How would you deal with someone who tried to scam a family member?

unknowni: How would you deal with someone who tried to scam a family member?
Someone tried to scam my mother this morning into giving them her credit card number. My mother was smart enough to not do such, but the scammer was stupid enough to call from her home phone. Sooo..I have the idiots phone number and address. Yes, I have alterted the police, but they can’t do anything unless a crime has been perpetrated.

Answers and Views:

Answer by Al M
A crime was perpetrated, however local police often not skilled at dealing with Internet and Financial crimes.

You might review definition of “what is white collar crime” to see what qualifies relative to the scam they tried on your mother.

You might report this to the FTC, which deals with consumer protection against all manner of deceptive and criminal practices.
https://www.ftc.gov/

You might also try to report this to the FBI. They have a special department just for white collar crime like scams. Try these links
https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/white_collar/whitecollarcrime
https://www.nw3c.org/
https://www.ic3.gov/
https://www.justice.gov/criminal/cybercrime/

For some kinds of financial crimes, the Secret Service can get involved. This is the organization that protects the President, and the Treasurry … conterfeiting, nigerian scam, etc.

Answer by mj69catz
Legally, I don’t think there is a thing you can do.

Anything you would do to try to get them back would get them in trouble.

However, I wouldn’t be afraid to call them back (probably from a pay phone) and let them know that I was on to them. I might also contact the local paper or news agency and tell them what happened. They may be willing to do a story so other people do not get scammed.

Also, keep in mind that getting the name and number to the police, who can’ do anything until a crime has been committed, is still the right thing to do. When this criminal gets sloppy and commits a crime on someone else who gets scammed, and it gets reported, now they have a “suspect” who they can go after.

Answer by Maleficent Mel
Kneecap ’em.