn off the phone.

I also got a postcard with virtually the same info. Looked at it closely and they wanted me to call with my name and VIN# to renew. The card didn't even say what MAKE I'd bought, much less MODEL. I thought about sending it to my car company like reporting a spoof email.

[shadron]

This is the rough equivalent to the phishing requests that I get on my computer that tell me my account with Wells Fargo has been put on hold, even though I don't have a WF account. They are fishing (in this case not phishing) for business; since they don't have access to the high quality data that would drive such a valid marketing promotion (its expensive to get), they do the shotgun - send it out to everyone in the hopes of getting a few to whom it does apply. This used to be impossible to do when they had to use real humans to do it, but now with machines and email it and its low response probabilities are a possibility.

[Tokenconservative]

Let me say up front that I just bought a new car a few months ago, so the warranty on it is good for the next few years. And the car I just got rid of was 14 years old, so its warranty expired a looooonnng time ago.

For about the last two years I've been getting this annoying recorded phone call saying that my car's warranty is about to expire and I should buy their extended coverage. But they can't even identify the manufacturer of my car, nor do they mention what company they are. It's an obvious scam.

Has anyone else gotten this call?

Steve S.

Used to. All the mfg's do it. Call the 800 # back or stay on the line and tell the Indian or Pakistani who answers to take you off the list.

Tokie

[Tokenconservative]

!!! I just got this last weekend myself. Especially hated because it was the first time I'd been able to relax with a nap in quite some time, and I had forgotten to turn off the phone.

I also got a postcard with virtually the same info. Looked at it closely and they wanted me to call with my name and VIN# to renew. The card didn't even say what MAKE I'd bought, much less MODEL. I thought about sending it to my car company like reporting a spoof email.

I advertise my wonderful services in an internet yellow pages and a few weeks ago started getting these calls about my "past due" account for this.

Now, this is a auto pay, and it sounded legit at first, so I checked a bit, taking my time (the due date was actually not the one the caller was telling me, and I had some weeks). Meanwhile the calls became more and more frequent, and mouthy...like a collection agency, really. And offering to cut 30% or some such off my yearly fee if I paid "now!" by just giving the guy a credit card number.

Finally I did. I told him the name on the account was FU You Crooked Bastard, and the account number was EatMyC**kYouFrigginCrook.

Oddly, they have not drawn on that account yet and have not called back.

Tokie

[Fitter]

I have a referee's whistle which seems to prevent call backs.

[Tokenconservative]

I have a referee's whistle which seems to prevent call backs.

LOL.

When we get thos "Nigerian General" scams (and because of something we do we get them a lot) we play along, pretend we are just stupid American rubes who can be taken for everything and anything, and cost the would-be scammer numerous long-distance charges, sometimes shipping charges and one sent us dozens of very professional and real-looking money orders (must cost a fortune to print in some 3rd world hellhole, especially).

They seem ....unappreciative of our efforts when they finally figure out we are scamming THEM.

Tokie

[exlex]

The world is full of scams. Just take a look at this "helpful and informative" site on "taro" cards: tarocardreadings.com.

And not only that, but look at all the ads the psychics can afford to put up! They're not hurting for money, that's for sure. I'm not sure how you can end this sort of thing. People just don't want to look out for themselves.

[SoBitter]

I got postcards every month for about a year after I bought my car about the warranty expiring, which really made me mad, because it was either the stupid car dealership or my bank who sold my name out.

[bruto]

LOL.

When we get thos "Nigerian General" scams (and because of something we do we get them a lot) we play along, pretend we are just stupid American rubes who can be taken for everything and anything, and cost the would-be scammer numerous long-distance charges, sometimes shipping charges and one sent us dozens of very professional and real-looking money orders (must cost a fortune to print in some 3rd world hellhole, especially).

They seem ....unappreciative of our efforts when they finally figure out we are scamming THEM.

Tokie

If you haven't yet seen some of the amusing stories of similar efforts, you might get a laugh from some of the stuff on the web. Some people have taken these exchanges to hilarious lengths. Here is a LIIIINK! (http://www.scamorama.com/)

[bruto]

Bumping up a bit, I just came across one of the best and most elaborate scam-the-scammer schemes ever here:Handwriting Harry Potter! (http://419eater.com/html/joyce_ozioma.htm)

[Wowbagger]

Funny thing is I actually did buy an extended warranty for my car, from the manufacteror, when I bought it. (I intend to keep this car for a looong time.), and I still get calls from these freaks claiming that my warranty is about to expire, even though the one I got is still good for many more years!!!

[luchog]

My wife gets these all the time, the postcard version. It's been years since she's even owned a car, and she's never owned one that wasn't bought used and that wasn't less than 10 years old.

[Peter S.]

Are you on the national do not call registry (https://www.donotcall.gov/)?

I have not added my number to the registry because I like wasting as much of the telemarketers time as I possibly can. I had a telemarketer trying to sell me search engine placement and I kept them on the phone for 40 minutes. They were actually looking at my web page while they were on the phone with me and were able to watch me do for myself what they wanted to charge me $79 for, and they still were trying to sell me!

[rtalman]

Bumping up a bit, I just came across one of the best and most elaborate scam-the-scammer schemes ever here:Handwriting Harry Potter! (http://419eater.com/html/joyce_ozioma.htm)
bruto, thank you for that! That is the best story I have read in a very long time.:clap:

[Michael Redman]

I get mail for extended warranties and student load consolidation, neither of which I'm qualified for. No call, though. I haven't gotten telemarketing calls in years.

[alfaniner]

I had all my junk mail in a pile and found two FINAL NOTICEs for expiring warranties from the same company, dated weeks apart. I think I'll start saving them.