Collections call "scam"

I have not seen an uptick in scam phone calls over the past year. However, I have one scam caller who has been trying to collect a debt from a “Fred Ackerman.”

When I received this scam call about five or more years ago, I thought it was a legitimate call sent to the wrong telephone number. I ignored the message.

Recently, the female collections person called again. If it's not a scam, how much does Fred Ackerman owe? I pressed the "save" button on my phone, intending to reproduce the complete message in this email. The save button did not work on this call.

I do recall the caller said it was an important message from “The Credit Bureau of Canada,” located in Mississauga. The caller even provided a postal address and postal code. The phone number was repeated loudly several times. Perhaps the scam is intended for elderly people who are hearing impaired, as the volume increased when the telephone number was given.

From time to time, my telephone rings and is cut off as soon as I say hello. Perhaps it is the lady from “The Credit Bureau of Canada?” Does she prefer to leave a message for Fred?

Maybe this particular caller has been successful in Kelowna. Scammers don't fish in an empty lake.

Helen Schiele, Kelowna