Unknown Phone Number: Survey on How People Are Coping with Pandemic - Real or Scam?

[Deactivated] on 13/05/2022 - 11:13

Just received a phone call, number not visible, female recorded voice, asking to answer a few questions on how people are coping financially with the pandemic and you can win $1000. (Something close to that anyway.) I think they said they were "Australian Research ___________".

It asked three questions:

  • are you over or under 58
  • will your home be paid off before you retire
  • do you rent or own your own home (which is dumb due to the order of the questions, so was the second thing that made me suspicious [first thing was calling me in the first place], but government pen-pushers aren't the cream of IQ tests, so who knows). Then it thanks you, says they'll contact you if you win, and hangs up. It didn't request any identifying info and I probably wouldn't have given them any anyway.

Real? Scam??

General Discussion

Comments

  • Jason Genova on 13/05/2022 - 11:18
    +15

    Just received a phone call, number not visible, female recorded voice, asking to answer a few questions on how people are coping financially with the pandemic and you can win $1000

    c'mon, you have to ask?

    • [Deactivated] on 13/05/2022 - 17:16

      Well, yeah… because this one was an Australian female voice.

      • The Value on 13/05/2022 - 19:00
        +3

        lmao. Only men are scammers.

      • LFO on 14/05/2022 - 13:38

        an Australian female voice.

        As in an automated reader?
        A Siri with Aussie accent?

        Text written by … an ISIS, male, head-chopper, bearded, long dark_hair, terrorist (stereotyping? why not, free for all here :-)

  • [Deactivated] on 13/05/2022 - 11:19
    -6

    you mean the scaredemic

    • smartazz104 on 13/05/2022 - 13:45
      +6

      Pandemic of the stupid; oh you're still here…

      • LFO on 14/05/2022 - 13:34
        -1

        You need to be one to recognize one.

    • EightImmortals on 13/05/2022 - 14:43
      +3

      Is that different from the scamdemic and plandemic?

      Here's Bill Gate's new book for you to read.

  • bobbified on 13/05/2022 - 11:25

    Real or Scam?

    What exactly do you think they're scamming you of? They can't do much with the answers to the questions they asked, so who cares?

    • Porker on 13/05/2022 - 11:34
      +9

      Older people are more vulnerable to scams, so the age question could be to determine just that. If you say you're under, then they'll hang up. If over, they'll string you along.

      The accent of the person calling is the biggest give away with scams though. Without trying to sound racist, if they're Indian…. hang up..

      • bobbified on 13/05/2022 - 11:35

        I mean, to OP, even if it was a scam call… they're getting nothing out of him/her. He hasn't provided any real info that's useable for anything.

        Without trying to sound racist, if they're Indian…. hang up..

        Exactly!

      • freefall101 on 13/05/2022 - 12:20

        Inbound call centres are much more likely to be located overseas than outbound call centres. If you get a call from a bank it'll usually be someone in Australia and more likely to sound like an Australian. If you call a bank it's more likely to be overseas and not sound Australian.

        Unless it's a recruiter, because I swear half of them are poms.

      • mafroew on 13/05/2022 - 17:23

        Without trying to sound racist

        I don't think your comment is racist, it's justified - a number of these call centers are run out of Kolkata India.

        https://youtu.be/xsLJZyih3Ac

      • [Deactivated] on 13/05/2022 - 17:23

        Sorry forgot to post that. Female Australian voice, but recorded. It gives you an option of answers and only moves to the next question when you speak one of those answers.

    • [Deactivated] on 13/05/2022 - 17:21

      Well obviously when they phone back to say, "You've won!" e.g. Like many of us, I enter some competitions posted here. If we win any of those, they're going to want us to confirm our details just like this $1000 survey would.

  • SnowDragon on 13/05/2022 - 11:26
    +7

    are you over or under 58

    In Mark Rober's latest video about scam callers he says they basically don't bother if their target is under the age of 60. Seems like the questionnaire is trying to determine if you're a wealthy boomer to exploit.

    It could be real, but why give details like that for a slim chance of $1000.

    • Keplaffintech on 13/05/2022 - 11:28
      +5

      Given that there were no T&Cs given for the competition, (competitions are heavily regulated in Australia so they would need to be), I don't think anyone is getting $1000.

      You're probably right on the money about using it as a way to profile potential scam victims.

      • [Deactivated] on 13/05/2022 - 17:26
        +2

        Yeah I saw a guy on youtube the other day who sends glitter bombs/cockroaches/rats to scam call centres. I think he said they aim for 65+.

  • CyberMurning on 13/05/2022 - 11:32
    +3

    gesssus today must be friday the 13th, people posting weird stuffs

  • SBOB on 13/05/2022 - 11:36
    +3

    Real? Scam??

    If you don't know the answer to that, I recommend you not answering unknown phone numbers

    • [Deactivated] on 13/05/2022 - 17:31
      +1

      [Sigh…] That's just not the case. This was not obvious one way or the other - especially as they didn't ask for any identify info, and didn't call back soon afterwards saying, "You've won." I wouldn't give them any identifying info, and would obviously know it was a scam if they wanted me to send them money to receive money, otherwise why would I suspect or post about it at all.

      It was more that I was interested whether other people had seen the same thing/call. Because they couldn't do anything with the info it wanted. Maybe it would make some sense if they're building a database to try and do this: https://www.news.com.au/finance/money/costs/melbourne-mans-c… - but they'd need my name at some point and they're not getting that. The only name they might think they have, is from the Dominos hack a few years ago… where I used a fake name lol.

  • Nugs on 13/05/2022 - 11:40
    +2

    "Just received a phone call, number not visible"
    stopped answering unknown numbers a long time ago
    .

    • [Deactivated] on 13/05/2022 - 17:39
      +1

      Yeah usually I don't answer, or answer and don't speak. (If it's scam/sales and you speak, it automatically connects someone to scam/sell to you. If you don't speak it pauses for a while listening for your voice, then hangs up. So sometimes I answer when the number looks legit. They usually don't, lol.

    • BendBridge on 14/05/2022 - 14:39
      +1

      Unfortunately this is not always possible as my surgeon calls me up with "Unknown number" for telehealth consultation.

  • 7ekn00 on 13/05/2022 - 11:42
    +5

    If you answered over 58 and paid off before you retire, your number is now being sold as pre-qualified around the scammer darkweb ;)

    • [Deactivated] on 13/05/2022 - 18:30

      Point taken.

  • djones145 on 13/05/2022 - 11:53

    interesting these are the same questions that google rewards as me…

    • [Deactivated] on 13/05/2022 - 18:30

      LOL.

  • AustriaBargain on 13/05/2022 - 12:15

    An unsolicited phone call asking if you're old and if you're wealthy. Hmmm…

  • smartazz104 on 13/05/2022 - 13:46
    +4

    People answer unknown numbers? I don't even want to answer known numbers…

    • whatwasherproblem on 13/05/2022 - 14:33

      Me neither. Mostly because I'm lazy, but also like 10% because of paranoia from reading stuff like this.

    • [Deactivated] on 13/05/2022 - 17:49
      +2

      I usually get numbers that look fake, more often than no number at all. When they look real but I don't recognise them, I sometimes answer but I don't speak because their robodialer or whatever it's called only connects you to a rep if it hears you speak. If you don't talk it waits a while then hangs up. I figure I'll answer because if it's something real they'll be like, "Hello? Hello? Anyone there?" This happened the other day with Supercheap calling to pick up an order. I answered expecting it to be fake but they spoke immediately without me saying anything first.

  • Ocker on 13/05/2022 - 14:05
    +2

    Expect a phone call - congratulations, you won our fist prize of $1,000. Now all we need is a form of ID and your bank account details.

    • [Deactivated] on 13/05/2022 - 17:58

      Yeah that was my first thought but I figured they'd call back the same day. They'd probably want me to pay some "processing fee" to receive the $1000.

      Or maybe due to them catching fewer people they're screening calls to gather a list of people they think are older and dumber, then call back with the usually thick Indian accent… "Hall-oo, mine name is Paul from a Microsoft today in USA. Your computer has infected with the many many virus…" Lowlifes.

      • Ocker on 13/05/2022 - 19:21

        To be sure, there will be a method to there madness!
        These ****** will resort to anything to rob hardworking people of the miney

  • USER DC on 13/05/2022 - 14:46

    Yeah, you can watch some youtube scambaiters videos first

    • [Deactivated] on 13/05/2022 - 18:07

      Yep saw the rat/cockroach one the other day.

      • USER DC on 13/05/2022 - 22:16

        Talking about the one with raid in Genisis building ?

        Famous collab of Mark Rober, Trilogy Media, and Jim Browning ?

        Yeah that was epic, those ruthless people totally deserved it

        • [Deactivated] on 14/05/2022 - 01:02

          What they really need to do is get the names of the cops who keep helping scammers avoid prosecution. (Since authorities do prosecute scammers sometimes, they'd be pressured from above to do the same to those cops once their names were made public.) With no police left protecting them THEN they could get the millionaires running the scamming centers, instead of some low level scapegoat who gets $$$ to go to gaol for a few months. But there's not many youtube clicks in doing that. ;-D

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