I've got them thinking my 'phone's downstairs and my computer's up.
They're going to call me back in five minutes after I've typed 'teamviewer' and given them the password etc. As if!
The 'phone's off the hook to let them think I'm on a call.
I can probably keep them going by saying 'I must've typed that wrong'.
Any other suggestions to wind them up?
Perhaps a sweepstake to see how long I can keep them going?
It's a boring afternoon!!!
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I just had one of those calls, or something similar. Asian-sounding gentleman who was kindly calling about my computer.
Told him he was about to tell me there was something wrong with it, which there isn't, and that he would try to sell me something to fix it, which wasn't needed. Told him also what I thought about his call. I may have mentioned the words "spam call". I probably raised my voice slightly and I think I put the phone down a bit hard.
I did feel better afterwards.
Last edited by: FocalPoint on Tue 8 May 12 at 16:50
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Sadly an elderly friend allowed a similar scam remote access to his PC and it was ruined and they tried to use credit card details they found on the computer within minutes of their scan.
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I had a few like this - maybe the same - a few months back. So I spent 40 minutes stringing them along the first time and a little less the second.
I quickly established they were not Microsoft so thought best keep them busy to not bother anyone else :-)
If it was the same, they claim they will scan your computer for free. And then will charge to remove the problems they find. I actually kept telling them I had a Mac but they didn't quite get that it was different. They probably couldn't even do anything to Macs.
The second time I actually gave in and confessed I was wasting their time because they wanted to waste mine. They then hung up. But the first time I had them getting supervisors and all sorts involved.
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We get calls for someone who must have once had our number. Can go ages without one and then get loads. If it was not for some genuine sounding ones (like teaching agency with work) I'd say it was an excuse to circumvent the rules on cold calling.
Often when you say there is no one of that name here and please delete they ignore that and then want to talk to you instead.
One was once reluctant to go away even when I explained I had no need of what they had to offer. They seemed convinced I must somehow.
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I don't answer the phone if the number is witheld anymore. That has cut the numbers down more than being on TPS.
I certainly wouldn't waste my time stringing them along, I have far more interesting things to do.
Pat
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I don't even have to do that Pat! I pay my phone provider £1 a month and anybody who rings me from a witheld number gets a message saying that I don't accept withheld number calls. I don't think I miss anything important!
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You actually may miss a few - but if it's that important, they'd write next.
Reason being, a lot of big companies have to pay more to support 'caller line identification' and in the case of the BBC, I know they consider it a waste of money. (I used to work for them).
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Most of these come up as International rather than withheld. As SWMBO's brother lives in Ireland they get answered but the long pause while an agent takes the autodialled call gets me ready to brush them off.
Have neither the ingenuity or the patience to string them along.
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>> I don't even have to do that Pat! I pay my phone provider £1 a
>> month and anybody who rings me from a witheld number gets a message saying that
>> I don't accept withheld number calls. I don't think I miss anything important!
If we did that I'd never be able to call my wife from work. It's a very blunt instrument and one day somebody who really needs to speak to you will be blocked, if it hasn't happened already.
In fact, if she sees "number withheld" she assumes it's me, and it usually is.
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>> I don't answer the phone if the number is witheld anymore.
I don't answer "international unavailable" calls, but I answer "number withheld" calls. Some organisations, which I want to get calls from, and where the call goes through a switchboard come up as "number withheld".
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I had a call from a very Indian sounding "Frank from Microsoft" a year or so ago.
I quickly devised a plan to waste as much of his time as possible. First of all, I played dumb, partly to give me time to think, and partly to keep him interested. After he explained the website he wanted me to go to, and the various permissions he wanted me to give to let his malware run on my machine, I explained that my PC ran something called 'Apple' and would that work OK?
After he tied himself up in knots for another minute or so, I said that actually I don't own a computer at all, and lied about it to him because I didn't want to feel socially inferior in this digital age.
He then became angry, and abusive, and started shouting various insults down the phone at me. I told him I wasn't impressed with Microsoft's customer service, and did Bill Gates know his call centre staff were so rude? He hung up.
These cheating scumbags are a fact of life, so you might as well have a bit of fun with them. I've got a 419 mail scammer that I've been stringing along for 6 weeks now. He still thinks I'm going to send him 450 Euros to release paperwork in Malaysia to enable me benefit from the will of a long deceased relative with an unclaimed estate of 10m euros..... Parasites, the lot of them.
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I do hope they call me, I haven't rebuilt the main PC yet and it has no internet connection, that should be a really interesting call.
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I find "I am not interested in talking to you" when they identify themselves plus replacing the phone tends to dampen enthusiasm greatly...
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Had one of these a few weeks ago - they phoned to tell me I had a problem with my computer.
I thanked him and told him that indeed I did have a problem and there was smoke coming out the back of it. After a while it became flames and the thing was on fire and could he help me put it out.
He eventually swore at me and hung up but as was mentioned further up the thread, if they do it often enough they will find someone who will be a victim.
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>>there was smoke coming out the back of it. After a while it became flames and the thing was on fire
I was volunteered to take over the telex fault reporting desk when a callow apprentice and a more experienced colleague used this ploy as a 'wind-up'. I never did get my own back, thanks, I'll probably use it.
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In my doddery old age I can't recall if I posted this before, or someone did, but anyway. This is one way of dealing with unwanted calls.
www.break.com/usercontent/2007/8/telemarketer-homicide-prank-call-356430
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>> In my doddery old age I can't recall if I posted this before
If you (or someone) did, thanks for re-posting - excellent :)
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Wonder what I am doing wrong.
I have never had any unsolicited calls whatsoever, nor any scammer emails, nor has my PC ever been infected by viruses.
I must lead a very sheltered life.
Last edited by: John H on Thu 10 May 12 at 16:36
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>> Wonder what I am doing wrong.
>>
>> I have never had any unsolicited calls whatsoever, nor any scammer emails, nor has my
>> PC ever been infected by viruses.
>>
>> I must lead a very sheltered life
You must be a right miserable sod when even scammers, viruses, and cold callers ignore you!
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Actually, I told a lie.
I did get one attempted infection yonks ago from a shared USB stick at work, but it was immediately picked up and blocked.
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>>I have never had any unsolicited calls whatsoever, nor any scammer emails,
That's amazing...
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I can understand the unsolicited calls because we've never had any either, but even I peer in my junk mail folder from time to time and find a few scam emails, although not many it has to be said. Perhaps two or three a year?
That may be, of course, because I don't have a personal email address, and the work one is well protected behind umpteen things.
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I hate to tempt fate, but I can't remember receiving any scam emails or unsolicited calls either.
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I don't receive any spam/scam to my primary e-mail address - never ever used it in any website other than my banking sites in the 15 years plus I've had it. It's also linked to a Gmail account (e-mails automatically forwarded) an account I use for a lot of stuff on line - shopping sites etc etc - still no spam thanks to the excellent filters on the Gmail site. I also use a third account a Hotmail account (some of you have communicated with me on that) which I've had for at least 15 years as well, it receives quite a lot of spam/scam but that goes into any website I need an e-mail account on. Found out the other day that I'd signed up to the TPS via my BT phone account, not had an unsolicited call on that in the twelve months we've been here.
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Ah that's a thought, Virgin does do some spam filtering so maybe it's just that it doesn't reach me.
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I just tell them they'll have to speak to me in Lithuanian (or somesuch) because I don't understand English.
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I tell them that I'm glad they called and I'd like to talk to them about God.
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"Windows support team" cold call. - FocalPoint
