DISREGUARDIAN: The number of scam callers are rising and they are on the hunt for people’s personal information. One successful owner of a scam business, Ryan Kante, is running for President of the United States due to his own “welfare” plan. 

The recent years featured a surge of scam callers. According to USA Today, This past January, there were 130 million robo-calls sent out in America on a daily basis. 

During the pandemic, there were various of these centers that ended up closing up due to the financial constraints and the ability to make any kind of calls. 

The consequences of these callers can lead to the exploitation of those vulnerable with memory or language issues by relaying sensitive information. 

The callers may pose as an established institution attempting to get a social security number from the person they call. In other cases, there are potential charges left on a made-up account that need to be paid, leading to the caller asking for credit card information. 

With either method, the people who fall victim to these callers place their identity or finances into jeopardy. A student at UCSD suffered from this similar fate. Kellen Waters, a second-year student from Thurgood Marshall College, answered a call from a tele-scammer which led him to giving away his card information. 

“The person said that they were with the IRS and that I owed four thousand dollars,” Waters told The UCSD Guardian. “I believed them because I had been working since I was 15 and it is possible I forgot to do something. I sent over my information via the phone to get it over with. My friend saw the number and recognized that it was a number that previously called him too, but he looked it up and saw that it was a scam.”

Stories like Kellen’s present the potential consequences of answering and believing what these callers tell people. With so many calls going out on a daily basis, there are a lot of opportunities for the owners of the call centers to make money.

In the market of scam telemarketers, no one does it like Ryan Kante. The 28-year-old established a business that has yielded plenty of profits, enough to fund a staff of 100 callers, 20 creative directors, and an office building in downtown San Diego. 

His group, known as the “better IRS,” specializes in scamming as the IRS. The group tells their target that they either owe money or are eligible to receive money. 

The voice that first speaks is a robot and if the person stays connected, there is a person ready to retrieve the other person’s information.

“It is so easy,” Kante told The Guardian. “I don’t need to have so many staff members introduce themselves. All I need is to create a robotic voice to filter out everyone that does not answer. If they stay on the line, we rope them in with a serious delivery and follow the exact same cadence as the actual IRS. We copy them better than anyone and that is what separates us from the competition.”

Kante developed his skills as an IRS impersonator by taking careful notes when calling them. He used these notes and Reddit threads detailing their experiences with the IRS to create a program for the rest of his employees to adopt and apply. 

His success as a scammer allows him to pay his employees very well so they do not have to work another job and provides plenty of benefits like insurance and a retirement plan. Kante also donates to other charities and organizations in an effort to spread his wealth. 

“What I have going on in my company is revolutionary with the payments and structure provided to all of my workers,” Kante told The Guardian. “I feel like this is just the beginning, I have a feeling that this plan can become the standard nationwide. I know how I get my money is illegal, but I do a better job of distributing wealth than the welfare programs here in America.” 

And thus, Kante is running for President of the United States during the 2024 Presidential Election. Because of his focus on welfare, he feels that he aligns more with the Democractic party. 

He will continue to run the scam call business up until the Democractic primary starts. He is willing to take donations from people who would like to donate. His donation methods are centered around calling people on a daily basis and going door to door to ask for money. 

“America’s system is broken right now,” Kante told The Guardian. “There needs to be innovation from the top down and if we are going to beat President Trump’s re-election campaign, there needs to be something radical injected into our party. I think I can add some spice to this race and make people care about what happens in politics. My formula works really well and I believe in the people making the right decision in the primary.” 

While there are no criminal charges yet, Kante’s plan is centered around having any court cases to be drawn out through the courts until he wins office. Once elected president, he wishes to pardon himself.

One worker, who wishes to be called “blocked number,” fully believes in Kante’s ambitions and plans to become president. He detailed how Mr. Kante changed his life. 

“I was working at a graveyard shift at Seven Eleven. I had three kids and I was looking for a second job,” the worker told The Guardian. “Kante approached me with a job at a call center while I was working. He bought a slurpee and offered a tremendous amount of money. I was willing to do anything at that price and I have been happy every day of my life. If he did this for a random guy, he can do it for anyone.” 

The entire staff will shift focus to the campaign once the election kicks off with an “all hands on deck” approach. 

All of the money and stress imposed on victims presented the opportunities for Kante to succeed and develop this welfare plan. Come election time, people are going to weigh the crimes he committed against the overall positive impact his plan could have. 

The results could show how far the American people are willing to go for a new system or Mr. Kante could end up behind bars. 

His slogan is “Always on call” with signs and T-shirts already ordered for everyone to buy. 

Photo Courtesy of Lindsey LaMont of Unsplash.