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SCam calls have reached denmark and they got my phonenumber....

The_Fire

Unimpressed Female
The_Fire
Joined
Jan 15, 2006
Messages
3,267
Location
8th level of Hell - Maleborgia
Probably not news, but I just had a call from an unspecified computer call center. Cut the foreign (and english speaking) lady off at "Hello,Im calling from the computer management center about your computer..." by saying "Call me again and I'll call the police on you.".

Her response "Ok, you do that I'll call you again tomorrow at the same time".

First of all; Its saturday and 19.48 pm when I get the call. Second: Tomorrow is Sunday. Noone in Denmark, aside from grocery stores, does buisness on Sundays. Third: The only compagnies I can think off whom would contact me pr. telefon would be my ISP, and they speak danish, or ebay/Bullguard/Paypal/microsoft certification center, the later ones would use email.


Anyone got any good responses or places I can complain to ? Just in case these idiots didn't get the message?
 
Good luck. They're calling from overseas using VoIP. Numbers won't be traceable. Best thing I can recommend is play dumb and waste their time so much they don't want to call back. They're likely going to talk you through giving them remote access to your computer and "fixing" things that aren't a problem at all, and trying to bill your credit card an obscene amount. Just play dumb, waste their time and make yourself as annoying as you possibly can.
 
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Unfortunately most of these setups have throw-away numbers. Once the scam has run its limit, the numbers get disconnected and the perpetrators move on. The company I work for got hit with this last month, and every phone in the whole organization received multiple calls from the scammers. They claimed to be from Microsoft, and had very thick Indian accents. I toyed with one for a while before I told him that he called up the IT department, and then he hung up.
 
Yalius said:
Good luck. They're calling from overseas using VoIP. Numbers won't be traceable. Best thing I can recommend is play dumb and waste their time so much they don't want to call back. They're likely going to talk you through giving them remote access to your computer and "fixing" things that aren't a problem at all, and trying to bill your credit card an obscene amount. Just play dumb, waste their time and make yourself as annoying as you possibly can.
Click to expand...

But first get a premium rate number and ask them to call you back on it.
 
Yalius said:
Good luck. They're calling from overseas using VoIP. Numbers won't be traceable. Best thing I can recommend is play dumb and waste their time so much they don't want to call back.
Click to expand...
That's what I normally do...

Tell them I need to reboot my computer... wait a while.
Tell them I'm having network connection problems... wait a while.

Then I do one of 2 things:
- Ask them how this affects my linux computer (since normally they say they are from some Windows call center)

- Better yet, ask them if these computer problems are going to affect the naked pictures of their mother that I have on the computer. That can get some rather enjoyable reactions...
 
I once upset one of these guys so much they hung up.
Me - I knew he was a fraud. He asked me how I knew.
Him - How do you know?
Me - It is all over the Internet. How long have been working for your company?
He then hung up.

Will have to try it again. They are getting better. At least their accent is not so strong.
 
There is no upside. Hang up, or better, just don't answer when they call.
 
One evening with not much else to do I received one of these calls and thought I would amuse myself by seeing how long I could keep them on the phone by tailoring all my responses as if my computer was a Sinclair ZX Spectrum.

A surprisingly long time as it turns out, around 20 minutes. They got quite frustrated and kept passing me from person to person. It was mildly amusing. Just silly things like "it says extend" whenever they tried to get me to open windows explorer. "It says integer not found" or "nonsense in basic" in response to various things they tried. They got me to restart a few times and when they asked if my computer now looked normal I replied "well the screen's all white and it says © 1982 Sinclair Research at the bottom." I think I told them that Horace goes Skiing is loading at one point as well.

When I eventually got bored I told them I was running a Linux OS and knew they were scammers. The guy on the phone at that point suddenly got extremely abusive, yelling racist insults at me such as filthy ******* white/pink pig and so on. I just laughed and told him to keep going, I'd rather he was wasting his time yelling at me than scamming some poor old lady. He eventually hung-up.
 
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If I am bored, I will toy with them. One of the amusing things I do play along up to the point of windows+R and type in eventvwr at which point my hearing suffers a malfunction.

Them: It's E V
Me: B-D
Them: No sir E-V-
Me: T-E-

This goes in circles for a while until they deploy the big gun of the NATO alphabet (usually this is preceded by a change of personel) and at this point I suffer spontaneous brain damage.

Them: Sir, that's E for echo..
Me: B for echo
Them: No sir E for ECHO
Me: That's what I said E for Bravo.

This can get a lot of mileage because they think they have a moron on their hands and are unwilling to lose such any easy mark.

Another fun strategy is to rename EVERYTHING.
Them: Please click the Start Menu
After much fruitless searching...
Me: OHHHHH. You mean the "begin clicker" I didn't like the words Microsoft used so I renamed everything.

Harder to pull off and I'm not sure which is funnier, consistent names or randomly changing names whenever you feel like it. On the one hand you get to give them lengthy corrections when they get it wrong but on the other hand when they complain that the "Begin Clicker" is now the "Blast off button" you get to supply the frustrating response "I renamed it" followed by "Why can't you keep up with updates to your own software?"

ETA: On the NATO alphabet thing, another fun thing to do is readback only the codes not actual letters. Often the wont notice a profane readback but will patiently correct you. Endless fun to be had with the substitution E for EWE.
 
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Sadists alphabet
A – Aisle
B – Bdellium
C – Czar, Ctenophore
D – Djembe
E – Euthanasia
F – Forgot
G – Gnu
H – Horses
I – Isle
J – Jalapeño
K – Knight
L – Llanelli
M – Mnemonic
N – Nguyen
O – Oujia
P – Pterodactly
Q – Quiche
R – Rzeznik
S – Say again
T – Tsunami
U – umm
V – Formation
W – Write
X – Xylophone
Y – Ypres
Z – Zyzygy
 
Wudang said:
Sadists alphabet
A – Aisle
B – Bdellium
C – Czar, Ctenophore
D – Djembe
E – Euthanasia
F – Forgot
G – Gnu
H – Horses
I – Isle
J – Jalapeño
K – Knight
L – Llanelli
M – Mnemonic
N – Nguyen
O – Oujia
P – Pterodactly
Q – Quiche
R – Rzeznik
S – Say again
T – Tsunami
U – umm
V – Formation
W – Write
X – Xylophone
Y – Ypres
Z – Zyzygy
Click to expand...
Surely that's Z for syzygy? And now I want to know how to do something pterodactly.
 
abaddon said:
If I am bored, I will toy with them. One of the amusing things I do play along up to the point of windows+R and type in eventvwr at which point my hearing suffers a malfunction.

Them: It's E V
Me: B-D
Them: No sir E-V-
Me: T-E-

This goes in circles for a while until they deploy the big gun of the NATO alphabet (usually this is preceded by a change of personel) and at this point I suffer spontaneous brain damage.

Them: Sir, that's E for echo..
Me: B for echo
Them: No sir E for ECHO
Me: That's what I said E for Bravo.

This can get a lot of mileage because they think they have a moron on their hands and are unwilling to lose such any easy mark.

Another fun strategy is to rename EVERYTHING.
Them: Please click the Start Menu
After much fruitless searching...
Me: OHHHHH. You mean the "begin clicker" I didn't like the words Microsoft used so I renamed everything.

Harder to pull off and I'm not sure which is funnier, consistent names or randomly changing names whenever you feel like it. On the one hand you get to give them lengthy corrections when they get it wrong but on the other hand when they complain that the "Begin Clicker" is now the "Blast off button" you get to supply the frustrating response "I renamed it" followed by "Why can't you keep up with updates to your own software?"

ETA: On the NATO alphabet thing, another fun thing to do is readback only the codes not actual letters. Often the wont notice a profane readback but will patiently correct you. Endless fun to be had with the substitution E for EWE.
Click to expand...

I love every bit of it.

I once told a scammer that I didn't own a computer and he I insisted I was a liar and started cussing at me.
 
abaddon said:
Harder to pull off and I'm not sure which is funnier, consistent names or randomly changing names whenever you feel like it. On the one hand you get to give them lengthy corrections when they get it wrong but on the other hand when they complain that the "Begin Clicker" is now the "Blast off button" you get to supply the frustrating response "I renamed it" followed by "Why can't you keep up with updates to your own software?"
Click to expand...


Your whole post was funny, but this is the best part.
 
Acting the idiot is fun. I used to torture would-be conservatory salesmen by showing great interest for a few minutes, before pointing out that I lived three floors up; but they were actually trying to sell a legit product, so I had some sympathy.

Scammers are fair game, but I suspect most of the sort in the OP are Asians earning a pittance in some sweatshop call centre.

Main thing is not to let stupid stuff like this upset you. If you are busy, just hang up. If at leisure, look on it as free entertainment and act the eedjit for as long as you want.
 
The longer you keep them on the phone, the less time they have to scam someone else and the more it impacts their bottom line.

Now if only everyone would do that, we'd be free of scammers.
 
Wudang said:
Sadists alphabet
A – Aisle
B – Bdellium
C – Czar, Ctenophore
D – Djembe
E – Euthanasia
F – Forgot
G – Gnu
H – Horses
I – Isle
J – Jalapeño
K – Knight
L – Llanelli LlanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantisiliogogogochM – Mnemonic
N – Nguyen
O – Oujia
P – Pterodactly
Q – Quiche
R – Rzeznik
S – Say again
T – Tsunami
U – umm
V – Formation
W – Write
X – Xylophone
Y – Ypres
Z – Zyzygy
Click to expand...

FTFY ;)
 
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Todays classic. A female caller for a change. We go through the usual malarkey with me timewasting all the way until we finally reach the "eventvwr" stage. After several false starts we arrive at the NATO alphabet....

HER: E for echo

ME: E for echo

HER: V for victor

ME: V for {female pudenda}

HER: E for echo

ME: Is there an echo in here? You said that already.

HER: No sir you need a second E

ME: OK now what?

HER: N for november

ME: N for {person of colour}

HER: T for tango

ME: T for {secondary female sexual characterists}

HER: V for victor

ME: What? Why do you need a second {female pudenda}

HER: {click}
 
I'm usually wary about getting creative - I'm always aware that they have my phone number and I'm sure it would be no problem to them to phone me at odd hours including 3 am every night for a week or two.
 
Henry Bannister said:
I'm usually wary about getting creative - I'm always aware that they have my phone number and I'm sure it would be no problem to them to phone me at odd hours including 3 am every night for a week or two.
Click to expand...

It would be a waste of their time. Better to go after another customer who may pay up.
 
The big sell here in TO is "Duct Cleaning". CBC TV (Marketplace ISTR) did a show on how it worked. If the calling crocks got a bite they would sell the info to a local firm. These firms typically came, cut a hole in your heating duct somewhere in your house, banged around with a hammer, spread dust on your furniture and tell you it was twice the price your were quoted and could become extremely abusive.

If I'm in the mood, I often start by asking why I would I needed my ducks and if they cleaned turkeys as well.

Yes, it's some poor slob in India trying to support his family but, as others in this thread have said, the only way it appears the scams can be stopped is to respond to all such calls with as much nonsense as possible, as long as possible until the process becomes too expensive for the scammer company owners. It is estimated that this will take a thousand years. :eek:
 
Sell 'em something.

"Hi there, I am Donnie from Seattle and am calling about a problem with your computer security." (And Donnie sounds suspiciously like your friend Pravit from Ahmedabad.)

"Well, Donnie. Speaking of security, do you know that most people do not put away enough savings in their working careers to take care of their loved ones in the event of a tragedy. We, here at Muskogee Mutual, want to help you prevent this from happening to YOUR family. Why for the low low price of only 134 rupees per month, you can assure that your children have a future if something should happen to you. You love your children, don't you Donnie?......"
 
GodMark2 said:
If you turn to a life of crime (In Oregon, these calls are, in fact, a crime), I don't care how many kids you 'have to support', I will do my best to thwart you.
Click to expand...

I think it is a crime here in Canada but it's difficult to apply Canadian laws to those in the country of India.

Thwart away and, if you find something that actually works, please let me know.
 
Gord_in_Toronto said:
I think it is a crime here in Canada but it's difficult to apply Canadian laws to those in the country of India.

Thwart away and, if you find something that actually works, please let me know.
Click to expand...

*57 to tell the phone company to 'trace' the call (actually, just to not purge the already existing call log info). Report call to local police. When the local VOIP service refuses to block the offending calls, they become liable for the fines.

I bet they'll find a way to stop the offending calls pretty quick after a couple fines. Their profit margins are razor-thin.
 
GodMark2 said:
*57 to tell the phone company to 'trace' the call (actually, just to not purge the already existing call log info). Report call to local police. When the local VOIP service refuses to block the offending calls, they become liable for the fines.

I bet they'll find a way to stop the offending calls pretty quick after a couple fines. Their profit margins are razor-thin.
Click to expand...

They don't call from within Canada. VOIP calls are virtually untraceable. The public switched telephone network was set up with the premise that only real telephone companies would connect to it and they would play by the rules. Not that users would abuse it by Caller_ID_spoofingWP.
 
Indeed I received a call today (that I did not pick up) that came from the number 001000000000. I'm pretty sure that it was important, what with such an impressive phone number, but they didn't leave a message.
 
I got two calls today, calling about my Microsoft computer. I laughed at them. Even if I didn't have a Mac I would have laughed at them. But it's odd I'd get 2 in one day specifically with the computer scam.
 
Foolmewunz said:
Sell 'em something.

"Hi there, I am Donnie from Seattle and am calling about a problem with your computer security." (And Donnie sounds suspiciously like your friend Pravit from Ahmedabad.)

"Well, Donnie. Speaking of security, do you know that most people do not put away enough savings in their working careers to take care of their loved ones in the event of a tragedy. We, here at Muskogee Mutual, want to help you prevent this from happening to YOUR family. Why for the low low price of only 134 rupees per month, you can assure that your children have a future if something should happen to you. You love your children, don't you Donnie?......"
Click to expand...

:D
 
abaddon said:
If I am bored, I will toy with them. One of the amusing things I do play along up to the point of windows+R and type in eventvwr at which point my hearing suffers a malfunction.

Them: It's E V
Me: B-D
Them: No sir E-V-
Me: T-E-

This goes in circles for a while until they deploy the big gun of the NATO alphabet (usually this is preceded by a change of personel) and at this point I suffer spontaneous brain damage.

Them: Sir, that's E for echo..
Me: B for echo
Them: No sir E for ECHO
Me: That's what I said E for Bravo.

This can get a lot of mileage because they think they have a moron on their hands and are unwilling to lose such any easy mark.

Another fun strategy is to rename EVERYTHING.
Them: Please click the Start Menu
After much fruitless searching...
Me: OHHHHH. You mean the "begin clicker" I didn't like the words Microsoft used so I renamed everything.

Harder to pull off and I'm not sure which is funnier, consistent names or randomly changing names whenever you feel like it. On the one hand you get to give them lengthy corrections when they get it wrong but on the other hand when they complain that the "Begin Clicker" is now the "Blast off button" you get to supply the frustrating response "I renamed it" followed by "Why can't you keep up with updates to your own software?"

ETA: On the NATO alphabet thing, another fun thing to do is readback only the codes not actual letters. Often the wont notice a profane readback but will patiently correct you. Endless fun to be had with the substitution E for EWE.
Click to expand...
:D
 
Gord_in_Toronto said:
They don't call from within Canada. VOIP calls are virtually untraceable. The public switched telephone network was set up with the premise that only real telephone companies would connect to it and they would play by the rules. Not that users would abuse it by Caller_ID_spoofingWP.
Click to expand...

The VIOP service is local and responsible for the call. The idea is to create complaints against them for making the illegal calls. They can complain that they're only passing on calls like any other phone company, but if they do that, they'll be responsible for blocking harassing calls like any other phone company. If they keep passing harassing calls, they'll get fined. Once they start getting nailed for the abuses their clients are making, they'll start implementing better screening of said clients, making VIOP unusable for scammers.

*57 doesn't get fooled by caller id spoofing. It doesn't care what the sent number claims to be, it just alerts the phone server to keep the record of connections so law enforcement can later retrieve it. The actual number used to originate the call (at the VIOP branch) is part of that record.
 
Rat said:
Indeed I received a call today (that I did not pick up) that came from the number 001000000000. I'm pretty sure that it was important, what with such an impressive phone number, but they didn't leave a message.
Click to expand...

That might have been me. Butt dialing again.
 
Rat said:
Indeed I received a call today (that I did not pick up) that came from the number 001000000000. I'm pretty sure that it was important, what with such an impressive phone number, but they didn't leave a message.
Click to expand...

I've received a few calls from 00000000 (or some number of zeroes). I suspect this is due to incompetent idiots who can't figure out how their Caller ID spoofing software works, otherwise why send up a red flag like that?
 
I've had calls from 04501, 0501 & a couple that came up as "out of area". I think I've also had 00100000000 & even 0001, if I get one of those or a "with-held" I don't answer them just let them go to the answer phone - funny, when I check the answer phone or use the screening function, I don't hear any messages. :confused:

;)
 
I go one better. I have a phone that I can change the ringtone depending on who calls. If it is a known spam number then the ringtone is silence.And as Lensman says they never leave a message. I guess no-one would call the Microsoft office in India.
 
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