Apparently a new scam....

[yank51]

Seems that there is a new scam going on (at least for me). My wife just told me that while I was out, she received a phone call, from someone who obviously didn't have English as his native tongue. He started his conversation with the statement "Hello, I'm from tech services (no company name here) and it appears that your internet may have been hacked".

Well, my wife, who know about these types of scams, proceeded to tell the guy, well look, I wasn't expecting a call from anyone, so I'm hanging up the phone. And she did just that!! Proud of her. :applause:
But, my point is, has anyone else heard of this one? I do live in central GA, so if anyone else here in the southeast has heard of this, let me know...

[rdaniell]

Hey Yank. I live in South Georgia and my wife has answered a few of those type calls. They always start out with something about her computer and then she answers: "Well, that's funny as I don't own a computer." Then there is the hangup sound...

We have caller id but, my chief operating office likes to answer some of the "unknown" calls just for the heck of it. I've heard her talk for 4 or 5 minutes before the caller finally gets the message and they hang up.

RD

[Kiwikat]

I kind of wish I'd get a call like this. I'd totally mess with em. :mixedsmi:

Being in IT has its perks!

[yank51]

Yeah, I wished I'd have taken the call also. I think why my wife even hesitated was because of the fact we just changed ISPs, from satellite (Hughes) to wireless (AT&T), and I JUST cancelled the Hughes yesterday. The internet comment I think threw her for a moment, but just a moment....lol

[Daveroo]

i got a call just yesterday from a man who sounded asian,very broken english,said he was from microsoft,and that my computer was at risk ,he then said he was looking at my computer at the time,,so i said..wait,you say you have eyes IN my computer?..looking at my files?...he said sir,i have microsoft permission to do so since you have windows 7 installed,i then said...well sir,stop right there,,this computer infront of me has windows vista installed..(which is true),and then i added,are you familure with what a district attorney is?,,he mumbled something,,then i said...well im at work in the county district attorneys office and i want your name and location,were tracing your call now......i heard "click":icon_eek:

[Naismith]

I tell 'em I don't possess a computer, that seems to totally throw them off balance for a bit before they hang up.

[Cees Donker]

I received a similar a few weeks ago. I told the lady immediately I thought she was a fraud and that I didn't believe her....

Cees

[kilo delta]

I kind of wish I'd get a call like this. I'd totally mess with em. :mixedsmi:

Being in IT has its perks!

I've had a few of these calls over the past couple of years, the last of which was last week. I too took the option of stringing them/him along until he finally gave up and hung up on me!:icon_lol:
In the most recent call, when he mentioned that my computer was at risk, I claimed to be running a Mac...he hung up instantly.:icon_lol::icon_lol::icon29:

[demorier]

Had a couple of those type of call some time back here in Oz....it was pretty obvious something was not right to me so I just hung up.

[mgchrist5]

I received a similar call last year. I usually never answer calls from phone numbers I don't recognize, but I answered only because the spoofed number was from an area code where several friends and family members live. Now I just don't answer ANY calls from unfamiliar numbers.

If this wasn't a family forum, I'd express my true feelings on what I'd like to see happen to these odious scammers. They're beneath contempt. :angryfir:

[aeronca1]

Just say: "I'm really happy you called, I have wanted to find out what this internet thing was for years. Let me get a pen and paper and I'll take notes. OK, now, what is a internet?"

[johnh_049]

the main clue that it's a scam is after their long spiel telling how dangerous your situation is, they want to ask you some questions.
like what's your name, where do you live, what kind of computer do you have...

[Naismith]

I read somewhere a few weeks back that if you repeatedly hit the Hash key (#) on your 'phone, then then calling machine thinks it is calling a Fax machine and consequently the number is removed from its database. Obviously this relates only to automatic dialers and I'm not even sure it works or not. All I can say is I seem to be getting less of these calls whereby no-one is there since I adopted this practice.
Now all that remains is to somehow stop the electioneers who seem to think 604 is a U.S. number. I get about 3 a week at the moment.

[Naismith]

An interesting development in the UK

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2223794/Cold-callers-left-feeling-blue-Homeowner-wins-damages-time-wasted-answering-phone.html

[GypsyBaron]

I'm being inundated, again, by those robo-calls. My ISP/POTS provider has options to ignore all
'unknown' calls but the scammers are munging numbers so the caller ID sees a valid number
and passes the calls.

When the phone rings and I see the ID I just lift thereceived and enter a bunch of ####### keys and hangup.

There is not a lot you can do about these scumbags that use the robo-dialers to try to sell you a product or
in many cases, scam you. The numbers they mung often belong to real businesses which are NOT responsible for
the calls. Being on the US 'do not call' list makes absolutely no difference.

Until the Feds come up with a means to trace these calls back to the actual source and prosecute the dirtbags, we
are at the mercy of technology gone bad!

Paul