I just got a call from a someone claiming to be a Cal undergrad student calling from the Alumni Office. She wanted to ask me about my experience at Cal and what advice I could give her. I asked a few questions and she sounded plausible.

After giving her a few general responses, I said that's all I care to say. She THEN said that she is in fact a paid solicitor. Needless to say, I hung up. Having just last month avoided a very clever phone scam from who knows where for a LOT of money, I was not about to continue with her any further.

Just a heads up.

> Just a heads up.

thanks RB. just curious, what was she selling?

smh said:

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> Just a heads up.

thanks RB. just curious, what was she selling?

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didn't wait long enough to find out.

I've gotten solicitation calls from the Alumni Assn. In the past that seemed legit, she could be both a student and paid solicitor. But understand 100% why you hung up

I had the same last year.
Seemed legit, but it made me uncomfortable.

Rushinbear said:

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I just got a call from a someone claiming to be a Cal undergrad student calling from the Alumni Office. She wanted to ask me about my experience at Cal and what advice I could give her. I asked a few questions and she sounded plausible.

After giving her a few general responses, I said that's all I care to say. She THEN said that she is in fact a paid solicitor. Needless to say, I hung up. Having just last month avoided a very clever phone scam from who knows where for a LOT of money, I was not about to continue with her any further.

Just a heads up.

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Is this really the first time you've been contacted by the school Call Center asking for donations? They've been calling me for years now. It's very possibly legit but I'd recommend adding their number to your contacts if you want to ignore the calls in the future. The one I have in my records is 510-646-4099 so if that's where your call was from it's actually real.

Edit: I guess I'll also caveat that spam calls with ID spoofing is of course always possible, but that the school calling for donations from that number is also legitimate but that they should always be comfortable with you making a donation later online at the proper give.berkeley.edu website and will not demand payment over the phone right then and there. They can also offer to send follow-up emails/regular mail for pledges I believe.

I always pick up calls from 510. It's almost always a bear and it gives me great joy.

Rushinbear said:

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I just got a call from a someone claiming to be a Cal undergrad student calling from the Alumni Office. She wanted to ask me about my experience at Cal and what advice I could give her. I asked a few questions and she sounded plausible.

After giving her a few general responses, I said that's all I care to say. She THEN said that she is in fact a paid solicitor. Needless to say, I hung up. Having just last month avoided a very clever phone scam from who knows where for a LOT of money, I was not about to continue with her any further.

Just a heads up.

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"Having just last month avoided..."

Seems like you are gaining experience on scams from month/month. Never the less I'm going to block your number!

StillNoStanfurdium said:

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Rushinbear said:

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I just got a call from a someone claiming to be a Cal undergrad student calling from the Alumni Office. She wanted to ask me about my experience at Cal and what advice I could give her. I asked a few questions and she sounded plausible.

After giving her a few general responses, I said that's all I care to say. She THEN said that she is in fact a paid solicitor. Needless to say, I hung up. Having just last month avoided a very clever phone scam from who knows where for a LOT of money, I was not about to continue with her any further.

Just a heads up.

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Is this really the first time you've been contacted by the school Call Center asking for donations? They've been calling me for years now. It's very possibly legit but I'd recommend adding their number to your contacts if you want to ignore the calls in the future. The one I have in my records is 510-646-4099 so if that's where your call was from it's actually real.

Edit: I guess I'll also caveat that spam calls with ID spoofing is of course always possible, but that the school calling for donations from that number is also legitimate but that they should always be comfortable with you making a donation later online at the proper give.berkeley.edu website and will not demand payment over the phone right then and there. They can also offer to send follow-up emails/regular mail for pledges I believe.

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Yeah, I got my first one of these, what, 20-25 years ago? I was a little more naive back then, plus first time, so I talked to the guy for a while, though it seemed weirder and weirder. Then he was like, "so, can I put you down for $800?" (or something like that)

This is a crap way for the university to fundraise, IMO. I believe there was a thread about this here, years ago.

I get these periodically now and I just never pick up. They come up on my phone as "UC Berkeley". Kinda sad that I don't want to pick up a call "from" my alma mater. LOL, I guess pretty soon, the calls will read "Cal Berkeley"!

StillNoStanfurdium said:

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Rushinbear said:

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I just got a call from a someone claiming to be a Cal undergrad student calling from the Alumni Office. She wanted to ask me about my experience at Cal and what advice I could give her. I asked a few questions and she sounded plausible.

After giving her a few general responses, I said that's all I care to say. She THEN said that she is in fact a paid solicitor. Needless to say, I hung up. Having just last month avoided a very clever phone scam from who knows where for a LOT of money, I was not about to continue with her any further.

Just a heads up.

---

Is this really the first time you've been contacted by the school Call Center asking for donations? They've been calling me for years now. It's very possibly legit but I'd recommend adding their number to your contacts if you want to ignore the calls in the future. The one I have in my records is 510-646-4099 so if that's where your call was from it's actually real.

Edit: I guess I'll also caveat that spam calls with ID spoofing is of course always possible, but that the school calling for donations from that number is also legitimate but that they should always be comfortable with you making a donation later online at the proper give.berkeley.edu website and will not demand payment over the phone right then and there. They can also offer to send follow-up emails/regular mail for pledges I believe.

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I've gotten them, too, but first time for asking personal questions, and THEN announcing she was a solicitor (never said who she was soliciting for). Especially, after I announced my reluctance to say anything after having nearly lost money on a scam not long ago. She reassured me, asked her questions (answered), then made the announcement. I hung up and SHE CALLED ME BACK. That's why I have taken the trouble to give a heads up.

I had a similar call a few years back and the young lady sounded like she was hitting on me based on her questions and flirtatious nature. I should have asked her if she was single and interested in older men. I thought sugarbabies were more of a UCLA thing.

It went downhill after you asked her what she was wearing.

Rushinbear said:

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I just got a call from a someone claiming to be a Cal undergrad student calling from the Alumni Office. She wanted to ask me about my experience at Cal and what advice I could give her. I asked a few questions and she sounded plausible.

After giving her a few general responses, I said that's all I care to say. She THEN said that she is in fact a paid solicitor. Needless to say, I hung up. Having just last month avoided a very clever phone scam from who knows where for a LOT of money, I was not about to continue with her any further.

Just a heads up.

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I always answer my phone with "is this an unsolicited call?", which of course can be confusing. Maybe I should alter the semantics. It works though.

BTW, does anyone ever get called by some police support organization that lobbies in Washington where the guy talks nonstop and you can't get a word in? Well it's a legit organization in Virginia but, despite asking to be removed each and every time, he continues to call. He's a complete A-hole and I'm planning on filing a harassment complaint. He's called probably close to 50 times over the last 5 years. Imagine having to file a criminal complaint against a law and order group.

heartofthebear said:

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Rushinbear said:

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I just got a call from a someone claiming to be a Cal undergrad student calling from the Alumni Office. She wanted to ask me about my experience at Cal and what advice I could give her. I asked a few questions and she sounded plausible.

After giving her a few general responses, I said that's all I care to say. She THEN said that she is in fact a paid solicitor. Needless to say, I hung up. Having just last month avoided a very clever phone scam from who knows where for a LOT of money, I was not about to continue with her any further.

Just a heads up.

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I always answer my phone with "is this an unsolicited call?", which of course can be confusing. Maybe I should alter the semantics. It works though.

BTW, does anyone ever get called by some police support organization that lobbies in Washington where the guy talks nonstop and you can't get a word in? Well it's a legit organization in Virginia but, despite asking to be removed each and every time, he continues to call. He's a complete A-hole and I'm planning on filing a harassment complaint. He's called probably close to 50 times over the last 5 years. Imagine having to file a criminal complaint against a law and order group.

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Aw, now I feel slighted. He's only called me about 10 times.

Rushinbear said:

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heartofthebear said:

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Rushinbear said:

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I just got a call from a someone claiming to be a Cal undergrad student calling from the Alumni Office. She wanted to ask me about my experience at Cal and what advice I could give her. I asked a few questions and she sounded plausible.

After giving her a few general responses, I said that's all I care to say. She THEN said that she is in fact a paid solicitor. Needless to say, I hung up. Having just last month avoided a very clever phone scam from who knows where for a LOT of money, I was not about to continue with her any further.

Just a heads up.

---

I always answer my phone with "is this an unsolicited call?", which of course can be confusing. Maybe I should alter the semantics. It works though.

BTW, does anyone ever get called by some police support organization that lobbies in Washington where the guy talks nonstop and you can't get a word in? Well it's a legit organization in Virginia but, despite asking to be removed each and every time, he continues to call. He's a complete A-hole and I'm planning on filing a harassment complaint. He's called probably close to 50 times over the last 5 years. Imagine having to file a criminal complaint against a law and order group.

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Aw, now I feel slighted. He's only called me about 10 times.

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Okay, maybe I exaggerated. I honestly don't know. Maybe it's 50 times over 10 years. It could be 20 years. It's always the same voice/same guy. And he's real. It's not a robocall. The guy seems ageless like a cyborg. It's creepy.

Maybe we should start a petition. That's one thing I'd like to see added to this forum, is the ability to start a petition. We probably could have gotten Knowlton removed by now. Anyway, since folks want to remain anonymous here, I don't know how it would work. I have the name of the organization somewhere. I'll have to find it. Maybe I'll do it via another site.

By the way, don't donate. The money doesn't go to the police. It goes to a lobbying group that has a rather conservative and not necessarily valid approach to police safety.

That isn't a scam. It's a technique they use for asking for donations from alumni. It's legit and the callers are students (I remember a few from my fraternity doing this through school). You don't have to give them money or time but just to be clear it isn't a scam.