Some years ago, a call on my landline came from someone who sounded like a middle-aged man. He claimed to be fund-raising for a group supporting local law enforcement. I said sure, I’d be happy to donate fifty bucks.
The caller said to leave a check in my mailbox, made out to the alleged organization, and they’d pick it up. I said I would prefer to drop it off at the police station in town. The caller said, “Oh, sh*t” and hung up.
Then there was the time a call came from someone with an Indian accent, claiming to represent the IRS. He said that I owned the government money, and if I didn’t pay it immediately I’d be arrested. To which I said, “Okay, then come and arrest me.” He insisted I was in very serious trouble and I insisted that I wanted to be arrested. After a bit of back-and-forth he gave up.
I no longer bother to answer landline calls. If it’s something valid and important, they can leave a message.
The fact that Donald Trump is once again president is proof there’s a sucker born every minute. So far, I’ve watched only the first story in this Frontline documentary about online scams. Listening to the father’s anguish about his son’s suicide, my immediate thought was, why did he have an unsecured gun in the house?