Creepy phone call from the "Gas" company

[Em_Catz]

Originally Posted by czacza

EmCatz...put the phone number at your new apartment on the 'do not call' list.

We dont have house phones (land line) , just cell phones. can u do that w/a cell?

Originally Posted by John Lee

Be prepared for A LOT more of this kind-of *surprise* marketing. With everyone giving up all kinds of personal information every day, I'm sure they will have (if they don't already) a profile on you that is frighteningly accurate.

People have GPS in their phones, they tag where they are at all times, they swipe their supermarket card (that saves them dough at checkout), which basically tells your shopping abits/patterns, we pay for everything by debit/credit card...

That's actually a really scary thought. If you have any tips for protecting yourself please let me know. I always assumed scams were obvious (ie: I'm a Nigerian prince. Please give me your account number and I will send you a $200,000 check) or someone shooting an email and asking for your password to an account.

This was done so professionally...even the Indian guy on the other line was convincing because a lot of places outsource these days, so his accent didn't throw me off. Plus he had the same area code as me

[czacza]

Originally Posted by Em_Catz

We dont have house phones (land line) , just cell phones. can u do that w/a cell?

Yes, you can

https://www.donotcall.gov/Mobile/register/reg.aspx

[Em_Catz]

Originally Posted by czacza

Yes, you can

https://www.donotcall.gov/Mobile/register/reg.aspx

Thank you! We will make sure to sign up

[waterfall]

That's why I never answer the phone unless it's a number I recognize! People think it's weird, but I figure if it's actually important they'll leave a message.

[bros]

Originally Posted by Em_Catz

I understand cold calling like Sarge's call, but I wonder how do this person get my first & last name, address and know that I use Washington Gas at my residence? Do they just cold call and hope for the best? How did they know I didn't have Pepco or some other company?

pretty easy to do so

They get a random list of names from wherever junk mail people get their names and addresses and then they make an assumption based on what most people use in that area.

We get calls like that all the time here, but regarding electricity. They say we can lower our PSE&G bill (We have JCP&L).

PSE&G is the larger of the NJ electrical companies.