(fwd) Strange telephone call

[frogfarm@yakko.cs.wmich.edu (Damaged Justice)]

>From: vandy@avana.net (Vandy Terre)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban,alt.pagan,alt.revenge,alt.snowmobiles,ga.forsale,ga.general,misc.consumers.frugal-living,misc.rural
Subject: Strange telephone call
Date: Wed, 18 Sep 1996 14:27:05 GMT
Organization: Tanglewood Farm
Lines: 59
Message-ID: <323ffe3d.188173@news.avana.net>

This message is being cross posted to several groups that I read in an
effort to find an answer to my questions.  Please email replies, not
all posts make it to my server.  If you must answer on the net, please
trim headers.

Okay, this is the story.  I just received a strange telephone call.
My caller ID system shows only 'OUT_OF_AREA-----000-----'.  The female
voice claimed to be taking a survey for the Department of Defense and
that she was acting as a representative of my government.  She did not
say US Government or State Government, just 'your government'.  

When I said that there was no way for me to verify she was what she
claimed, she gave me a business name, supervisor's name and an 800
telephone number.  She claimed this survey had to do with a Department
of Defense program named 'YATS' and told me that if my household did
not qualify, then our telephone number would be removed from the
calling list.  She then ask the same question three different ways.
The question was 'Is there anyone in your household between the ages
of 16 and 24?'.  When I said no for the third time, she said we did
not qualify and hung up.

So here are my questions.

Was this a legitimate call?  The government should already know
exactly how many people are in my household.  It is on my tax forms
every year and many other places.

Why would any government office or representative of a government
office be making cold calls to unknown telephone numbers for any kind
of survey?

Who or what is 'Westat'?  This is the name of the company this woman
supposedly represented.

The telephone number given to me is 1-800-638-8778.  The same woman
answered it as called me.  Seems like a company doing a survey for the
government would have more than one employee.  Her supervisor's name
is Chris Martin.  Is she Chris Martin?  In a single person office, I
guess you would be your own supervisor.  The woman never gave her
personal name.

This survey was supposed to be for the Department of Defense for a
program named 'YATS'.  What is YATS?

My biggest question is, Is this a new face on an old scam?  Instead of
posing as the local fire department looking for donations, are the
scam-artist now posing as the government?  What a way to case a home
in preparation for theft or running yet another scam of questionable
legality.  Yes, I am a very suspicious person.  I have seen too many
scams being run.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.  Please answer by email.
Please trim headers if answering on the net.  Thank you.


Any significantly advanced scam          vandy@avana.net 
is indistinguishable 
from religion.                           Georgia, USA


-- 
frogfarm@yakko.cs.wmich.edu (Damaged Justice) is officially declared Unmutual.
  "Would I had phrases that are not known, utterances that are strange, in
     new language that has not been used, free from repetition, not an
      utterance which has grown stale, which men of old have spoken."