Phone Scam: Did you receive a Robo-call about 'Lisa' saying 'do not hang up' with a recording saying If you have Chronic Back Pain, we can help you get MediCare to pay for devices to help

Have You Received a RoboCall Phone Call?
From 'Lisa" saying 'do not hang up', claiming
"If you have Chronic Back Pain, we can help you get MediCare to pay for devices to help"

Did you receive a call from a robocaller  'Lisa" saying 'do not hang up', claiming If you have Chronic Back Pain, we can help you get MediCare to pay for devices to help? Did they then instruct you to III or something similar? This is really one of the most obnoxious robocalls going.   Some people report receiving 3 or 4 of this call each day! And worse yet, the police are reporting it is scammers operating out of another country.

Rome, NY police, in the Rome Sentinel, report on September 19, 2018, "the scam attempts to gain your personal information by claiming it can fix your chronic pain, and that they are already cleared through Medicare and Medicaid. The robo-calls also appear to have a local number, but they are really just part of an auto-dialer system".

Well, don't fall for it.  It is a scam, and if you call them back or follow their instructions you will lose money and possibly your identity! The people behind this know they are violating Federal laws, like the do-not-call list, spoofing phone numbers and are quite likely to be operating out of another country and looking to steal your identity and money. 

1. Report received, November 21,2018:

   Robocall; said:

   Hello, My name is Lisa. Do NOT hang up! This is not a sales call. We have received information regarding your request for help with chronic pain. If you are still suffering from chronic pain, you may qualify for a medical grade back or knee brace that may be covered by your insurance company. To see if you qualify for medical grade braces, press 1 now. To be placed on our do not call list, press 2 now.

You can hear a recording of this scam here: (the recording will download and then you can open it and play it - it is just a recording)

Click here to listen to a recording of the Scam Call

It is a scam

Don't fall for it.  It is a scam. Almost all robocalls are already illegal.  Only robocalls from charities asking for donations, or from political campaigns reminding about an upcoming election, or a political candidate's bid for office are legal; and even then they cannot try to sell you anything. Any robocall from a company that is trying to sell you something (even if they claim they aren't selling anything) and you haven't given them written permission to call you is illegal.

What to do

1. First block their number. There are now free phone apps that help to intercept calls that are know to be coming from scammers.  One that we have found to be very effective is TrueCaller. It displays any known information about callers as the calls come in, and alerts you about calls coming from numbers that others have reported to be scams.
   
2. Don't answer calls from numbers you do not know. If it is real or important they can and will leave you a message.
   
3. Report the number to the FTC

Apple offers the following advice:

If you get a suspicious phone call or voicemail:
Scammers spoof phone numbers and use flattery and threats to pressure you into giving them information, money, and even iTunes gift cards. Always verify the caller's identity before you provide any personal information. If you get an unsolicited call from someone claiming to be from Apple, hang up and contact us directly.

Microsoft says:

Tech support scams are an industry-wide issue where scammers use scare tactics to trick you into paying for unnecessary technical support services that supposedly fix contrived device, platform, or software problems.
Scammers may call you directly on your phone and pretend to be representatives of a software company. They might even spoof the caller ID so that it displays a legitimate support phone number from a trusted company. They can then ask you to install applications that give them remote access to your device. Using remote access, these experienced scammers can misrepresent normal system output as signs of problems.

Cybercriminals don't just send fraudulent email messages and set up fake websites. They might also call you on the telephone and claim to be from Microsoft. They might offer to help solve your computer problems or sell you a software license. Once they have access to your computer, they can do the following:

Trick you into installing malicious software that could capture sensitive data, such as online banking user names and passwords. They might also then charge you to remove this software.

Blocking Future Robocalls

There are several ways to block some robocalls (nothing blocks all of them)

1. Use your cell phone's "auto reject" feature.

• On Android phones, after receiving  a call from a telemarketer, select the number in your recent calls list, as if you are going to dial it, then press the three vertical dots in the top right part of the screen. You should see "Add to Auto reject list". Press it.  To remove a number from the reject list, just repeat the process.
  For more detailed instructions and other options for your Android phone, see this page.
• On iPhones,
  See this page for iPhone call blocking directions

2.. Using Apps, to detect, intercept and block telemarketers

• TrueCaller is good at  identifying the real caller
• "Should I Answer" seems better at blocking calls.
• Hiya is a free call-blocking app for Android phones. It uses data from complaints from its users and those made to the FTC and the FCC.

3. Your cell phone provider, may offer a service that can help.  Unbelievably, consumers may have to PAY the phone companies to stop these junk calls!  Tell you congressman you want legislation to force the phone companies to stop the telemarketers and robocalls!

• AT&T offers free call-protection services, including blocking suspected fraud. They also have a $4-per-month service that blocks categories of calls that you select, and includes non-spoofed reverse phone-number lookup.
• Sprint  offers a Premium Caller ID for $3 a month that allows Apple iPhone users to automatically reject likely scam calls. This feature is also supposed to be come for Android phones soon.
• T-Mobile has a free scam ID and automatic scam-call blocking free.
• Verizon's has a $3-a-month Caller Name ID service, which is supposed to automatically send spam numbers to voice mail.

Down the road...

Finally, lawmakers are annoyed enough at the robocalls they are receiving to take action. According to the Verge, "FCC will 'take action' in 2019 if carriers aren't doing enough to fight robocalls. The FCC is just as fed up with robocalls as the rest of us. " The FCC head Ajit Pai sent a letter to US mobile providers urging them to deploy an industry-wide method of combatting the automated nuisance calls or face new rules. "By this time next year, I expect that consumers will begin to see this on their phones," Pai said in this press release.

Related Scams

There are a number of common telephone scams, such as:

• Collect Call scams
• Inmate collect call scams
• Phone service is about to be cut off
• Telemarketers

 

For a comprehensive list of national and international agencies to report scams, see this page.