Casteel: Watch out for this scam

Letter to the editor:

I want to let people know about a scam: I recently received a call from a man who claimed to represent the Gainesville Sun. He called from 844-513-2429; he had an accent and had my name, phone number, and email address. The address he had was wrong, but he did have the last 4 digits of one of my cards. I noticed a lot of noise on his end, and I questioned him why there was so much noise. He wanted to verify my card and said he wanted to take care of a declined payment.

I called the billing number for the Sun, and they said they had another person with the same complaint and that usually emails are sent, not calls.

Angela Casteel, Gainesville

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  • Is the Gainesville Sun still in business? I thought the subscribers all left once the Czars of Censorship closed out all citizen comments and the letters to the Editorial Monitor.

  • Gainesville Sun has been scamming people for years. That mullet wrapper isn’t worth the ink printed on it.

    They endorsed many of the progressive idiots who have managed to ruin the city.

  • Are you sure it’s a scam? I bet the Sun hired old Wells Fargo employees who created fake loans, repurposed for fake subscribers — to keep their ad rates higher.

    • I am sure it is a scam, unfortunately the person didn’t know I know what to look for. Too much noise is questionable, when I questioned him he’s said it was because it was a call center. That is why many use noise canceling equipment. Second having my address wrong and no one is going to call to verify card number. They allow you to contact them or they will email you of a declined payment. This is what the person from the sun also confirmed when I called them to let them know about the call.

      • Too much noise indicates that the call is being made from a warehouse office…huge place where they supply the callers with a phone script. The background noise is about two hundred workers all doing the same thing…bothering you, scamming you! If I hear that background noise I hang up and block that number! Sometimes the callers are prisoners earning “book money” for commissary items….

      • I’d be wary of an email requesting information as well. Never click on the link they provide to login. Go directly to the company’s actual website and login from there.

  • I Now own a phone/landline that I can block phone numbers that prove to be scammers and ad sales. I get one ring and my screen says blocked number! I love it!
    ***If you have Alexa and you want to discourage this nonsense, just ask Alexa to “open CALL HANDLER.” Put your phone up to your Alexa device and listen…it’s a funny app, wastes the time of callers hoping to make a hit/sale…and they you will hear the dial tone when THEY hang up! I’ve had many a laugh and the callers get the idea!

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