DEA scam phone call

13 years ago

Yesterday I received a message on my answering machine and a live phone call today from a"DEA Agent" who needed information from me about purported purchases by me of controlled substances online. I have never made such purchases, but the person I talked with became quickly threatening and abusive, saying if I didn't cooperate, I was facing 3-5 years in jail and a hefty fine. I WAS cooperating...I had no idea what he was talking about. He ended by saying that he was sending police to take me into custody. I was really scared, but when I thought about it, I realized this must've been some sort of scam attempt. I googled "DEA phone scam" and found details of this. Evidently, they try to levy a fine on you to make this go away. My call never got to that. Should this happen to you, get off the phone. Get the # from Google. I reported it to the DEA extortion line.

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Comments (12)

marie_ndcal
13 years ago
Thanks for warning us. Will be aware of another scam. You should also notify your state attorney general, and maybe local law enforcement, just in case someone comes to your home pretending to be in law enforcement. Just be careful.
chisue
13 years ago
Thanks for reporting on this.

If someone told me he was sending police to arrest me, I'd say, "Thanks for the tip-off. I'm outta here!" (Not that I'd think that fast at the time.) Really, though, if you were a genuine suspect, would 'the fuzz' *telephone* you?

Maybe I could make a complaint to the FBI about a robocall we get. I think they're selling home security systems. The caller begins by quoting supposed FBI about increasing break-ins.
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I also understand there are similar scams targeting people falsely accused of defaulting on a loan, being behind with rent or a mortgage payment. They are very threatening. I knew I was in the clear because the only drugs I've ever bought online were medication for my dog, and I had prescriptions from my vet for those.
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I have donotcall and the phone rings once and then stops. If it rings more than once I look at caller ID and if I don't recognize the number or name, it goes to voice mail. We were expecting a call from Apple almost two years ago and coincidentally got one of these scammers. Thankfully nothing happened but not because my husband was smart. As he talked with this guy with an accent and started doing stuff on the computer I googled the number. Guess what?.. Nigeria. I've only gotten one call since then and I let him have it.
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I found this article in a newsletter I get from a company called the Data Doctors: Why am I getting so many robocalls these days and what can I do to stop them? Answer This question was answered on March 7, 2019. If it seems like you’re getting a lot more calls that are either a robocall, a scammer or someone trying to sell you something, you’re not imagining it. According to call statistics from companies that monitor unwanted calls, the percentage of calls has risen steeply over the past year from 3.7% of calls in 2017 to nearly 30% in 2018. What’s worse is they predict by the end of the year, you can expect about 50% of the calls to your cell phone to be a nuisance call. Why It’s Accelerating One of the biggest reasons that we’re experiencing a huge increase in robocalls is that the technology to call millions of phones every day has gotten extremely cheap and easy for just about anyone with a minimal amount of tech skills. Why the Do Not Call Registry is Useless It doesn't hurt to register you phone number(s) with the https://donotcall.gov registry, but don’t expect it to do much for you. Only legitimate marketing companies that are willing to follow the rules will comply with this registry. If you do get a call you’d like to report, you can do so here: http://bit.ly/2Ut3E6K A growing number of the junk calls and text messages are coming from scammers that are operating outside of the U.S. through VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) so they’re not going to bother paying attention to the registry. Also, the registry does not apply to political calls, non-profits and charities or polling organizations and any company that you’ve either done business with or sought information from in the attempt to do business. Those businesses can call you for up to 18 months after your last interaction. Neighbor Spoofing You may have also noticed that a lot of the calls are coming from your same area code and some times with the same prefix as your phone number. This spoofing of the caller ID is done automatically by the robocall systems to make it look like someone in your area is calling you in hopes that you’ll answer the call. Never Say ‘Yes’ One of the many scams used by these robocalls is focused on recording your voice saying ‘yes’, which they can use as your voice signature for future scams. They’ll usually try at the very beginning of the call by asking something like “are you the homeowner” or “can you hear me?”. What Can You Do? The first thing is stop answering any call when you don’t recognize the number; let it go to voice mail. If you have one of the newer Google Pixel phones (2, 2XL, 3 or 3XL), there is a cool little utility in your Phone app that will allow you to screen calls using the Google Assistant – Google is working on making it available for other Android devices. The telecom industry is working on a caller verification protocol, but until then, there are apps available that will at least try to determine if a call is potential spam, including HiYa (https://hiya.com), YouMail (https://youmail.com), NomoRobo (https://nomorobo.com) or RoboKiller (https://robokiller.com).
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DH got that call yesterday. The day before, I got the one that said thank you for my prime membership of a couple of hundred dollars and to press a number if there was an error. We disconnected from both, they were just two of a handful of annoying calls. At a time when phone is the only way I'm keeping track of my mother in her care facility and some of those calls are coming on the caregivers cells phones, not through the main switchboard number that I recognize. A little thing within a week of too many little things!
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marilyn_c
13 years ago
There is no end to the scams. The Nigerians are doing an IRS scam now too.
cynic
13 years ago
Cops don't call you about this, they come to you. Red flags a poppin' there. If you have caller ID did it say a name and number? (Curiosity only.) Did they have your name? I'm just curious how much they do before they call. I hope you didn't give them any info.

Marie is right, contact your local police and you should also call your phone company and report it.

I don't answer if I don't know the number. Blocked calls are refused.
cookie8
13 years ago
Another one that I got was someone called and said I have a nasty virus on my Windows software and I needed to log in right away to fix it. "Well, I don't have Windows" I told them and they said "Oh, sorry, we see you have a Mac, nevermind" ???? What? I told my husband and he said yeah, there is a scam where they call you saying your computer is being attacked - go to such and such website - log in and voila, there is full access to your computer - bank sites, e-mail, any purchases, etc. It's crazy out there.
corneliafaust
13 years ago
I felt obligated to post because I got a call like that, too. This is clearly a fraudulent caller. Please shut them down!
corneliafaust
13 years ago
This was where I posted my report. http://www.callercenter.com/661-263-4025.html. Apparently, several others have been getting calls, too.
gmom74
13 years ago
Interesting- I personally know someone who actually fell for that- sent them the $500 dollars they asked for! I wondered why she would have done that if she hadn't really ordered a controlled substance online. She called the DEA and was told that, yes, they were going after people but only the companies that sell online, not individuals.
sudiepav
Original Author
13 years ago
I answered the phone because I had been left a detailed message about a possible DEA investigation that might involve me. Normally, I don't answer if I don't recognize the number, but I was a little concerned about this. The caller was very threatening and abusive from the beginning. I never ordered any medicine online, except through my prescription plan and medicine for my dog for which I had a prescription. He knew my name and address. Even though I was totally innocent, I felt a little scared, and had I been someone a little more naive, I, too, might have been tempted to pay a fine just to get them off my back. He got no information from me, although he pressed for a lot...where do you work, you know you're going to lose your job,etc. Heinous people. I reported into the DEA hotline.
samkaren
13 years ago
i cant believe someone would pay them $500. I get a lot of the Nigirian emails. i like to reply saying please send the money to the state to pay down our debt
kurenai
13 years ago
Glad you posted this. I got a call like this last week. This was the caller's phone number 559-838-0300. Same pattern of calls. Very obvious scam.
kurenai
13 years ago
I reported the scam call to the local authorities. I also posted a warning against the phone number at http://www.callercenter.com/559-838-0300.html to update others.

DEA scam phone call

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marie_ndcal

chisue

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DEA scam phone call

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