Potential Scam

[CINDERS]

We have a silent number so it still amazes me how they get the stuff oh well not to worry I make their brief time thoroughly educative so they can pass their experience on.....

About legit phone personnel
F10 having just finished my brief career with centerlink on the phones (not sales was people pensions & CCB payments) we have a loud noise buffer that should a loud noise like a bursting paper bag or whistle be used the system keeps it to a level that wont damage our ears.

I have had some pretty tough gigs in my working life but that was one of the toughest, the DV ones did me in as one lady sounded like a trapped animal hiding in a room from her husband who was due home, we resolved the situation for her as the company has allot of tools at hand including phone No. tracking and a hotline to the nearest police station.
Whilst many people gaff centerlink have a go at the phones or the walk in centers and you will change you thoughts on them they have a very high rate of personnel suffering break downs due to physical threats or emotional trauma.

One worker in Qld at a walk in center had a customer come in get peeved off at the outcome of the meeting left then came back with a can of petrol and doused that person in it and tried to set them alight thankfully he was over powered after the initial shock wore off from the bystanders.

[enfield303t]

There's so many organisations in the U.K. using Indian call centres now that you do get legitimate calls from things such as Utility companies where the call has obviously come from India, judging from the accent. You don't want to put the phone down if it's legitimate and important but equally you don't want to get ripped off. I did wonder whether to keep a loud whistle by each of my phones so that I can give the next scammer something to listen to when I get the next call, but in this day and age they'll probably have me up for assault.

Not sure about laws in other countries but here in Canada you can ask to speak to a representative in Canada and they must immediately transfer you to Canada.

[enfield303t]

I usually fill those out with friend's contact info, just to be helpful of course.

Honestly, what friend wouldn't want a timeshare investment seminar over the phone at supper time?

My daughter filled out one of those when underage and they called her, didn't realize the implications of calling someone underage and believe me the SHTF. They neglected to check her age or ask it on the first call and the company got in deep trouble.

[browningautorifle]

I did wonder whether to keep a loud whistle by each of my phones

It's dialed by computer so there's no human effort. They don't know who you are, who did what or if they've talked to you last night. They have the call display of your info and they call hundreds each day.

[Flying10uk]

Thanks Jim. Hopefully I'll be better prepared next time.

[TDH]

My wife and daughter often were shocked at how rude and crude I would be to these gutter slime. I would always love it when they would blurt out "you don't have to be rude" to which I would reply that I didn't call them they called me and I could be as crude as I wanted and if they didn't like it they could go have sex with a goat or something instead of bothering me. Use a lot of descriptive pronouns about their deviant sexual practices wit all creatures large and small and if they have heavy mid eastern accents make sure you mention pork or camels. They will hang up I assure you. Sometimes I would get 7 or 8 calls a day. But alas I no longer have a land line and my present location doesn't like cell service so I have not had these pleasant conversations in a few years

[Ronbo6]

I have received about a dozen calls from 'this guy' in the past two years or so. I peg his accent as from India.

He identifies himself as being from Microsoft and claims knowledge that YOUR computer is at risk.

First warning: Where is he getting the information that YOUR COMPUTER is having trouble, and HOW did he get the phone number related to that computer"

Second warning: Microsoft doesn't care a fat rat's *** about how your computer is running and are NOT going to pay someone to call you to straighten out problems.

If there IS a Microsoft-correctable problem, it is far more likely they would put an update out that would download to your computer when you are connected to the Web, and will then download automatically the next time the computer is shut off.

Besides, this is why you buy anti-virus software. The guy is simply a crook.

The guy will eventually ask for your IP address and your passwords so he can get in there to 'fix' things. What he is actually doing is using his computer to suck your computer dry of credit card numbers, bank account information, and anything else that he can steal of monetary value. If he has sufficiently advanced software, he can remotely turn your computer on at a later time when you are not around to allow a more thorough search.

My big dream is to connect up a SERIOUSLY virus-infested computer up with no useful information on it at all to my IP address and let this crook connect to it and infect his computer so he loses the information he has scammed out of other people he has called.

Don't fall for it. Call him a jerk, a crook, an idiot, and anything else insulting you can think of. If he is still on the line after that, be sure to ask him if anybody even falls for this cr*p anymore just before you hang up on him.

[Flying10uk]

Even with my very limited I.T. skills I knew that he was talking a load of rubbish as soon as he started saying about the Windows Software on my computer because I have an Apple Lap Top.