Phone scam ???

[sockmonkeydave]

This involves a trac phone, a pre paid minutes card,  and a 90 year old lady,, oh boy.

Granny Monkey ran over her phone with the car... You can have my keys when you pry them....

So on the 24th Mrs monkey buys her a new phone and a minutes card, and loads the phone.

Thus the panamondium begins.

After we get home her mom calls, to try out her new phone...  Think can you hear me now.

Mom speak up I can't hear you.  Mom you have to hold the phone up to your head.

That is better but it's garbled, how are holding the phone, mom that is upside down.

Mom, put the phone up to your ear, mom you have it upside down again.

( at this point I meed a paper towel, wife gives me the beans for you look )

Next day she calls again... repeat conversation above...

next day she uses someone elses phone, and reports that all her time is gone.

60 minuets gone in two days ?

Wife brings the phone home and hands it to me, phone clueless me...

Yep no time on the phone and the card empty.

ebay CS is golden compared to trac phone... "can you say that again"... over and over.

Going through the phone settings I find some dude's name as the owner,  what.

CS says that she made a short call on the 24th, and on the 25th and a 45 min. call on the 26.

They said phone numbers are recycled, yes I know that, this call is going down hill fast.

I google the guys name and he lives 10 miles down the road.

When they recycle numbers, do they keep them in the same area ?

How did this guys name get into a fresh off the shelf phone ?

If you make a call and do not push "end call" will the phone just set there eating time ?

This is not so much about ebay, but I know nothing about phones, and some of you do.

[penguins_dont_fly]

Hey Dave ... A new off the shelf phone can be registered with a "pre-owned number".

When you guys registered gramma monkey's phone, somehow, they put the old owners name??? As far as the 45 minute call ... is it a number that gramma monkey knows? Did she actually call that number, or receive a call from that number? 

It is only possible to have an open line if both phones don't hang up... or ... If she accidentally didn't hang up when she got voicemail ... or ... If somebody left a 45 minute voicemail (incoming voicemails count against your minutes)

It almost sounds as if the pre-paid card got registered twice ... or was hacked ... or that the phone got cloned? 

Did she get a call asking her to press some numbers?

[sockmonkeydave]

@penguins_dont_fly

The mystery is not yet over, but we did give her mom our Obama phone.

It gets 500 min. a month and is easy to use, for an old lady.

I was at the kitchen table reading how to use the new phone, when it starts buzzing....

It has a new text message... say what, the message was "hey hey"

At that point I pulled it's battery out... we will try again, or return to wally world.

My wife wants one of the big iphone things like all the cool kids have.

If I can sort this phone out, I may keep it, but I really don't make a lot of calls.