Telemarketers Doc Takes Viewers Inside the World of Sketch Scam Calls

Earlier this year, my mother was a victim of a Norton Antivirus software scam.   Ultimately, she was encouraged to physically withdraw a ridiculously large amount of money to be taken it to a second location for deposit.  Smelling a scam, we took a little field trip to the bank and this young scammer insisted staying on the line with my mother  until the transaction had been completed.  Needless to say we hung up, Being persistent, the scammer  continued to ring back numerous times within the hour before eventually ceasing all communication.  As a precaution, her hard drive was scrubbed, any and all malware was deleted.  This was an all day event and luckily I was home to assist. The possibilities of what may have occurred if I hadn’t been there to stop it makes my blood run cold,

In my own personal nightmare, supposedly the Sheriffs office who claimed to be outside to repossess my car.  As someone who has seen repos in the past – there is NEVER a warning from a Sheriff or anyone else. If you don’t listen to anything I say or pay attention to anything I ever write – heed this warning on telemarketers.

Directed by Adam Bhala Lough,  alongside his cousin Sam Lipman-Stern and produced by the Safdie brothers, Telemarketers is spread over  three episodes on HBO about the scripted calls and an incessant desire all for the sake of ciphering dollars from seniors or those who are ill-informed about the world of telemarketers and how they operate.

In 2001, Stern was a teenage high school dropout working at Civic Development Group (CDG), a telemarketing company that operated out of central New Jersey who pocketed millions of dollars of donations via phone calls made by former inmates calling on behalf of charitable organizations. All of this with an office filled with drug use, partying, and impromptu tattooing. If they succeeded in their mission, the organization would receive 10% of a donor’s pledge while keeping the rest.

At times resembling  a 20/20 news exposé segment, the sometimes hard to swallow truth is on full display for audiences to digest and become educated about scams from some of the best to ever do it.  What’s most heartbreaking is watching the struggle of their colleague Pat Pespas with his addiction issues, as well as, their attempts turning to Washington for help.  Meetings would be set, yet no tangible prospects of any legislation coming from the politicians whose salaries are funded to serve their constituents.

Now, with AI and robo calls on the rise, telemarketing scams are at an all time high.  Even after registering for the Do Not Call List and blocking numbers at a fevered pitch, one may still receive between 5-10 on a daily basis. What Telemarketers does best is educate potential victims (particularly the elderly) against throwing away their pension and learning to be a little more savvy the next time you pick up your phone.