Do you think I was born yesterday ?

[pvt_ak]

Some toss pot with what sounded like a South Asian accent just called me and said with true conviction that I have a virus and each time I boot my computer up I'm making all my personal data available to the world domain.

Him : "This means all of your personal data and bank account details could be stolen. But don't worry , I'm calling from BT and I can fix it for you. Just sit in front of your computer and I'll remotely connect and fix it."

.... I'm not even with frickin BT I'm with Virgin !! .. but didn't tell him that at this stage.

Sat in the comfort of my garden I played along for a few minutes ... kidding him I'm booting my PC up. And enquiring as to how he knows this. Convincing answers come back.

He must have been rubbing his hands in ghee (see what I did there ? ... GLEE ?!)

Anyhow in all seriousness I then said you best take my date of birth and make sure my records are correct :

He played along ... "sure sir, what is it ?"

Me : "31st May 2017"

Him : "Excuse me sir that's yesterday ?"

Me: " Yeah because you must think I was born yesterday you total and utter scamming b'strd !! And for the record I work for the UK Cyber Security Division for MI5 and I've been keeping you talking deliberately whilst I ping your IP address and despite your best attempts to block and divert have your exact location. Expect a visit... "

He hung up...

Now I'm savvy in this respect but what poor unsuspecting innocent victims must go along with this !?

Ps.. I don't work for MI5 !

Jeez !!


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[Chippy_Tea]

If i could do without a land line i would sack it today hardly anyone we want to talk to ring us on it.

You can buy a box that already has a list of known numbers on it that are blocked automatically and you can press a button to block a number if its annoying why cant the phone companies do this automatically.

 

[pvt_ak]

If i could do without a land line i would sack it today hardly anyone we want to talk to ring us on it.

You can buy a box that already has a list of known numbers on it that are blocked automatically and you can press a button to block a number if its annoying why cant the phone companies do this automatically.

Same here Chippy - it gets used only when Someone calls us - I use the mobile.

Cyber crime and scamming is the modern day mugging I'm afraid.


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[photek1000]

If you've got the time and the knowledge you can string them along for ages, rarely get called these days but if I do and I have the time my non-windows house hold can keep them trying for a long while.

Sometimes I feel sorry for the guys in these call centres as in reality they are just following scripts and don't really know it's malicious the majority of the time, but the people running these centres are utter scum preying on the vulnerable.

 

[Gerryjo]

I got called a few months back but the sounded middle eastern and strung him along but also reported to BT.
I was chatting to my brother who is a software architect and asked would it be possible to set up a PC that would attach a virus to anything that remotely accesses my PC and he said it's possible as all your doing is a reverse procedure of what they are doing and that has got me thinking hehehe....

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[geetee]

If you've got the time and the knowledge you can string them along for ages, rarely get called these days but if I do and I have the time my non-windows house hold can keep them trying for a long while.

Sometimes I feel sorry for the guys in these call centres as in reality they are just following scripts and don't really know it's malicious the majority of the time, but the people running these centres are utter scum preying on the vulnerable.

There are different types of scammers some much worse than others and in some African countries such as Nigeria it is a legitimate occupation. They have big warehouses full of people with phones as you say following scripts, passing the details on and the boss collecting the gains.

The first type of scammer "Hello I am Micheal from Microsoft" is fairly benign in that he is only after your details so they can empty your bank account. Not good but that is their prime objective and easily avoided, just hang up.

The second type that my sister in law got caught with, not once but three times is a bit more subversive. They got her on line somehow when she was vulnerable looking for single people instead of a dating website she got hooked online . Before long they had her facebook, bank account details and could actually pinpoint where she was at any time. They did not steal they asked her to send money to buy them out of the US army, sent a photo of a dead GI, and she did,£15,000
She was actually brainwashed and it took us months to stop this, I was even talking direct to the scammer with an african accent who claimed to be an an airforce base in Syria. She believed him rather than us even when OI told here there were no Americans stationed in Syria. He offered to turn up with a bag full of money and never did. She then got a second wave where someone from the FBI offered to get her money back if she just sent them £500. The third time was she had to pretend to be a fictitious person who had died and was about to inherit.She signed fake documents but we stopped her in time.

In all they brainwashed her, turned her against her family emptied her bank account ,threatened to blow up her house as they knew where she lived. She is a totally different person , in serious debt and mental health issues.

So when I hear Michael from Microsoft I remind him politely that he is not really who he says he is but only because I can't get near the other B@st@rds!

 

[Gerryjo]

There are different types of scammers some much worse than others and in some African countries such as Nigeria it is a legitimate occupation. They have big warehouses full of people with phones as you say following scripts, passing the details on and the boss collecting the gains.

The first type of scammer "Hello I am Micheal from Microsoft" is fairly benign in that he is only after your details so they can empty your bank account. Not good but that is their prime objective and easily avoided, just hang up.

The second type that my sister in law got caught with, not once but three times is a bit more subversive. They got her on line somehow when she was vulnerable looking for single people instead of a dating website she got hooked online . Before long they had her facebook, bank account details and could actually pinpoint where she was at any time. They did not steal they asked her to send money to buy them out of the US army, sent a photo of a dead GI, and she did,£15,000
She was actually brainwashed and it took us months to stop this, I was even talking direct to the scammer with an african accent who claimed to be an an airforce base in Syria. She believed him rather than us even when OI told here there were no Americans stationed in Syria. He offered to turn up with a bag full of money and never did. She then got a second wave where someone from the FBI offered to get her money back if she just sent them £500. The third time was she had to pretend to be a fictitious person who had died and was about to inherit.She signed fake documents but we stopped her in time.

In all they brainwashed her, turned her against her family emptied her bank account ,threatened to blow up her house as they knew where she lived. She is a totally different person , in serious debt and mental health issues.

So when I hear Michael from Microsoft I remind him politely that he is not really who he says he is but only because I can't get near the other B@st@rds!

Some people are so easily manipulated.I know someone very close and dear to me that was actually being groomed online.
Shan't go into details but took a year to get them back and what a horrendous time it was but has come through the other side.

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[Clint]

I have the great pleasure of telling them all to far cough....

 

[MrDasherD]

There are crooks out there - not a surprise really.

If you enjoy receiving this type of call - great! If not it's easy enough to stop them and if you have any vulnerable friends, family or neighbours then do the decent thing and help them to stop this type of call before they get caught.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

How is it easy to stop them?

 

[pvt_ak]

There are crooks out there - not a surprise really.

If you enjoy receiving this type of call - great! If not it's easy enough to stop them and if you have any vulnerable friends, family or neighbours then do the decent thing and help them to stop this type of call before they get caught.

I don't think anyone enjoys getting them - that was the point of my OP.

How do you stop them when the numbers are withheld ?


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[Gunge]

Let them have their say, then politely ask them if they're interested in your latest 3 for 2 deal on double glazing. It's ace how that one usually goes.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

A lot show as out of area.

 

[Mungri]

We had one ring our house when only my two daughters were in. My 12 year old answered and was told there was a problem with the computer and they needed to remotely access it.
Luckily she's smart enough and told the guy we didn't have a computer.
I was so angry when she told me, you can easily tell she's a child on the phone. They will exploit anyone .
You just have to be a cynic nowaday's and treat all unsolicited calls as if they're trying to rob you.

 

[dad_of_jon]

We had one ring our house when only my two daughters were in. My 12 year old answered and was told there was a problem with the computer and they needed to remotely access it.
Luckily she's smart enough and told the guy we didn't have a computer.
I was so angry when she told me, you can easily tell she's a child on the phone. They will exploit anyone .
You just have to be a cynic nowaday's and treat all unsolicited calls as if they're trying to rob you.

+1 Unfortunately these scum take advantage of the default human behavior to trust others. Remaining suspicious of ANY unsolicited contact is the best way to remain safe. Remember the door to door 'spazzing' that went on a few years ago? That was about as low as you could get.

 

[Gunge]

Remember the door to door 'spazzing' that went on a few years ago? That was about as low as you could get.

Probably, but must have been called something else around these parts. Go on - remind me what it was!

 

[MrDasherD]

I don't think anyone enjoys getting them - that was the point of my OP.

How do you stop them when the numbers are withheld ?


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There are several ways ... most will need you to have a caller display facility from your network (nominal fee usually about �£1 per month). I then splashed out on one of these http://www.telephonesonline.co.uk/b...ss-telephones-with-advanced-call-blocker.html (only cost me �£25 for a triple handset model ... shop around). Filters out all calls from unknown or withheld numbers and requires an announcement from those callers. You then choose to accept, decline or block for the future. It's got all the usual phone facilities as well of course (phonebook, texting, answering machine etc). I can't remember when I last received an unwanted call!

BT also have this option which I believe is free https://www.productsandservices.bt.com/products/phone/call-protect/ and I guess other networks will have something similar.

On my mobile ... I just never answer a number I don't recognise - if it's a genuine caller they can leave a voicemail!

 

[Gunge]

Anyone who phones my landline gets redirected to a **** line and it costs em £5 a minute hehe.

 

[Pavros]

Many years ago I had a call from someone saying he worked with the Halifax (I had actually just renewed my home insurance with the Halifax a month before). He said that they were moving into the home security market and would I tell him what security systems I used in my house!!
I replied, 'Yeah, right! Do you think I'm stupid enough to tell that to someone who has just cold called me?'
His response was, 'Why not? Other people I've spoken to have discussed it with me'
I put the phone down.
Nowadays I am not so tolerant and he would have received a mouthful of abuse before I slammed the phone down!

 

[pvt_ak]

There are several ways ... most will need you to have a caller display facility from your network (nominal fee usually about �£1 per month). I then splashed out on one of these http://www.telephonesonline.co.uk/b...ss-telephones-with-advanced-call-blocker.html (only cost me �£25 for a triple handset model ... shop around). Filters out all calls from unknown or withheld numbers and requires an announcement from those callers. You then choose to accept, decline or block for the future. It's got all the usual phone facilities as well of course (phonebook, texting, answering machine etc). I can't remember when I last received an unwanted call!

BT also have this option which I believe is free https://www.productsandservices.bt.com/products/phone/call-protect/ and I guess other networks will have something similar.

On my mobile ... I just never answer a number I don't recognise - if it's a genuine caller they can leave a voicemail!

Looks like BT do a good service here. I'm going to call Virgin and ask them how they compare.


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