Harry,

Oh I’m your understudy…we haven’t answered a phone call in years unless the 
phone announces someone we know…it goes to voicemail and if it’s important they 
will leave a message…AND, AT&T has an iPhone app that allows me to view those 
voices mails messages as text…it is very good at getting the translation darn 
near perfect….and of course I can view them from any location, I don’t have to 
be home to retrieve the call.  Once I view the message it’s erased from the 
phone as well.  If the translation is garbled then I can still listen to the 
voice recording.  

I keep the landline due to the ADT alarm system that has to have good 
connectivity to work properly…and ADT also text me as soon as someone enters 
the home so I know who is there and when they leave as they send me another 
text…the log has all activity to view…it’s really a good system…it’s actually 
costing me nothing as the monthly fee is offset 100% with the discount on my 
homeowners insurance..

I never answer a call on the iPhone unless I know who it is…I “tap” the face of 
the Apple Watch, which silences the ring yet allows the caller to leave a 
message if they wish…

All this really cuts down on time and stress of others using my time…

John



> On Nov 30, 2018, at 1:02 PM, Harry Jacobson-Beyer <[email protected]> wrote:
> 
> So why do you answer their calls. I NEVER answer a phone unless I know who is 
> calling.
> 
> But I do appreciate your stringing them along.
> 
> :-)
> 
> 
>> On Nov 30, 2018, at 11:06 AM, William Micou <[email protected] 
>> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
>> 
>> There’s a great podcast where they try to research one of these ‘support’ 
>> centers. 
>> Podcast is “Reply All”, and look for episodes #102 & #103 called ‘Long 
>> Distance’. 
>> I too have fun with those calls. I act really excited that they found a 
>> problem and I’m so thankful that they want to help me.  Eventually I tell 
>> them I have no Window system. 
>> Bill
>> 
>> "It’s the sides of the mountain which sustain life, not the top.”
>> 
>> On Nov 30, 2018, at 11:35 AM, John Robinson <[email protected] 
>> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
>> 
>>> Funny, love to toy with them and glad the bad guys are being arrested…how 
>>> many folks go along with them and get suckered….
>>> 
>>> John
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> On Nov 30, 2018, at 11:31 AM, Lee Larson <[email protected] 
>>>> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> Over the last few years I’ve been sometimes annoyed and sometimes amused 
>>>> by the frequent calls from “Microsoft Technical Support” about “problems 
>>>> with my Windows computer.”
>>>> 
>>>> The calls always begin with someone speaking in a heavy Indian accent 
>>>> saying something like “Hello, this is Edward from Microsoft Technical 
>>>> Support. We have detected problems with your computer.”
>>>> 
>>>> Just for fun, I usually ask “How do you know it’s my computer?”
>>>> 
>>>> Edward: “We have extensive security monitoring and have matched it with 
>>>> the number under which you registered Windows.”
>>>> 
>>>> At this point, I go in one of several directions.
>>>> 
>>>> If I’m in a hurry, I say something like "But I have no Windows computers.” 
>>>> Or I ask “Does your mother know you’re a criminal?” These are usually 
>>>> answered by a quick click.
>>>> 
>>>> If I’m not in a hurry, I’ll play stupid to see how long I can keep 
>>>> “Edward” on the line by having trouble with my computer.
>>>> 
>>>> A while back, I fired up VirtualBox on my Linux machine and opened a 
>>>> Windows VM, just to see what they would do. I connected to the Web site 
>>>> they suggested and watched lots of traffic as they “diagnosed” my 
>>>> problems. There were lots of changes to the Windows registry. After a 
>>>> short time, they came back and suggested things could be fixed for $150. 
>>>> At that point, I used my mother-criminal line, hung up and deleted the 
>>>> Windows VM from the Linux machine.
>>>> 
>>>> This has been going on for years and I’ve often wondered why Microsoft put 
>>>> up with it. According to ZDNet, it looks like they finally hit the 
>>>> breaking point.
>>>> 
>>>>> New Delhi police have arrested 63 suspects in the last two months working 
>>>>> and operating 26 call centers that were engaging in tech support scams, 
>>>>> posing as tech support staff at Microsoft, Google, Apple, and other major 
>>>>> tech companies. The raids on Delhi-based call centers have taken place 
>>>>> over the last two months, Microsoft said. Police first raided 10 call 
>>>>> centers and arrested 24 people in October, and then raided 16 other call 
>>>>> centers and made 39 more arrests this week. 
>>>> 
>>>>> Microsoft said its staff received over 7,000 victim reports associated 
>>>>> with the 16 call centers raided this week, from over 15 countries. Users 
>>>>> reported paying between $100 and $500 for unnecessary tech support 
>>>>> services and products. The raids resulted in the seizure of substantial 
>>>>> evidence including call scripts, live chats, voice call recordings and 
>>>>> customer records from tech support fraud operations, Microsoft said. The 
>>>>> Delhi police's crackdown on tech support call centers came after 
>>>>> Microsoft filed legal complaints earlier this year. Microsoft has been 
>>>>> collecting customer complaints about tech support scams since 2014, via 
>>>>> its "Report a technical support scam" portal.
>>>> 
>>>> L^2
>>>> 
>>>> ---
>>>> ‌Lee Larson‌
>>>> ‌[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>‌
>>>> 
>>>> ‌Glory awaits, gentlemen. In the words of General Tacticus, 'Let us take 
>>>> history by the scrotum.' Of course, he was not a very honourable fighter. 
>>>> ‌— Terry Pratchett
>>>> ‌Jingo‌
>>>> 
>>>> ‌‌‌
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> MacGroup mailing list
>>>> Posting address: [email protected] 
>>>> <mailto:[email protected]>
>>>> Archive: 
>>>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.mail-2Darchive.com_macgroup-40erdos.math.louisville.edu_&d=DwIFaQ&c=OAG1LQNACBDguGvBeNj18Swhr9TMTjS-x4O_KuapPgY&r=F2GFXrjLFqVo3VwvIlo_XYeEiRRjHv15rxcenz7A21woG2aFGcrzndoSsskxfmOs&m=YSu_tDfOl4DT9ibJmQNFkB9lJJx930sBmn9V2rm5Gto&s=7lSIKQ1Zxx74cImbqvB7Z6QJ0wsDouFC3MkOu2R5sqg&e=
>>>>  
>>>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.mail-2Darchive.com_macgroup-40erdos.math.louisville.edu_&d=DwMFaQ&c=OAG1LQNACBDguGvBeNj18Swhr9TMTjS-x4O_KuapPgY&r=F2GFXrjLFqVo3VwvIlo_XYeEiRRjHv15rxcenz7A21woG2aFGcrzndoSsskxfmOs&m=C2B8HbCxUrSX-XPFUvlS5NpDx36QzZ-ca3IoNjKY_pM&s=gOMhRzwT3b9vUv3oAWlgt2iN3S8tE--fA9TSxDws2NE&e=>>
>>>> Answers to questions: <http://erdos.math.louisville.edu/macgroup/ 
>>>> <http://erdos.math.louisville.edu/macgroup/>>
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> MacGroup mailing list
>>> Posting address: [email protected] 
>>> <mailto:[email protected]>
>>> Archive: 
>>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.mail-2Darchive.com_macgroup-40erdos.math.louisville.edu_&d=DwIFaQ&c=OAG1LQNACBDguGvBeNj18Swhr9TMTjS-x4O_KuapPgY&r=F2GFXrjLFqVo3VwvIlo_XYeEiRRjHv15rxcenz7A21woG2aFGcrzndoSsskxfmOs&m=YSu_tDfOl4DT9ibJmQNFkB9lJJx930sBmn9V2rm5Gto&s=7lSIKQ1Zxx74cImbqvB7Z6QJ0wsDouFC3MkOu2R5sqg&e=
>>>  
>>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.mail-2Darchive.com_macgroup-40erdos.math.louisville.edu_&d=DwMFaQ&c=OAG1LQNACBDguGvBeNj18Swhr9TMTjS-x4O_KuapPgY&r=F2GFXrjLFqVo3VwvIlo_XYeEiRRjHv15rxcenz7A21woG2aFGcrzndoSsskxfmOs&m=uhUw-tfxyzE9Y-DM6o3-7d3AmH82dACAZIJ1OW8B94M&s=bRDS6XbEWhCQ1egMxOYZrJw20-LraAgBkrSXLhyYSjM&e=>>
>>> Answers to questions: <http://erdos.math.louisville.edu/macgroup/ 
>>> <http://erdos.math.louisville.edu/macgroup/>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> MacGroup mailing list
>> Posting address: [email protected] 
>> <mailto:[email protected]>
>> Archive: 
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.mail-2Darchive.com_macgroup-40erdos.math.louisville.edu_&d=DwIFaQ&c=OAG1LQNACBDguGvBeNj18Swhr9TMTjS-x4O_KuapPgY&r=F2GFXrjLFqVo3VwvIlo_XYeEiRRjHv15rxcenz7A21woG2aFGcrzndoSsskxfmOs&m=YSu_tDfOl4DT9ibJmQNFkB9lJJx930sBmn9V2rm5Gto&s=7lSIKQ1Zxx74cImbqvB7Z6QJ0wsDouFC3MkOu2R5sqg&e=
>>  
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.mail-2Darchive.com_macgroup-40erdos.math.louisville.edu_&d=DwMFaQ&c=OAG1LQNACBDguGvBeNj18Swhr9TMTjS-x4O_KuapPgY&r=F2GFXrjLFqVo3VwvIlo_XYeEiRRjHv15rxcenz7A21woG2aFGcrzndoSsskxfmOs&m=CSgrec0rUOmPzj_A6yZgrxupzEyty9T2p4CdzJ2Ro8o&s=EGMrHCuQJqjS_6w19vRWhePh_CWIpR11AnysZ90KTis&e=>>
>> Answers to questions: <http://erdos.math.louisville.edu/macgroup/ 
>> <http://erdos.math.louisville.edu/macgroup/>>
> 
> _______________________________________________
> MacGroup mailing list
> Posting address: [email protected]
> Archive: 
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.mail-2Darchive.com_macgroup-40erdos.math.louisville.edu_&d=DwIFaQ&c=OAG1LQNACBDguGvBeNj18Swhr9TMTjS-x4O_KuapPgY&r=F2GFXrjLFqVo3VwvIlo_XYeEiRRjHv15rxcenz7A21woG2aFGcrzndoSsskxfmOs&m=YSu_tDfOl4DT9ibJmQNFkB9lJJx930sBmn9V2rm5Gto&s=7lSIKQ1Zxx74cImbqvB7Z6QJ0wsDouFC3MkOu2R5sqg&e=>
> Answers to questions: <http://erdos.math.louisville.edu/macgroup/>

_______________________________________________
MacGroup mailing list
Posting address: [email protected]
Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/>
Answers to questions: <http://erdos.math.louisville.edu/macgroup/>

Reply via email to