I just got a call from the USPTO (probably not). Arlington VA caller ID - Phone # 1-571-272-6500. That is a number supposedly associated with the USPTO per Google but most likely spoofed.
Nice woman with a British accent - this is just a verification call, blah blah blah, goes over some of the publicly available info on a recent application from late Oct. I verify all of that and then she goes into needing a CC for a couple of fees which is where I slammed on the brakes. I told her to contact our Attorney on file who takes care of all of this for us. She then goes on to say that our application will be put on hold. I said OK, all you have to do is reach out to our Attorney through an official USPTO notice and we will get right on it.
As I understand it, the USPTO will never call you.
Just a heads up because this seemed REALLY real, phone # and all. I donāt believe that it was.
I didnāt answer the phone the first time. She immediately called back seconds later.
That was another piece of this I should have included.
Alsoā¦ When I started questioning the call, she said to go on the internet to check the phone #
When you google it, itās an official USPTO #
And then thereās thisā¦
The bottom line here is this was, for sure, the best executed scam Iāve ever seen and if I wasnāt someone with experience, I would have fallen for it so, yea, PEOPLE DO SUCK!
Imagine being some really excited new Amazon seller with a TM application and getting the call?
You got a higher chance of getting struck by lightning.
People spend time and effort trying to steal credit card information because using a random number generator doesnāt come up with valid ones. Giving them bogus information basically means theyāll waste time (and possibly screw up a scam) with the fake info.
I got a call from that number and called USPTO and as soon as I told them the number, he told me it was a scam. That is their number, but they donāt make those types of calls from that number. The guy filed a report for me, even though I did not ask him to.
My sister in Maine was struck by lightening a few years ago, and it blew out everything that was attached to an outlet: Computers, toasters, dishwashers, refrigerators. Not fun, but at least she has access to propane and a wood stove.
Lightening strikes also ruined, just after finishing, a few of the houses her husband renovates, as a master carpenter.
I was close to a lightning strike once. I donāt know where, but it was somewhere very close, as I could see, feel, and hear it in the house. That was the closest I ever was to lightning, and it was scary.
At my current house, our neighbors across the street had their solar panels get hit a couple summers ago. That was wildā¦
Had it on camera from my security system. All you see is the smoke, camera didnāt pick up the lightning I guess because of the speed. You could see the sky brighten, but not the bolt.
I was actually outside with my daughter, under our overhang watching the storm bc we are both weather freaks. It did happen, but when I āwent back to the videotapeā, wasnāt much to see sadly.
I do this as well if I have time to mess with scammers. I keep them on as long as I can. I figure if they are on the phone with me, they arenāt stealing from someone that doesnāt know they are being scammed.
