Beware: ‘Yes’ Scam Posing as VFW Making Its Way Around Missoula

Normally I don't answer the phone if it isn't a number I recognize. I am getting more and more phone calls from numbers I don't recognize these days. A momentary lapse in judgment almost led to a scam recently.

I had made a phone call to a business and left a message for them to call me back, so I was already expecting a phone call from a number I didn't recognize. So when my phone rang with a 406 number and it didn't say "potential spam", I answered. I think that was a mistake.

The person on the other end said they represented Montana's VFW (Veteran's of Foreign Wars) and they were starting their fundraising campaign. They asked if I would like to donate to the cause with a "hero" donation of $100. I told them it was too expensive for me at this time. So he gave me some other options that were more affordable. He told me he was willing to send me the information in the mail and give me a week or two to pay for my donation. He then asked if that would work. I told him to send out the information and I will look at it. He then started to offer even lower options. That's when the alarms went off in my head.

I had heard about the "Yes Scams". It's where a person records your voice saying the word yes. According to Experian.com, a credit monitoring service, the scammers can then use that to allow more scammers to call you or use your voice to try to authorize fraudulent charges. I know not to give my personal information out over the phone, but just saying the word yes, can cause problems.

Even though I had agreed to help with the fundraising, the caller needed me to say the word yes. So he continued to get me to try to say yes to his questions. He even apologized for being so pushy, but his boss needs me to say either "yes or no". At that point I new it was a scam. I let him know that I wasn't going to say either one of those words, he then told me to sponsor the VFW, and hung up on me. There is now doubt that the phone call was a scam.

That angered me in two ways. First, I was angry at myself for answering the phone and engaging in the conversation. Secondly, that the scammers were using the VFW organization for their scam really ticked me off. They say that younger generations don't answer the phone anymore, preferring to mostly communicate via text and social media. They may be on to something with that. Unless you are on my contact list in my phone, don't expect me to answer my phone in the future.