Re: [lace-chat] Warning

[Linda Walton]

[with apologies for duplication to Lesley Blackshaw - when I sent this 
yesterday I was in a hurry to go out to an appointment and pressed on 
'reply' instead of 'reply all'  --  Linda]

I used to get these calls too, but I seem to have put a stop to them.
(Crossed fingers!)

Like you, Lesley, one of these calls arrived on a day when I was
prepared to waste time on it.  Usually I just told the girl that I
didn't have a computer, or to 'go phishing elsewhere' and the call would
be ended sharply, but a few days later there would be another one - very
tiresome.  The main problem is not just to stop the call at the time,
but to find a way to cause them to never want to call you again.  Simply
putting down the 'phone or being rude to them can produce 'revenge'
calls.  Twice I've had a series of calls in the middle of the night, and
when you pick up the call it simply goes to a little recorded 'goodbye'
message.  (This was exceptionally annoying when we were worried about a
relative who was very sick in hospital.)  They are impossible for
British Telecom to trace, of course, but I recognised the voice on the
recording from other calls.

So this time I decided to go along with them, and was transferred at
once to her 'supervisor'.  I pretended to follow his directions, but
also put in lots of jokes and flirtatious remarks.  Anyone listening to
a recording would know at once that I was merely spoofing him, but as he
took it all seriously I continued.  A couple of times he wondered if I
was really entering his instructions, and I assured him I was - although
tapping the keys helped me to have honesty in my voice, I didn't tell
him that the computer was switched off, and I did make notes of what he
was asking me to do.  Of course, I could only guess what he might have
expected the computer screen to be showing.  Finally, he had a tantrum
and announced that he would strike my name from his list, so that no-one
would ever offer to help me again, and I would be left with the problems
still on my computer, then he cut off the call in a huff.  (Dearie,
dearie me!  And he must have wasted a good quarter of an hour on me,
during which he wasn't annoying anyone else either.)

Success!  There haven't been any calls since then, (several months ago);
and, as there never were any problems with my computer, I'm perfectly
satisfied with it.

Since then I've tried other sorts of acting to get rid of this kind of
repeat scam callers.  A good one is to keep saying "Hello?"  as though
you can't hear them, (I see this as revenge for the sort of call where
it is silent when you first pick up).  Another tactic is to pretend that
the line is very bad, that you can hear their voice but not what they
are saying, and ask them to call back another time - it's surprising how
often they never do.  (I developed this one when we really were having
trouble with the line, and a man was working away on the box at the end
of the road for two days.)

Maybe these will help others - does anyone else have any schemes that
have worked?  I'd really like to know!

Linda Walton,
(in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, U.K., where we've been having a
remarkably mild January, especially compared to last year's deep snow,
but this morning there was a heavy frost).


On 13/01/2012 12:19, Lesley Blackshaw wrote:
> On 13/01/2012 11:58, David C COLLYER wrote:
>> >>>>Dear Friends,
>>
>> this afternoon about 4:00 o'clock I received an unusual phone call on
>> my landline. A woman asked me whether I had looked at my "computer
>> management page" as they'd sent me a number of messages lately telling
>> me I was spreading trojans and worms. In wondered what she actually
>> meant by "computer management page"?? <<<<
>
>
> Variations of this call are our most frequent 'spam' phonecalls at the
> moment. In particular telling us that there are serious security issues
> with our Windows computers. When we say that we only have Macs the call
> is cut off; same thing happens if we say we don't have a computer. I did
> once let the guy waffle on for ages, pretending to input everything he
> asked me to (I was bored and putting off a job I didn't want to do).
> When he asked me what I could now see on my screen I spelled out T H I S
> I S A S C A M. That also resulted in the phone call ending somewhat
> abruptly.
>
> There are so many mallicious calls and emails these days, it's sometimes
> difficult to pick out genuine callers.
>
> Lesley
> Marple UK

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