The voice was intimidating, and stoic. We have all been subjected to the fraud IRS robo-calls demanding money for back taxes or face prosecution, arrests and fines. Today, I decided to play the game. I called them back!
As soon as the man on the other end answered the call, his accent was a dead giveaway. I broke into Hindi, and he started laughing. He was clearly more amused than I.
He, along wth his 20 colleagues, works in a call center in Gurgaon, India — a breeding ground for call centers.
I asked if most people that were victims of their fraud paid a few hundred dollars. More like a few thousand, he told me. I asked him why the need to defraud innocent people — “There is so much poverty here”, he told me in fluent Hindi, “everything goes”. No apologies. No regret.
It is sad that hard working Americans, typically the elderly, fall for the ploy. He promised to take my name off the list. Not sure that it matters. He will never see a dime from me. The irony? I got the same call just a few hours later.
Sometimes I just have to shake my head in disbelief and bewilderment. And the gullibility of innocent people.
About Hemant Rustogi