You Had Me at Hell No

Three or four times a day, my kids hear me on the phone saying things like, “Oh, I’m so glad you called. I work for the FBI and I’ve been waiting to hear from you. Can I get your address?” Or “Dave Pell was brutally murdered in front of me five minutes ago. Can I take a message?” We all have our coping mechanisms when it comes to the scourge of scam callers, a problem that, at least on my phone, has become relentless. Aside from my mom and the occasional ring from one of my kids’ frazzled teachers, scam calls are basically the only calls I get. And a good percentage of the calls I get from my mom are in regard to the latest scam call she got. It’s a problem. At least some people are having a little fun with it. Who scams the scammers? Meet the scambaiters. “Police struggle to catch online fraudsters, often operating from overseas, but now a new breed of amateurs are taking matters into their own hands.” (I swear, as I was writing this blurb, I got a recorded call from “Rachel with Dealer Services.”)