I received a call from this (1-206-496-0404) number this afternoon at about 2:35 PM. Not recognizing the number or caller (PACIFICTEL) needless to say, I didn't answer...
I'm a retired cop with 32 years experience, as such I give this advice freely:
Any cold call like this should be taken as a tip off to a rip off. Never give any personal and/or requested information to these kind of callers - no matter how hard they might press you for it...
If you don't already have Caller ID on your landline phone, get it ASAP! At least it'll let you know who's calling...
Would it help to start a harrassment call case with the police or FBI to stop these calls?? I might put a block on my phone for this number ..... but just wondering if a large number of people open charges against this company if they can do anything.
The FBI likely doesn't investigate this type of incident. Local and/or State Police will often be powerless to prosecute callers if they are out of state (which they usually are). I am a city Police Officer and in my state, we can't extradite telephonic harrassers from other states. I believe it is the same for most states, and the callers know this...
The best solution is to sign up for the do not call list at donotcall.gov and report these callers. This site is run by the Federal Trade Commission, which as a Federal agency, can effectively marshal the appropriate authorities to investigate such incidents.
I have been signed up since 2009 and have never had to file a complaint until today when "pacifictel" woke me up with a recorded message. I just filed my complaint and recommend everyone posting here do the same.
thanks, buddy. good advice. older people especially need to take the precautions you suggest. my mother is 90 and gets about one of these calls every day. she's hard of hearing, so she can't understand what they want anyhow, but i'm sure there are others who fall for their trap. otherwise it wouldn't be worth their while to scam on and on.