Today
a man with a very heavy accent phoned my home and asked for me by
name. He said he was calling from “The Federal Grant
Department” in Miami. (Huh?)
This agency wanted to
give me a $5,600 grant because a) I had submitted my tax returns on
time, b) my credit score was going up, and c) I had no criminal
record. Furthermore, the grant paperwork was already in the mail to
me and he was about to tell me the seven-digit transaction number.
(This was
certainly the most generous agency I'd ever encountered and they even
worked on Saturdays!)
When he asked for my bank name so he could wire me the money, I said I'd really prefer a check. He countered that this grant had to be transacted bank-to-bank because it was such a large amount (wow – their accounting controls are tight!). I told him I'd fill in the information when I received the paperwork, but unfortunately he couldn't give me the seven-digit transaction number without the bank name. When I politely told him that I don't give bank information over the phone he “transferred” me to a “Senior Verification Officer”.
The Senior Verification Officer also had a very heavy accent and asked me to verify my phone number (which of course he already had). When I asked for his phone number he went away for a moment then gave me 702-529-3387. He explained that this was their “Local Administrative Office” and that I could call any time toll free (huh?). He asked for the bank name a few more times and I reiterated what I had told the first guy. Eventually he said that my grant would be “transferred to charity” then hung up. Maybe I should have just given him my account information at the Bank of the Mississippi River.
Just for fun I Googled the “Federal Grant Department” and found that similar phishing calls were described on the Ripoff Report website. At this point things became a bit recursive because according to the Phoenix New Times, the owner of this site may be using it for purposes of extortion. It's an interesting world out there!