Outsourced was freaking hilarious. It's a shame that show didn't last longer.Pahdz said:
Is this like that show Outsourced that was on NBC?
(Sadly will admit watching that and Whitney and enjoying both)
lurker76 said:
Episode 3 dropped tonight. Bottom line is, if you don't have money, don't bother with the Feds for help. These guys got an appointment with one of the senators from Connecticut that actually tried to shut down telemarketers in the 90s. He didn't want to hear anything from them, shut down the meeting, and told them to get with his aides. As soon as he left, the aides left too, only to come back a while later to tell them to leave as there were back-to-back meetings. Six months later, still no word back from the Senator. Also, don't cross the police asking why they work with sketchy companies to raise funds; you'll just get stonewalled.
If you want your money to go to a real charity, don't give a dime to anyone on the phone; check with Charity Navigator to see if it is a valid charity and how much of the donations do get to the actual charity.
Above all else, make sure your parents and grandparents are aware of these scams and don't fall for telemarketers calling for donations. Tell them to not answer the phone if they don't know the number; whoever it is can leave a message if they actually need to contact them
Slightly off topic, but I sometimes wonder what the scams will be like when us millennials reach old age. I doubt telemarketer or phishing scams will be as successful as they are with the current older generation. But maybe I'm wrong, maybe reaching an older age means you have less of a guard up for those sorts of things.lurker76 said:
If you have an older parent or grandparent, please make sure they are aware of these callers and that it is a scam.
It's true, there was some study awhile back that showed older people are much more gullible (not just people who are currently old either). We probably won't fall for telemarketing but something else will probably come along that we trust too much.BowSowy said:Slightly off topic, but I sometimes wonder what the scams will be like when us millennials reach old age. I doubt telemarketer or phishing scams will be as successful as they are with the current older generation. But maybe I'm wrong, maybe reaching an older age means you have less of a guard up for those sorts of things.lurker76 said:
If you have an older parent or grandparent, please make sure they are aware of these callers and that it is a scam.
Yep:AustinAg2K said:
Is there anyone left in this world that doesn't know these things are scams?
I do think that most people from younger boomers (like my wife and I) to the millennials understand that you don't answer cold calls or unknown emails. It is the safest way to avoid being scammed.at this point. Leave a message if you need to talk to me. It's also how, as a grandparent, we can avoid the scam of being told a grandchild has been in an accident/is in jail/has been kidnapped, and you need to send money immediately. If a message like that is left, you can call the grandkid or their parent to confirm any problem.BowSowy said:Slightly off topic, but I sometimes wonder what the scams will be like when us millennials reach old age. I doubt telemarketer or phishing scams will be as successful as they are with the current older generation. But maybe I'm wrong, maybe reaching an older age means you have less of a guard up for those sorts of things.lurker76 said:
If you have an older parent or grandparent, please make sure they are aware of these callers and that it is a scam.
BowSowy said:Slightly off topic, but I sometimes wonder what the scams will be like when us millennials reach old age. I doubt telemarketer or phishing scams will be as successful as they are with the current older generation. But maybe I'm wrong, maybe reaching an older age means you have less of a guard up for those sorts of things.lurker76 said:
If you have an older parent or grandparent, please make sure they are aware of these callers and that it is a scam.
Is this what was/is going on with all those Houston PD/FD stickers on people's cars when I was at A&M? That's where my mind went when I watched the first episode. People would have years and years of those stickers on their cars.lurker76 said:
Nothing like Outsourced at all. This is a documentary about how scummy telemarketers are. As an example, the first company they expose is one they worked for in the 80s and 90s. The company would contract with, for example, a fire department that would perhaps raise 100 to 150k fundraising on their own, and offer to pay them 350k to use their name in raising funds. Many of the "charities" they represented were police, fire and military organizations.
Typically the results would be 10% to the "charity" that was being used and 90% to the telemarketing company. They hired ex-cons and drug addicts to make the calls, provided a script and a list of responses to use when the mark would decline. One retired lady said she paid thousands of dollars to support these efforts; and when asked if she had that kind of money, she said she had to borrow it to do so.
These people are the scum of the earth and have no souls. This series will really open your eyes to how pervasive the telemarketers are, and the depths they will go to to take money out of vulnerable peoples' pockets. If you have an older parent or grandparent, please make sure they are aware of these callers and that it is a scam.
Anecdotally, years ago my wife picked up the phone and was asked to contribute to a state police organization; when she asked them to send her information on the police organization the caller hung up. We no longer answer phone calls with unknown numbers or callers. If someone wants to talk to us, they can leave a message.
Yeah, the episode were he is doing the interview with the guy while wearing sunglasses gave off major Zach Galifianakis vibes, like wtf dude. And then when he is chasing after the corrupt Houston cop with the cowboy hat, suit, and bbq; major Chris Farley vibes.Counterpoint said:lurker76 said:
Episode 3 dropped tonight. Bottom line is, if you don't have money, don't bother with the Feds for help. These guys got an appointment with one of the senators from Connecticut that actually tried to shut down telemarketers in the 90s. He didn't want to hear anything from them, shut down the meeting, and told them to get with his aides. As soon as he left, the aides left too, only to come back a while later to tell them to leave as there were back-to-back meetings. Six months later, still no word back from the Senator. Also, don't cross the police asking why they work with sketchy companies to raise funds; you'll just get stonewalled.
If you want your money to go to a real charity, don't give a dime to anyone on the phone; check with Charity Navigator to see if it is a valid charity and how much of the donations do get to the actual charity.
Above all else, make sure your parents and grandparents are aware of these scams and don't fall for telemarketers calling for donations. Tell them to not answer the phone if they don't know the number; whoever it is can leave a message if they actually need to contact them
As awesome as he is, I feel like sometimes Pat makes people feel like they're getting pranked by a Sacha Baron Cohen character or something. That's how the senator was acting, at least. What a great show though. The finale was my favorite episode.
